Thursday 8th February
We booked our tickets for La Alhambra through the official website, €14 each, without a guide and our kind receptionist at the campsite printed them out for us.
The Alhambra is well signposted in Granada, as are the car parks. You pay separately for the car park after your visit at one of the pay machines. Our visit cost €8.
A short walk from here brought us to the main entrance and using our printed tickets we passed safely through the gate. Although it was early February, we were still surprised at the number of large groups, coaches and the inevitable school children visiting the attraction.
Our one hour slot time for visiting the Nasrid Palaces was 1pm so we had time to visit the Generalife buildings, originally built in the 13th century and gardens beyond the Alhambra walls.
The Generalife area contains gardens and a leisure palace used by the Nasrid sultans and kings of Granada, when they wanted to get away from official palace affairs. They have been altered and rebuilt at different points in time and therefore do not represent exactly the originals, but they are certainly worthy of a visit.
There were many gardeners busy preparing the soil for a range of planting, including vegetables. Many of the spring plants were in situ but had not burst into flower and it was easy to imagine how beautiful these would look when they bloomed.
We had to scan our tickets before entering at this point as you can only visit this area once, although when we were there it was hard to see how you couldn’t enter from the path which we exited.
Our journey took us along and around various patios, low and raised, with water features, view points and garden areas.
The Escalera del Agua demonstrated the ingenuity of early engineers. The channels made from inverted tiles, either side of the staircase, allow the water to flow from on high to the lower parts of the garden.
Next stop the Moorish citadel and the complex of palaces, gardens and forts for our 1 o’clock time slot. We made our way along the main promenade by the Alhambra walls, passing more formal gardens, several towers and outer gates in the walls, as well as an archaeological area before reaching the gate to pass into the area with the palaces, Santa Maria church and museum.
By now it had become much busier as we made our way towards our queue. Back pack briefly searched, tickets scanned again we made our way into the Palacio del Mexuar.
Palacio de Comares official residence of the kings
As we exited the Patio de Lindaraja we reached the area known as El Partal. The name comes from an Arabic word meaning ‘the portico’.
El Partal contains the remains of the residence of Sultan Yusuf III and as you meander through the 20th century terraced gardens you can see the remains of the archaeological excavations of several of the stately Moorish homes which once filled this part of the Alhambra Hill.
Following the continuation signs we walked up a gentle slope, along the northern ramparts, passing 4 towers, which were originally miniature palaces.
Finally we returned to the area of the palaces, The Dar al-Mamlaka to explore the Palace of Charles V, which also houses the museum of Alhambra, fine arts and temporary exhibitions and the military area.
But not before discovering a super little gem of a restaurant/cafeteria tucked away in a quiet corner of the Alhambra complex. The Parador de Granada.
The underground restaurant offered full fine dining in the main restaurant or light bites in the smaller cafeteria area. We opted for this and very delicious it was too. Beer, hot chocolate, meat and vegetable croquettes and fried aubergine with Granada honey.
Outside was a terraced area, which would be excellent in the warmer weather for enjoying the views and the delights of the menu. We have since discovered that it is possible to stay the night here too, if your budget stretches that far 😉
It is not hard to notice how this palace of Charles V clashes with the style of its surroundings in the Alhambra. The building is square but contained within is a two-tiered circular courtyard with 32 columns. It is the most important building of Renaissance style in Spain.
The Alcazaba, a fortress was the last part of our visit. This military area is one of the oldest parts of the Alhambra and there has been historical reference to its existence dating back to the 9th century. The current complex was built by Mohammed I, including the ramparts, defences and 3 towers.
It like many other parts of the Alhambra has undergone much restoration work, due to its abandonment and lack of care.
If you enjoy military history then this would probably be of interest, but in contrast to the many other areas of Alhambra it didn’t hold the same attraction for us.
It is not difficult to comprehend how La Alhambra and the Generalife have been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO and if the opportunity arises to pay a visit, then be sure to take it, it is truly awe inspiring.