10 tips for visiting the Alhambra, Granada
There’s far more to Granada than simply the Alhambra. But to visit the city and not see the fabled palaces would be inconceivable. With so much to say, and a lot of conflicting advice, here are my 10 tips for visiting the Alhambra, to get the most out of your visit.
1. Book in advance
The most important of my Alhambra tips? Book your ticket well ahead… There are only a limited number of tickets available for the Nasrid Palaces every day, with two-thirds going online a year in advance.
You need to pick a specific time slot and guards will only let you enter during that half hour window.
Tickets sell out quickly, especially for popular times and popular months so snap yours up as soon as possible, and you also need tickets for children under 12 – although it’s free for them to enter, no-one can go in without a ticket. Children under three get their tickets at the ticket office.
There may be tickets available on the day but expect to be in the queue first thing to stand a chance. High season can be unbearably hot and busy so avoid if possible.
2. Plan your entry
If you’ve got a choice of times for palace entry, early beats late but I’d recommend aiming for an hour after arrival.
Firstly, you won’t be rushing and stressed about missing your time slot, and secondly, you can follow a straightforward west to east route from the Alcazaba ending at the Generalife.
As well as timed entry to the Nasrid Palaces, your ticket will be scanned on entry to each of the areas, allowing a single visit, so don’t assume you can wander back and forth at will.
3. Collect them in advance
You need to have your tickets an hour before your timed entry for the Nasrid Palaces but you can pick them up in advance rather than queueing on the day of the visit. This also then lets you enter through one of the south gates closer town if you prefer.
4. Save your legs
Hot? Raining? Rushing? The two most useful buses for visiting the Alhambra are the C30 and C32 which both run from Plaza Isabel la Catolica, near the Gran Via de Colon by the cathedral (and other stops in the centre and Albaicin).
Each departs around every 10 minutes, costs 1.40 Euros and avoids some steep climbing. Otherwise, it’s around a 20 minute walk.
5. Allow plenty of time
The average visit takes around three hours – I spent four and would probably have ambled longer if we’d had better weather.
So my advice for Granada’s main attraction is to leave yourself extra time to explore: although you could race around some of the key parts in an hour, you’ll be missing out.
6. Get the audio guide
Information is limited so if you want a fuller understanding of what you see, you need a guide. There are guided tours, but you may want to spend longer drinking everything in, and most travel guide books simply aren’t detailed enough.
There’s also a mobile guide you can download on site but getting it to work wasn’t so easy. The audio guide, however, manages to get the balance of informing without swamping you in boring waffle.
7. Bring cash and ID
You need to pay the 7.50 Euro fee for the audio guide in cash – there is an ATM around the corner but who wants to line up twice?
You’ll also need to leave ID, such as a credit card or driver’s licence so make sure you hang on to your receipt to retrieve it. There are two locations to rent, by the main entrance and Nasrid Palaces.
8. Buggies are restricted
Although it’s easy enough to explore most of the Alhambra complex with a buggy, you can’t take one into the Nasrid Palaces.
Check them in at the Gate of Wine (by the toilets and vending machines near the palace entry), or the main entrance, and you can hire baby carriers for free for babies up to 12kg.
9. Rucksacks are impractical
If you’re bringing a rucksack, you’ll be asked to wear it on your front in the Nasrid Palaces (and the guards will enforce the rule) to avoid accidentally damaging anything. This will probably be uncomfortable as well as impractical if you’ve got a camera around your neck…
If your backpack is bigger than 40 x 40 cm, you won’t be allowed to take it in at all. Selfie sticks, flash and camera tripods aren’t allowed inside the Nasrid Palaces either.
10. So are high heels
Yes, it’s a palace. No, this does not mean you need to dress up quite as much as some of the stylish visitors in stilettos that I saw.
Quite apart from the amount of walking around the complex, there are twisty stairs around the Alcazaba and slippery cobbles on the hill approach.
PIN FOR LATER: TIPS FOR VISITING THE ALHAMBRA
Image courtesy of Depositphotos
LIKED THIS? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Well done for such a detailed description of how to do it… think we need more “How tos” like this for lots of visit places…
Thank you! And absolutely, I felt there was a lot of contradiction from various sources about planning a visit, what your ticket allowed, how to choose the time, how to explore, that I felt worried I was accidentally going to miss out on something in the process. I didn’t but hopefully this will help a few people avoid the same…
Great tips – have been wanting to visit Granada for years and might try and actually make it out there this autumn, so will bookmark this.
