Granada · Spain
Alhambra
A practical guide to the Alhambra in Granada: how to get tickets without falling for resellers, how the Nasrid Palaces time slots work, how much time to give it, what to see and whether a guide is worth it.
It's one of the few buildings in Europe with no substitute. What disappoints is how you have to visit it: go early, with your passport, with official tickets and with at least three hours.
The Alhambra is the palace city that the Nasrid dynasty built between 1238 and 1492 on the Sabika hill in Granada. Its name comes from the Arabic al-Qal’a al-Hamra, the red fortress. From outside it looks like a barracks; inside it has the most refined work in plaster, wood and water in Europe. In 2024 it had 2.72 million visitors.
Our visit
We went on Thursday, May 21, on a 9:00 GetYourGuide group tour run by Special Plans. We took a taxi from Plaza Nueva and by 8:45 we were at the meeting point, by the map next to the ticket offices. The tour was in English because there was no space in the Spanish group. It lasted three hours: the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces at a fixed time, the Palace of Charles V and the Generalife.
We chose a tour for two reasons. Official tickets sell out months ahead, and the tour included them. And our research kept saying that without context the rooms impress you but don’t make sense. The time was deliberate too: at 9:00 the heat isn’t bad yet in the Alcazaba and you’re ahead of the 10:30 buses.
A little history
Muhammad I, founder of the Nasrid emirate, chose the hill in 1238. The two great builders were Yusuf I, who built the Comares palace, and his son Muhammad V, who built the Palace of the Lions. On January 2, 1492, Boabdil handed the keys to Isabella and Ferdinand, ending almost eight centuries of al-Andalus.
Charles V spent his honeymoon here in 1526 and ordered a Renaissance palace built inside, tearing down part of the Nasrid palace. Centuries of neglect followed, and in 1812 Napoleon’s troops blew up towers as they retreated. Washington Irving lived among its rooms in 1829, and his Tales of the Alhambra put the place back on the map.
How it fits into your day
After the visit, walk down to the Carmen de los Mártires and save the afternoon for the Albaicín, which has the best view of the Alhambra from outside. See our full day in Granada.
What to see, in order
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The Alcazaba and the Torre de la Vela
The military fortress. From the Torre de la Vela you see the Albaicín across the way, the Vega and the Sierra Nevada behind. There's almost no shade.
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The Mexuar
The council hall, the oldest part of the palaces, later turned into a Christian chapel. Notice how the floor pattern continues under where the altar stood.
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The Court of the Myrtles
The long pool with the Comares Tower reflected in it. Walk to the far end and lower your camera to the level of the water.
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The Hall of the Ambassadors
The throne room under the Comares Tower. The cedar ceiling has 8,017 pieces representing the seven heavens of Islam.
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The Court of the Lions
124 marble columns and the fountain of the twelve lions. Look also at the four channels that meet at the fountain: the four rivers of paradise.
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The Hall of the Two Sisters
The most complex plaster muqarnas dome in the complex, with a poem by Ibn Zamrak that describes it as a sky full of stars.
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The Palace of Charles V
A 63-meter square with a 30-meter circular courtyard, pure Renaissance inside the Nasrid citadel. Today it houses the Alhambra Museum.
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The Patio de la Acequia
In the Generalife, the best-preserved Islamic garden in Europe, watered by a channel that brings snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Entry to the Nasrid Palaces runs in half-hour slots, and if you're late you lose yours. On a tour, the guide handles the timing; when they say it's time to move, move.
- Bring the original passport you used to buy the ticket. At the Nasrid Palaces checkpoint they check that it matches.
- Large backpacks and tripods aren't allowed, and neither is flash inside the palaces. There's a free left-luggage room at the entrance.
- Bring water, a hat, sunscreen and a fan. There's only one café inside, expensive and with lines.
- There are no restrooms along the Nasrid Palaces route. Use the ones at the entrance or at the Palace of Charles V.
Do
- Buy only on the official website or through a recognized tour. GetYourGuide charges more, but the tickets are real.
- When you leave, walk five minutes down to the Carmen de los Mártires, a free garden that almost nobody visits after the Alhambra.
- If there are no Nasrid Palaces tickets left, take the gardens ticket as a partial visit, not as a substitute.
Don’t
- Don't buy from websites that present themselves as "official" without being so: they resell the same ticket for up to ten times the price.
- Don't pay for "skip-the-line" wristbands or private "after-hours" visits: they don't exist.
- Don't have lunch on the Cuesta de Gomérez: the set menus are expensive and reheated.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do you need to visit the Alhambra?
Three hours with a guide, at a good pace. On your own, four hours to go comfortably and up to six if you visit the museum and linger in the Generalife.
How far ahead do you need to buy tickets?
In high season they sell out two to four months ahead. The official website sells up to three months before: buy as soon as you have your dates.
Is it worth going with a guide?
For a first visit, yes. There are almost no signs inside. The downside is the pace: in the Nasrid Palaces you can't stay longer.
Do you need to bring your passport?
Yes, the original one used to buy the ticket. Copies don't work.
Does the gardens ticket include the Nasrid Palaces?
No. The gardens ticket doesn't include the Nasrid Palaces, which are the main event, and in most cases it doesn't include the Alcazaba either.