annhig

People who go in the afternoon MUST leave when it closes at the end of the day (before the evening opening), but I think people who come in the morning can now stay through the afternoon if they so choose. The web site might provide information about that.>>

that's my understanding too. once you are in, you are in. so if you have a morning time slot for the Nasrid palaces, you can stay all day; if you have an afternoon slot you can't enter the site until the beginning of the afternoon session. We had a slot at about 10.30 am and got there [it was right opposite our hotel] about 9 am. we had a quick breakfast in the cafe at the entrance with all the coach drivers, then sauntered down into the alhambra, spent an hour exploring before we entered the palaces, a good hour in there, then another hour exploring the rest, before we had some lunch and then went to the gardens of the Generalife, where we must have spent at least 2 hours. from memory we exited at about 3pm.

I can understand that one might run out of time in the afternoon.

CathyM

If you are OK with mornings the first entrance is great as the tour groups haven't arrived yet and it is much less crowded. The lighting is better also for taking photos. I also recommend renting the audio guides.

burnhamski

Definitely morning people here (haven't quite resolved how I'll manage the 11 pm dinners, however!), so we will try for the first a.m. slot.

annhig, you say you arrived @ 9 for your 10:30 slot - does this mean you were allowed to enter early or is there that much to see before you enter the area requiring tickets? Haven't studied the property details enough & wondering if you recommend arriving considerably before our ticket time? Thanks.

annhig

burhamski,

yes there is a lot to see before or after the palaces. there is the garden to walk through with some ancient ruins, a few shops selling books etc., a the fortress [you can see that at any time, but they clip your ticket so you can only see it once] another palace [of Charles V I think] and the Generalife, as well as the Nasrid Palaces, which you MUST enter within 30 mins of the time on your ticket.

to repeat, you can enter the site at ANY time in either the morning or afternoon session [or the night one] with your ticket and the only timed bit is the palaces. so even if you have a ticket timed for 12 noon, once you have your tickets you can go into the site as soon as it opens, and see everything else before you hit the palaces.

I would still advise doing the Generalife gardens afterwards though, as the way they are laid out leads you naturally away from the palaces and out of the site.

BTW, if you have used a c/card to buy your tickets in advance, and want to get them from the automatic ticket machines in the ticket office, you will need the same c/card to use in the machine. the same seems to go for everywhere in Spain, like the opera in Madrid or the Palau di Musica in Barcelona. so make sure you remember which c/card you have used to order tickets and take it with you!

annhig

another BTW, the great thing about Spain [alright, another great thing] is that if you don't want to wait till midnight for your dinner, you can have a fantastic meal of tapas which you can get a virtually any time, and certainly earlier than a sit-down meal, except in vey touristy places.

in Granada, there is at least one street [the one I'm thinking of is behind the main square] full of tapas bars - one with hams hanging up, another that calls itself a "pulperia" or "everything you ever wanted to know about octopus/squid but were afraid to ask", etc. etc. After our night-time visit to the alhambra we actually ate in the restaurant of our hotel, which was opposite the Alhambra so very was to get to. I think we sat down at about 9.30 pm which was late enough for us, even if it was early for them!

bardo1

Some don't miss items in Granada:

Cartuja Monastery - a short (10 min?) 1.5 mile bus ride from Plaza Nueva.

Capilla Real (royal chapel) - next to the Cathedral (Cathedral is also worth a look).

Las Alpujarras (Pampaneira, Bubion, & Capileira) - 30 mile drive (on highway) from Granada. Worth renting a car for the day to do this!!

burnhamski

Thanks for clarifying ticket time vs. arrival time, annhig. Think I understand now - will probably try for the 8:30 am slot, and arrive earlier if permitted. Good tip on the credit card, annhig. We make internet purchases with a card that we usually don't carry with us - I'll make sure we do.

Thanks for dining tips & tips on things to see when we are NOT at the Alhambra! Now that you have all helped me to decide on my 2-1-2 (Sevilla-Cordoba-Granada) plan, we will have a 2nd full day to spend in/around Granada. It's very easy to be uber-focused on the Alhambra vist(s) & forget there is more to be explored. Many thanks again for sharing your experiences & suggestions.

kja

I hate to throw in a wrench, and I hate to offer a view that differs from annhig's generally excellent advice, but I must admit that I would NOT plan to take the earliest Alhambra slot. Instead, you might want to plan your day around opening times, which are often quite limited during the "siesta." So, for example, if you can continue visiting the Alhambra during the lunch hours if you arrive during the morning, then I would NOT give up the earliest morning hours to get to the Alhambra - I would use that time for the Cathedral and Capilla Real (at the least) first, because they will probably be closed during the lunch-time hours that you could be using to visit the Alhambra. And I'm sure your guidebooks identify other sites in Granada that you might want to visit if time permits, most of which will be closed during siesta. But coming up with a plan that works for you depends on what you want to see and experience and when you want to make time for meals, so my ideas could be way off base.

Some things to consider:
- Just about every other site in Granada was (when I was there) closed for hours around lunchtime, so the ONLY way to use those hours were to savor a long lunch or explore the Alhambra.
- The Alhambra is on a hill above other parts of Granada, so you may need to plan on about 20-30 minutes (as I recall, depending on whether you walk or take a bus; taxis may take less time) to get to/from the Alhambra. So if you can keep the time you spend going up and back to a minimum, you'll have more time for other things.

