esj

Hi,

Have a few questions about visiting Alhambra. We will be there between 21-23 of May and will be arriving from Madrid on train.

I'm planning getting tickets for Alhambra at Night Palaces on the day of arrival, probably 10 PM or 10:30 PM time slots.

On the next day we want to visit Alhambra General, should we buy earliest tickets at say 8:30? When should we reserve time slot for Nazrid Palaces? 10PM?

Alternatively, I've seen someone mentioning that in case of hot weather (which probably will be at the end of May?) it's good idea to visit gardens in the morning and palaces after? So, can we still book tickets for 8:30, go to gardens and reserve Nazrid Palaces for, I don't know, maybe 1PM?

One more question - tickets are still not available on tickermaster for May, can you buy them via phone already for May? I'm afraid that time slots can be already exhausted for our visit and I can ask our apartment owner to buy tickets for us ASAP.

Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated.

kja

I was glad that my evening visit FOLLOWED my daytime visit because I then knew something about what I was seeing and had a better context into which to place those magical evening moments. YMMV.

As I understand it, you can stay in the Nazrid Palace for as long as you want once you enter, so I made it my FIRST priority upon entering the Alhambra. It only takes a few minutes to reach it once you clear the gate, so there's no reason that I know of to go for a later time unless you have a mobility issue that would prevent you from getting from the gate to the palace within 1/2 hour. I believe you can visit everything else at any time in your morning or afternoon block.

Again, I could be mistaken, but I don't think you need to worry about the heat in the middle of the day in mid-to-late May. Or at least, I would make maximizing my time in the Nazrid Palace my highest priority. Just dress in layers that you can peel off as necessary and bring bottled water in case you encounter unseasonably hot weather.

esj

Thank you kja, appreciated!

We can also enter from another gate which is closer to Nasrid Palaces and takes around 15 min walk from our apartment (apartment is in the Gomerez street which leads to Alhambra). Will try to book for 8:30 AM and Nasrid Palaces 10:00 AM, should be plenty of time (which as I understand includes not just walking, but also long queues to get into palaces?)

Thank you for night time visit suggestion, we can go after daytime as well, we can explore Granada on the day of arrival instead.

I wonder if I should call them and book on the phone as tickermaster will only be selling tickets from 30 of March and I'm afraid that a lot of tickets could already be sold for May?

Only reason staying in Granada is Alhambra so I don't want to miss on anything..

kja

" as I understand includes not just walking, but also long queues to get into palaces"

I don't think there would be a long line that early -- you should be among the first on site! I could be wrong...

Since I was there, I believe the Alhambra began offering some evening visits of the Generalife. If so, I would do that the night before.

There is more to see in Granada than the Alhambra (although I agree that it is the premier site and so well worth planning around). I trust you have a guidebook or two that cover Granada's other worthy sites?

esj

Good idea, so we can visit gardens at night on the day of arrival, then all the palaces and gardens next morning and also Nasrid Palaces at night on the same day!

I've some guides, but we will only stay 2 nights so not much time for other things I'm afraid.

So do you think it's worth calling them and try booking on the phone or do you reckon I should be fine if I wait till the end of March and book trough ticketmaster?

kja

"we will only stay 2 nights so not much time for other things I'm afraid"

All the more reason to research and decide upon your priorities! Depending on the timing of your transportation, I would think you could visit something either upon your arrival or before your departure, should you choose to do so. Your call!

"do you think it's worth calling them and try booking on the phone"

You'll have to wait for others to weigh in on that. When I went -- years ago -- booking by phone was not an option.

maitaitom

"So do you think it's worth calling them and try booking on the phone or do you reckon I should be fine if I wait till the end of March and book trough ticket master?"

Our apartment tried by phone…no deal. They will not be sold until March 30 or 31. I heard that the Alhambra has put up their ticket sales for auction, so it might not even be Ticketmaster selling them on that date. Very frustrating. Stay tuned. Keep checking Alhambra website.

esj

Thank you maitaitom, saved me from calling them!

progol

I'm also looking to get Alhambra tickets for May, and I've been checking daily. No tickets available, and the ticketmaster site does state they'll be available on March 30.

maitatom, where did you hear about the tickets being put up for auction?

Keeping my fingers crossed that there will be no problems on March 30, when the tickets are supposed to become available!

