jane_s

We will be visiting Granada for the day next month. Unfortunately, my husband has a bad knee and I want to eliminate unecessary waking and hills - savinging his "knee power" for what is the most important. He is fine with easy strolling and sightseeing. With this in mind, we don't mind the extra expense of taxis or the like.

We plan to spend half a day at the Alahambra and the other half in the Albayzin. If we were to purchase tickets in advance through our hotel or online to the Alahambra and take a taxi to to there, where should we get dropped off to minimize walking? (I've read about people that go back and foth for a mile or two just to get started). What's the best route around in each area? Are there areas to be avoided? Any suggestions would be appreciated (including must sees).

macanimals

Jane--
First off, you definitely want to have advance purchase of your tickets to the Alhambra. Even with that, you will have to redeem them at the ticket center which is about 5-600 yards away from the entrance to the palace. Alternatively, you could pick up your tickets and walk to the gardens- Generalife- tour and then walk back to the palace. To tour the three main areas, walking a fair amount will be required, but it is generally not strenuous. A taxi can drive to and drop you off at the ticket redemption area--very close. No problem.

Touring the Albayzin without walking would be difficult as most of the lanes are pedestrian only, cobblestoned with inclines, stairs and rough surfaces. A taxi can take you to the top--San Nicolas, which has an excellent viewpoint and a couple of cafes nearby. I recently stayed two nights in the Albayzin and it was always up & downhill, steps, stairs and rough stone covered cobblestones--very strenuous!
Check out Maribels guides--an excellent overview of Granada and the Alhambra tour and make reservations now!
Buena suerta--Paul

gailw

I'll post a reply with my limited knowledge just to keep your request active.
Everyone has to enter the Alhambra from the same place, so your taxi should drop you off at the main entry area. I believe that even if your tickets are "purchased in advance" you will have to pick them up at a window for advance purchases in this entry area. I've always gone from rented houses, so it may be different from a hotel where perhaps they will actually have your tickets ready for you.
You should do a search on this site re Alhambra for lots of info on the order in which to see the buildings, the nature of the timed tickets, etc.
There are very cheap buses, small and frequent, that go up the hill to the Alhambra and back down to the center of town and then up to the Albaicin. They would be perfect, I think, for you to get from the Alhambra and will stop at a number of places in the Albaicin. Your hotel should be able to suggest a good place for you to get off and start your wandering. The plaza in the center of town (in between the Alhambra and the Albaicin)is a great place to stop for coffee etc; lots of cafes, restaurants, great people watching. There's an internet place with dozens of computers and very reasonable rates just down the street on the way to the cathedral.
We really enjoyed Granada and hope you will, too.
gail

amsdon

Be sure to take extra plastic bags to fill with ice and or a gel pack that might be frozen in a fridge with any luck. Apply every night to the knee area for about 15 minutes max perhaps three times a day and take what ever meds the doctor ordered for inflamation.

That should help a bit. And ask about proper wrapping of the knee for stability. Or a good (soft) brace.

Taxis are really not that expensive there and the trips are fairly short.

Clifton

The mini buses are very easy to use. And as said, there's a stop in the Plaza with buses that go almost everywhere tourist go or at least to the edge of the Alhambra, to the top of the Albayzin (where there are some good restaurants as well) and to the Cathedral area.

On this page is an brief explanation of the buses and there's two links near the bottom showing the bus routes and their numbers.

http://www.alhambradegranada.org/gui...Subidas_en.asp

jane_s

Thanks so much for the suggestions.

I've read that its best to see the Palace last. If so, what's the recommended order to walk through the Alhambra? Where is the exit? Is it the same place as the entrance or somewhere else?

As to the buses, do you pay a fare for each trip or can you buy a day pass? Is exact change required and, if so, does anyone know the fare?

Raydotman

My husband has the same problem. Although we did not tour the Alhambra itself as we have seen it before we decided to have lunch at the Parador San Farncisco. We walked through the ticket purchase entrance and found a taxi stand! We took it to the Parador but there is no reason you could not ask to be dropped off at the Alhambra entrance. We also took a taxi back to the parking lot where we had parked the car. Again it may be possible just to have that same taxi take you to your hotel.

eslrachel

sometimes it is difficult to get tickets to the alhambra..if so, just get there really early,say 1 hour before it opens..get in the line and wait..they do sell tickets at the booth very very early.

njwanderer

We visited the Alhambra in May 2007. We were not able to biy tickets in advance. We went very early (around 6 am) to stand in the line for the tickets and we could get it without trouble.

Having said that, obviously it is better if you can book in advance. The taxi will drop you off right at the entrance. Of course, there will be a lot of walking to do inside the Alhambra and the Generalife.

Happy travels!

yk

1) The minibus will drop you off at the main entrance (where you get your tickets). If you take a taix, it'll drop you off at the same place.

2) To tour the place; after you get your ticket, I'd visit Generalife first. It's closest to the ticket office. Then the Nasrid Palace. If you still have energy, you can tour the Alcazaba. There's not much to see in the Alcazaba, so it's not a huge loss if you skip it.

When you buy your ticket online, it'll automatically assign you a time to visit the Nasrid Palace. Allow 1.5 hours for Generalife. So, if your assigned time for Nasrid Palace is at 12noon; you should plan to arrive at the Alhambra by 10:30am the latest.

3) There's a minibus that goes from Alhambra to Albayzin (with a stop in the Plaza Nueva).

johnboywalton

If you are in East Andalucia, consider visiting Baeza:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...za.html?cat=16