A Guide to Visiting the Alhambra in Granada, Spain

If you haven’t heard of the Alhambra in Granada, a quick Google search will pull up pictures of the majestic, ancient fortress that boasts views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the greenery of the city, including its own gardens. It’s one of Spain’s best treasures and a gem of the Andalucian region in the south. If you’re unsure whether or not to visit or how to do so, this guide is for you.

1. Plan for the weather accordingly

I visited in February and mistakenly forgot an umbrella or really much for the rain and wind, so I was stuck under my friend’s cheap, small umbrella and was stepping around mud puddles in my white sneakers. If you visit around this time, the weather will likely still be chilly and possibly rainy so pack accordingly and check the weather app to stay up to date. At one point, when I was walking back to our hostel from vintage shopping, it started hailing on me. I arrived back at our hostel covered in small, melting hailstones and soaked. Not fun.

2. Make sure to buy from the actual website

My friend and I stumbled upon a very official looking website with Alhambra tickets. Assuming it was the actual website, we purchased tickets for 42 euros each with an audio guide included. When we stepped up to have our tickets scanned at the entrance, we were shocked to find out that our “tickets” were actually purchased through a third-party company and we needed to walk ten minutes downhill to get the actual tickets (in the rain of course) and then back uphill. We tried again and then discovered our tickets didn’t even include entrance to The Nasrid Palaces, which seems to be the most famous part of the fortress. Furthermore, actual tickets to the Alhambra including entrance to the palaces, are only 19 euros. So we had spent over double the price for a boring audio guide, hike uphill and the exclusion of arguably the most famous part. In case you were wondering, don’t buy tickets here, buy them here instead from the official website. And definitely don’t skip the palaces.

3. Block off a few hours to see everything

You definitely don’t want to limit yourself here, you could easily spend almost an entire day just slowly wandering around and reading about the history, admiring the views, etc. If you’re someone like me who enjoys listening or reading everything but also doesn’t need an extended amount of time to process everything and also enjoys snapping pictures, I would block off three to four hours just to be safe. You can also eat food there if you get hungry or save money by bringing some, I didn’t see anything on the website about food being prohibited and I don’t recall them rifling through my tote bag the three times we went to the entrance. I would advise going earlier in the day to avoid crowds or even buying one of the night tickets specifically for one part to see the Alhambra in a different light, quite literally.

4. Arrive on time for your visit and with everything ready

Despite our entrance issues, we got there on time and at least could line up at the front. Our biggest fault was not having our actual QR code ready to scan, which was of course because we did not have actual tickets yet, unbeknownst to us at the time. Make sure to have your ticket with the code ready and a form of identification that was used for the ticket pulled out. The website specifically says that punctuality is important for entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, which will have their own visit time on your ticket. For other guidelines and rules, check here.

5. Understand the history and the significance

Although not everyone is a history buff or particularly interested in learning about architecture, it is important to recognize the cultural significance and history of the Alhambra. It wasn’t named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for nothing. The fortress has a history entrenched in the Islamic period and is now the only preserved palatine city from that time. This can be seen in more ways than one, but especially with the Moorish architecture found all over southern Spain. Both the fortress and Albayzín, a neighborhood on the adjacent hill, are an exceptional example of Hispano-Muslim culture and traditions that have stood the test of time.

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