One of the most visited tourist attractions in Spain is located in Granada, Andalusia. More than 2 million people visit the Alhambra every year. Is the Alhambra, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1984, really worth a visit?
What is an Alhambra?
The Alhambra is a building complex typical of the Middle Ages. It consists of a fortified upper city in which the nobility, the military, the armourers and also the higher-ranking bourgeoisie and merchants lived. A fortified citadel for the ruler, known in Granada as the Alcazaba (city castle), is also part of the complex.
How the Alhambra was built in Granada
After the Moors had conquered the Iberian Peninsula, they built a castle complex on the already populated castle hill. This is already mentioned in documents from the 9th-12th century as “Ma’qil Ilbīra” (Elvira Fortress). However, it is not known what the castle complex looked like at this time.
In 1238, Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr Al-Ahmar moved his residence to Granada and ordered the construction of a citadel on the site of today’s Alhambra. In the following decades, the various rulers remodelled the citadel so that it was only used for military purposes. The remaining areas of the upper town became the seat of government and administration.
In 1492, the last Moorish ruler in Granada capitulated and the fortress fell to the Catholic Monarchs.
The time after 1492
The Spanish kings appointed Don Íñigo López de Mendoza y Quiñones as royal administrator of the Alhambra. The first remodelling work began under his administration. He had a huge cistern built between the Alcazaba and the palace.
When King Charles I (later known as Emperor Charles V) later planned to make Granada the seat of government of the Spanish kingdom, construction work progressed rapidly. A Renaissance palace was built, although it was never completed.
After the occupation of Spain by the French under Napoleon, they blew up parts of the Alhambra during their retreat. They wanted to prevent any munitions left behind from falling into the hands of the Spanish.
In the years that followed, the huge complex received little attention. It was not until the 19th century that restoration and maintenance work began to preserve this unique building.
Visit to the Alhambra in Granada
If you want to visit the Alhambra, you need to buy your ticket in advance. Especially in the summer months, it can happen that there are no more tickets available. We were there in March and already in December of the previous year we only found limited free dates (there are fixed time slots for the Nasrid Palaces).
If you can no longer buy tickets, you can walk around the former medina between the buildings without a ticket and get a small impression of the complex. Today, there are mainly gardens and foundations of the original buildings, a church (Santa María de la Alhambra) and a monastery dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, which now houses a hotel. It is best to use the side entrance (Puerta de la Justicia or Puerta de los Carros) to the palace complex.
The entire complex can be divided into four large areas: the Medina, the palaces of the Nasarids, the Alcazaba and the Generalife area outside the walls. The complex is surrounded by high and very massive walls. If you stand in Granada and look up at the Alhambra, these walls conceal the size of the complex.
You need a lot of time to visit the whole complex, we were there for over 3 hours. We even visited the complex twice. Once during the day and then in the evening, when the buildings are illuminated inside and out. However, we didn’t visit the gardens in the evening and only bought a ticket for the Nasrid Palaces. It was an unforgettable experience for me.
Walking to the Alhambra
There are two footpaths to the Alhambra. We opted for the historic route, which starts at the Puerta de las Granadas. The path to the entrance is steep, supposedly over 20% uphill, but beautiful!
The beautiful gate at the beginning of the path dates back to 1536 and formed the entrance to the town. Behind it begins the former poplar avenue that leads up to the complex. Today you walk through a shady forest.
On the way, you pass a large fountain basin. The Pilar de Carlos V was built by the Count of Tendilla by Pedro Machuca in the 16th century.
If you continue on to the main entrance, you walk underneath the walls, which give you a first impression of the size of the complex.
The Nasrid Palaces
The Nasrid Palaces were once the seat of government and the private rooms of the Moorish ruler. To visit them, you need an admission ticket that is only valid during a certain time slot. Very important – you have to provide your ID details when buying the ticket and then show it on entry, bags are x-rayed and large objects are prohibited. Visitors, who wait in a long queue, are allowed into the palace complex every 30 minutes. This naturally leads to “traffic jams” in the building at the favourite photo spots. So either walk quickly in front of the group or calmly after the group. Once you are in the building, nobody will rush you and you can take your time to see everything.
I find it difficult to describe the beauty and splendour of the rooms. Walking through the illuminated palace in the evening is like stepping into a fairytale of 1000 and 1 Nights. Shadows dance between the ornate columns and the light makes the rooms seem almost mystical. During the day, these rooms still look impressive, but I didn’t find them quite as impressive.
Nevertheless, it is worth taking a closer look at the slender columns, openwork shapes and imaginative stucco decorations. There is always another “little something to discover” that turns every room, every corner into something special. Be it a wall design made of colourful tiles or “just” a pattern on the walls. I had the feeling everywhere that I had to sit down and just look.
During the tour through the many palace areas, you also come to the most famous place in the Alhambra, the Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions). This dates back to 1377 and really impressed me. It is named after the twelve lions that support the marble fountain in the centre of the courtyard. The courtyard is surrounded by more than 120 columns and is adjoined by various halls and rooms that can also be visited.
The oldest part of the Nasirden Palace is the Mexuar. It is an audience hall where the sultan dealt with business and legal matters.
