Alhambra, Granada: visitor guide

What to expect at the Alhambra in Granada

The Alhambra is the best surviving monument of Islamic civilisation in the Western world and one of the great architectural achievements of any culture at any period, a fortified palace complex of the Nasrid dynasty built on a wooded hilltop above Granada between the 13th and 15th centuries, whose interior rooms combine geometric tilework, carved stucco arabesques, muqarnas (stalactite) vault ceilings and the sound of water in a synthesis of architecture, decoration, craft and natural sound that produces an experience of sensory and intellectual richness without equal in European medieval architecture.

The Alhambra was the palace, court and government of the last Islamic rulers of the Iberian Peninsula, the Nasrid dynasty maintained their kingdom in Granada for 250 years after the Christian kingdoms to the north had reconquered the rest of Islamic Iberia, and the culture they created in those final centuries produced the Alhambra as its supreme achievement.

Also, the Nasrid Palaces are the Alhambra's essential destination, three successive palace buildings housing the private and ceremonial apartments of the Nasrid sultans. The Mexuar (council chamber) leads into the Comares Palace, whose Comares Tower contains the throne room of the Sultan: a cubic space beneath a muqarnas dome of 8,017 carved wooden pieces representing the seven heavens of Islamic cosmology, the walls covered in carved stucco panels of geometric and vegetal pattern so dense they appear to dematerialise the stone beneath them. The Court of the Myrtles, a rectangular pool reflecting the Comares Tower in its still surface, gives the palace's defining exterior architectural composition.

Palace of the Lions

Also, the Palace of the Lions (Palacio de los Leones) is the most celebrated Islamic interior in Spain, a courtyard of outstanding refinement at whose centre a marble fountain supported by twelve stone lions (the palace's name, dating to the 14th-century construction by Sultan Muhammad V) sits among 124 slender marble columns carrying ornate arches that open into four halls. Moreover, the Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de las Dos Hermanas) has a muqarnas dome of 5,000 cells that appears to dissolve the ceiling into an infinite geometric multiplication.

In fact, the effect of standing beneath it and looking up is one of the most disorienting and beautiful architectural experiences in the world. The Hall of the Abencerrages opposite has a similar dome above a pool that, according to legend, was stained with the blood of the Abencerrage knights massacred there by the jealous sultan.

Generalife

Besides, the Generalife summer palace and gardens, connected to the Alhambra complex by a covered walkway, give the best view of the entire Alhambra complex from across the ravine that separates the two buildings. Besides, the Generalife gardens, terraced around a long pool fed by the Acequia Real (Royal Channel) that carries water from the Sierra Nevada to the Alhambra, are among the finest surviving examples of Islamic garden design, their combination of flowing water, cypress and orange trees, geometric parterres and shaded walkways representing the Islamic paradisiacal garden concept made physical. The gardens are at their best in late April and May when the roses are in bloom.

Alcazaba

The Alcazaba (the original military fortress at the western end of the complex, predating the Nasrid Palaces by a century) offers the best panoramic view of Granada below, the Albaicín neighbourhood of white houses climbing the opposite hillside, the cathedral rising above the old city, and the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada visible above the city when conditions permit. In fact, the Torre de la Vela (watchower) at the Alcazaba's western corner has the broadest panorama.

Booking the Nasrid Palaces ticket requires a timed entry slot, only a specific number of visitors are admitted to the Nasrid Palaces in each 30-minute slot. Tickets for the full Alhambra complex (€14 for the Nasrid Palaces + Generalife + Alcazaba) must be booked through the official website (alhambra-patronato.es) and sell out weeks in advance during peak season. Same-day availability is essentially non-existent from April through October. The first morning slot (8:30 AM) gives the palaces at their most magical, early light entering the Eastern-facing courts and the fewest simultaneous visitors.