Thank you! And I think you’d love it, so definitely one to move up the list. Early autumn would probably be a great time to see the Alhambra too, enough sun but smaller crowds.
Thank you for such a detailed guide to have a perfect visit to AlHambra. Your post will be my check list if and when I visit:)
FarZain
@http://colorsofourrainbow.blogspot.ae/
Thanks – it is a stunning place, I do hope you get there one day
Incredibly helpful guide Cathy. Sounds like it needs military-precision planning. I’ve yet to visit but thank goodness I have read this first…you really need to be organised! #citytrripping
Thanks! Maybe not quite that bad, but definitely needs some advance planning to get the most from it, especially in busy months. Very much worth it though.
Great tips – on a really need to know basis. I wouldn’t have know you would have to book all the tickets in advance. And advice about the cash is brilliant. Alhambra looks like a wonderful destination and one I am going to put on the list! #citytripping
It is wonderful, a bucket list destination which really lived up to what I’d hoped. Definitely worth being organised, I’d have hated to miss it.
This looks amazing. great tips though – sounds like you need to be super organised for it #citytripping
It is the most incredible site – but definitely one that needs a bit of advance planning, especially if you’re there at a busy time of year…
Great tips as always Cathy. Alhambra looks incredible, another one to add to my 2016 travel wish list! #CityTripping
Thanks! It is amazing – do squeeze it onto your list (if there’s room left!)
Such great tips, I know people who’ve just turned up and been very disappointed that they couldn’t get in that day. I really hope to see more of Spain this year and this is very much a hot favourite to visit.
Thanks! I can imagine – I would have been so disappointed to see Granada and miss the Alhambra. I’ve seen so little of Spain’s great cities, although inevitably they’re on the list (as is a long overdue return to France…)
These are excellent tips. It’s really useful to know what sites you need to book in advance for. Granada and the Alhambra have been on my must-see list for a few years now. I really must make the visit.
Thanks! It’s a great city, was on my must-visit list for ages too then finally managed to get booking.
Love this. These are always the questions I ask about visiting places and search online to find. I’m hoping we make it to Granada this year or next. #CityTripping
Thanks! Really glad it’s useful – and hope you get to Granada, it’s wonderful.
It is the most beautiful place! We booked in advance and picked up without rushing, as you suggested. Luckily we didn’t wear heels (but then again, I never do….) as I agree they would be absolutely impractical!
It is stunning, isn’t it. But definitely best in flat shoes…
Yes, I agree, the bus is a MUST. We opted to walk – ahem, HIKE – up the back way, and while we did get some cool views, we mostly just exhausted ourselves pre-Alhambra. Tourists in high heels need to quit being tourists, am I right? Great post, and thanks for the #citytripping link-up!
Yep, definitely! Wander down after… and that hill is not made for heels. Thanks!
sounds like a great place to visist. This sort of place is right up our sleeve i will be looking further into this for our trip to europe later this year
cheers
mark
#citytrippin
It’s a lovely city – so much to see as well as the Alhambra, although that is wonderful itself. Looking forward to reading about your next trip back to Europe too.
That top photo is just gorgeous. What a beautiful place! I would love to visit! Great tips too! 🙂
It is the most beautiful place, even when we visited on a slightly grey day. Thanks!
Great tips! I’ll always want to visit Granada, as I was in the Caribbean island of Grenada and upon my return, many friends thought I was in the Spanish city! These tips are practical, even for visiting other cities and attractions 🙂 #citytripping
Haha – I have heard of people getting on the wrong flight. I would love to go to Grenada as well.
Thanks for the tips! I hope to put them in practice this year. I am thinking about visiting Southern Spain this year (and Portugal too). Also, I am going to check your other posts about Granada.
My pleasure! I hope you get there – if you’re in Portugal, Lisbon is one of my favourite cities, lots to discover in southern Spain as well.
Great tips! I’d love to visit the Alhambra, but I wouldn’t have thought to buy tickets ahead of time. Good to know!
Thanks – definitely worth planning ahead for this one.
There’s so many places in Spain that I never think about going. Thanks for reminding me 🙂
The same here – I have a huge list of places in Spain I’d love to go, but other countries seem to keep getting booked first…