Alec

I think Alhambra is looking for a new operator for its online sales.

sandralist

I spent 2 nights at the Alhambra and did the night tour on my first night, and visited the entire gardens the next morning. I revisited the palace (which I had seen the night before and understood very well what I was seeing having read up before) and found it annoying for the hoardes of tourists stomping through during the daytime, and simply left. I browsed in the excellent bookstore of the Alhamrbra and had an extremely long lunch and goofed off for the rest of the day (I was staying at the parador). Had a tasty light dinner outdoors and flew out the next morning to Madrid.

I didn't feel at all confused by the order in which I did things, and felt I missed nothing -- other than the town of Grenada itself, which I had already figured I would probably miss, but had I been more motivated, I could have easily taken a taxi over and seen some of it.

I was definitely glad I visited the gardens in the morning, because even in late April, it was hot the year I visited. Some of the most interesting parts of the garden are the furthest away from the entrance gates and slightly uphill, so I was glad to be cool and comfortable. By the time it was noon or so, the sun was pretty fierce, and I recall sitting somewhere in a scrap of shade while my husband climbed a parapet. I waved to him when he got to the top and was perfectly happy to have skipped it.

sandralist

Ooops-- misspelled Granada.

maitaitom

"maitatom, where did you hear about the tickets being put up for auction? "

My apartment emailed me.

progol

Thanks for the info, maitatom. That's interesting and a bit nerve-wracking, though one assumes that tickets will be available SOMEWHERE!
Fingers crossed that on Monday, things will reveal themselves easily.

awayfromitall

So I'll be going also in May. Assuming they put them on sale soon, is it necessary to only buy the Generalife ticket and that will get you into everything?

kja

"is it necessary to only buy the Generalife ticket and that will get you into everything?

<b>No</b>!!! During the evening, one can visit EITHER the Generalife (and nothing else) OR the Nasrid Palace (and nothing else). To see everything else that is part of the site, you need to visit during the day -- and during the day, you can also see the Generalife and the Nasrid Palace if you plan accordingly. For day visits, you are asked to specify a time to visit the Nasrid Palace, and your time to ENTER that incomparable palace will be limited by the time you specify, but you can explore elsewhere (until your time runs out).

As stated above, I preferred seeing the Nasrid Palace AFTER my daytime visit, not because anything CONFUSED me, but because I was glad to see it in the peace and quiet of the evening (when visits are very limited) after having seen it during the day, when it was packed, but I had an audio-guide to direct my attention to specific details best seen in daylight. And even though I had read extensively in advance, I did, indeed, find the audio guide helpful. YMMV.

Please read a bit more about what the reservations entail -- I'm sure you don't want to find your options more restricted than you anticipate!

sandralist

I still cast a vote for going at night to visit the Nasrid Palace on the same day/evening of your arrival, even though you won't have seen in it daylight yet. If you want until the next day/night, you might feel worn out if you are getting up at 8.30 in the morning the next day and trying to see everything, including the night visit, until 11pm at night. Having only done it one way, I can't say for sure what my experience would have been had I waited to see the Nasrid Palace in daylight first, but I absolutely loved having my introduction to the Alhambra be the moon rising over the mountains and all the cats coming out of hiding to walk the grounds in the dark, and entering the palace with really not many people there. It's easy for me to imagine that if my introduction to the Nasrid Palace was trying to experience it despite the crushing masses wouldn't have been as nice for me.

kja

Actually, sandralist's experience seems to me yet another reason to opt for ensuring that one's evening visit to the Nasrid Palace FOLLOWs one's daytime visit there. Yes, during the day, it can be mobbed. So I am VERY glad that my FINAL impressions of the glorious Nasrid Palace were quiet ones -- there were only a few others there, and EVERYONE who was there for the evening visit seemed aware of how special it was to see this place in a hushed environment.

I agree that we can never have a first experience a second time. I was willing to put up with the masses during my daytime visit -- I actually found it easy enough to step aside, take my time, and savor the details. To then see the Nasrid Palace at night, when it was so quiet that I could actually hear the water in the seemingly still pools ... Wow! Unforgettable and among the highlights of my travels. YMMV (as sandralist's did. )

giro

You say you will be traveling to Granada from Madrid by train. It is my understanding that Renfe is not selling tickets after April 6 because of rail construction west of Granada. We are trying to travel from Granada to Sevilla earlier in May and likely will be taking a bus. If you don't already have tickets you need to look into this.
You may need to combine a train with a bus. Renfe does not communicate well at all.

esj

thanks giro, I didn't knew this at the time of my original post, since then I've found out that there will be no trains, will be traveling by bus.

Still no tickets for Alhambra, I wonder what time ticketmaster will start selling them? They've said 30 of March..