Probably the most famous view opened up to us in the Patio de los Arrayanes. The water basin is located in the area of the Palacio de Comares. The surrounding palace is beautifully reflected in the water. However, it is always full of visitors here and you have to be really lucky to be able to take a photo of the reflection without people. I was particularly enchanted by this place during our night-time visit.
The tour also takes you through small courtyards, which are beautifully planted and have splashing fountains. There were very few visitors here during our visit. The plants and babbling water give these places their very own microclimate and offer the ideal place to relax.
At the end of the palace tour, you reach the garden area. Palm trees grow here, flowerbeds are laid out on terraces and there are a few benches where you can take your time to process your impressions of the palace.
The Palace of Charles V
The later palace of Charles V stands right next to the Nasrid Palace. Unfortunately, Charles V had some parts of the Nasrid Palace demolished so that this building could be erected.
Visually, the palace did not match its neighbouring building, it was built in the Renaissance style and has not been fully completed to this day. It was not until the 20th century that a roof was put on the “ruined building”.
When you enter the building (you don’t need an entrance ticket here), you stand in a circular courtyard surrounded by the two-storey building. If you walk right into the centre of the courtyard, the 360-degree view is impressive.
I particularly liked the evening lighting here.
It is very beautiful that you can walk along the arcades on both floors and look into the circular courtyard.
The living quarters that were planned at the time are now home to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Alhambra Museum, which can be visited with additional tickets.
Alcazar Fortress
You shouldn’t miss visiting the Alcazar fortress. It was built in the 11th century and is located at the “top” of the mountain. This ensured a good view of the surrounding area.
The thick double fortress walls and the towers that were built here to protect the Alhambra are impressive. You walk between these mighty walls. This gives you an idea of how well secured the castle was and what obstacles potential attackers had to overcome. It seems almost impregnable to me.
If you walk through the grounds, you can also take a look in the direction of the Palace of Charles V and the Nasrid Palace.
There are several places where you can enjoy the view of Granada and Sacromonto. From up there, you can easily recognise the winding streets of the city.
The Generalife
The Generalife, which is located next to the fortress wall, was once the summer palace and country residence of the city’s Nasrid sultans.
The palace and gardens were built in the 13th century and were originally connected to the Alhambra by a covered walkway that led across the gorge. Today, the Generalife is one of the oldest Moorish gardens still in existence.
After a short walk through the gardens, you reach a large open square, the Teatro Auditorio. The stage is surrounded by trees. Events are held here today.
From there you enter the Generalife garden. The path leads along water basins and flowerbeds on small paths paved with black and white stones. There are hedges everywhere, making the garden appear almost labyrinthine. Even at the beginning of March, there were flowers everywhere and oranges were growing on the trees.
From time to time you have the opportunity to look across the kitchen gardens to the Alhambra. What imposing walls and towers!
Finally, you reach the building complex of the Summer Palace in the Generalife. You enter the palace through a door. Once again, you find yourself in an open, airy courtyard, where pools of water with small fountains cool you down and flowers bloom.
The interior of the summer palace cannot be visited. But you can get an impression of the stucco work and the oriental flair of the complex from a gallery and the tower.
After visiting the Generalife, I can certainly understand why the rulers withdrew there in the summer.
Bath of the mosque
With the entrance ticket for the gardens of the Alhambra, it is also possible to visit the baths of the mosque. This dates back to around 1302 and was partially converted into a flat in the 19th century.
On the short tour through the sometimes quite narrow rooms, you can see the dressing room, the cold room, the warm room and its two adjoining rooms.
A tip: On Sundays, you can also enter the mosque’s baths without a ticket.
Address:
C. Real de la Alhambra, s/n, Centro, 18009 Granada, Spanien
Opening hours
Day visit 1 April – 14 October Monday to Sunday: from 8:30 to 20 h
15 October – 31 March Monday to Sunday: from 8:30 to 18 h
Evening visit 1 April – 14 October Tuesday – Saturday 22:00 – 23:30 h
15 October – 31 March Friday and Saturday: 20 – 21:30 h
Closed: 25.12. and 1.1.
Admission prices:
Different tickets are available. You have to decide whether you want to visit the whole site, part of the site, during the day or in the evening. In any case, you have to buy your tickets well in advance of your visit; there is hardly any opportunity to purchase tickets directly on site. Only if you are lucky will you be able to buy remaining tickets directly after the ticket office opens or take part in a guided tour.
You can find out the exact prices on the Alhambra website and book directly there. It is easier to book your tickets via Get Your Guide.
What is important when you visit the Alhambra
Is it possible to park at the Alhambra?
There is a guarded official car park that is open 24 hours a day. Here you pay a maximum fee per day, which allows you to walk around the city after your visit to the Alhambra. Attention! On the way to the Alhambra, “parking signs” often point out free car parks in the surrounding area. You should avoid these, as they are often much more expensive or not even signposted as official car parks.
How do you get from the city to the Alhambra on foot?
Footpaths lead from Plaza Nueva, Plaza del Realejo or Paseo de los Tristes to the fortress.
Is there a bus to the Alhambra?
The Alhambra microbus (lines C3 and C4) runs from Gran Via de Colón or Plaza Nuevo.
How long does it take to get from the entrance pavilion to the individual pavilions?
20 minutes to arrive at the Alcazaba 17 minutes to arrive at the Nasrid Palaces 15 minutes to arrive at Generalife.
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