The Arco de las Pesas sits quietly in Granada's Albaicín, one of those ancient corners that most visitors walk past without realizing they're looking at something from the 11th century. I stumbled upon it while wandering near Plaza Larga, and honestly, it took me a moment to understand what I was seeing.

This stone archway was once part of the Zirí wall, built when Granada was finding its footing as an Islamic city. The arch served as one of the main gates into the old Alcazaba Qadima, the original fortified area that sat where the Roman-Visigothic settlement used to be. What strikes you first is its architectural style – that distinctive horseshoe arch layered with a semicircular one above it, typical of Almoravid design.

The name "de las Pesas" comes from a much later period, when authorities would display confiscated false weights here as a warning to merchants cheating customers in the nearby market. It's one of those details that makes you smile – medieval Granada's version of public shaming.

Walking through the arch feels like stepping between worlds. The Plaza Larga bustles with local life on one side, while the other opens toward the quieter, more residential parts of the Albaicín. The stonework shows its age, with weathered dovelas and brick lintels that have somehow survived nearly a thousand years of Granada's tumultuous history.

The surrounding area tells a more complicated story. This whole section of the Zirí wall – about 350 meters stretching down to Puerta Monaita – has had a rough time recently. There was an ambitious restoration project that started in 2006, got abandoned in 2007, and left behind some unfortunate concrete structures. Thankfully, the Spanish Ministry of Culture stepped in around 2017 to properly restore parts of the wall.

From here, you can continue exploring the upper Albaicín toward the Aljibe del Rey or head down to San Nicolás viewpoint. The whole area connects you to different layers of Granada's past – Islamic, Christian, modern – all jumbled together in that typically Andalusian way. If you want to dig deeper into the historical context, there's an audio guide available that covers the broader Albaicín area and explains how these medieval fortifications shaped the neighborhood we see today.

The arch itself only takes a minute to appreciate, but understanding its place in Granada's evolution adds another dimension to wandering these ancient streets.