Travelers differ so much in their interests and preferred pace, that I always hesitate to comment on specific times, but just for perspective: As mentioned above, I ran out of time for my daylight visit of Alhambra, by (I estimate) about an hour or two (i.e., I think I would have preferred about 6 hours for my daytime visit). So if I had taken one of the last possible times for a morning visit, I would most likely have finished my visit no later than my afternoon-only visit ended. I used my time for a quick dinner of croquettes. So, given my experience, I would opt for a late morning time at the Alhambra. I would use my morning to visit things in town. I would make sure I get to the Alhambra in plenty of time for my late-morning entry (because I would NOT want to risk reaching the gate after it closes for lunch) and would pick up the audio guide. I would spend the next 5 or 6 hours - or whatever it takes - visiting the Alhambra. When it closes, or when I am ready to leave, I would leave for a light dinner, maybe tapas, maybe croquettes, as near the Alhambra as reasonable. I would plan on spending 90 - 120 minutes revisiting the Nasrid Palace during the evening. And I would then walk back to town and end the day doing whatever best suits you. But that's just me - vive le difference!

Again, I think you've planned very well. Enjoy!

burnhamski

Thanks kja, as you say, there are different approaches which may accomplish the same thing, and I would not have considered that the Alhambra may close for lunch. If that is the case, morning may not work for us. I will try to check that out before we commit to a specific time. Morning is generally preferable for us - be ahead of the crowd & start when it's cooler (we've done most traveling in Aug so we can stand the heat) My current plan is to eat breakfast early, taxi to Alhambra (save feet for touring there), spend as much time as we want, then stop somewhere for late lunch. If we do nothing else that day, it's ok. Back to hotel to shower, rest. Back to Alhambra for the night visit (which may be late due to time of year - early/mid June). Might also do tapas early, then to to Alhambra till closing and skip dinner after - think we may be tired! We'll have the following day to spend in town. As appealing as it sounds to rent a car to see nearby towns (suggested above), I think it will be too much. 2nd day will be a later start, slower pace, and a chance to absorb a little of the atmosphere of Granada.

Any thoughts about a Granada hotel location? Currently looking at a couple of hotels in the Albayzin, close to Darro (river). Have also been agonizing about a hotel choice in Barcelona, so I hate to ask, but I will! Is this a good base for getting a feel for Granada (given that we will probably not walk up to the Alhambra)?

CathyM

I think your morning visit is a good idea. You'll have time for lunch, siesta and perhaps even some sightseeing (in June you'll have plenty of daylight hours for sightseeing) before you return for the evening visit. You have the entire following day to explore the rest of Granada.

For hotels in Granada I prefer to stay in the center where there's a little more happening. But I'm usually not traveling with anyone so the more romantic choices in the Albayzin aren't as appealing to me. I stayed at the Palacio de los Navas on my last trip. It's located on a busy pedestrian street full of tapas bars (but quiet in the hotel).


http://www.palaciodelosnavas.com/

annhig

FYI, the alhambra does not close for lunch. there are various eating options inside - we just grabbed a snack from the kiosk.

here are the opening times:

http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

the morning session is from 8.30 -2, and the afternoon from 2-6 [winter] or 2-8 [summer].

the night time is 8.00 pm - 9.30 [winter] or 10 -11.30 [summer]. you can no do a night time visit to the gardens, which was not available when we went, but you can't do the night time visit to the gardens and to the Nasrid palaces on the same night.

for the avoidance of doubt, because there still seems to be some misunderstanding, the way it works is this: say you have a ticket with a times visit for the Nasrid palaces at 1030am. you can enter from 8.30 am onwards, and do and see what you like in what order you like, EXCEPT that you must present yourselves at the entrance to the palaces between 10.30 and 11 am, if you want to see the palaces.

burhamski - I think your schedule is fine, except that if at all possible, i would book to do the night-time visit the day you arrive, rather than going back on the day you've done the day-time tour. there is a bus up from the main square that stops right outside the ticket office, cost about €1, takes 5 minutes. if you get the right bus from outside the ticket office after your trip ,it will take you all the way to the top of the albercin, and you can walk back down into town.

we stayed at the hotel guadalupe right opposite the alhambra. very clean, very pleasant, and very reasonable.

burnhamski

annhig & CathyM - Thanks for your continued suggestions, tips, clarifications & patience! I'll check out all of the links & hotel recs (always appreciated) later tonight or tomorrow.

We won't be able to do our night visit when we arrive. We are taking train from Cordoba & the schedule du jour indicates the only evening train from Cordoba arrives @ 9:30 pm. By the time we reach the hotel & check in, the only place we'll be going is horizontal! As always, there are compromises & trade offs, but I'm ok with a long daytime vist & shorter return same night. Kind of a cultural dessert!

indy_dad

bookmarking. thanks

annhig

the only evening train from Cordoba arrives @ 9:30 pm. By the time we reach the hotel & check in, the only place we'll be going is horizontal! >>

really? - in June, Granada will only just be waking up! and i think that the alhambra opens at 10pm that time of year - though i don't think that i would try to squeeze it in in case the train to delayed.

but it would be a shame to make straight for your beds without sampling the odd glass os wine or sherry and a few tapas!

CathyM

Another alternative would be to take the bus from Cordoba to Granada. It takes the same amount of time and in case you finish early in Cordoba you're not just waiting around for the train (bus is much more frequent). Ths bus station is just across the street from the train station.

burnhamski

Ok, I exaggerated a bit, annhig. We won't head right for bed. I think we'll check in, then find someplace for dinner. I don't see us checking in @ 10 then heading for the Alhambra (no matter how late it remains open). I like your tapas & wine idea. Alhambra @ night will have to wait for the next night, I'm afraid.

Thanks for bus suggestion, CathyM - and location across from Granada train station. Considered bus, but since it's 2 1/2 hour trip,figure train will be more comfortable. Also, if we can snag one of the reduced Renfe webfares, we'll pre-purchase, so by the time we arrive, we'll be committed to the train. If all else fails, we can go for more tapas & wine before heading for the train station. (I have not figured out how I'm going to handle 12 meals a day with wine and still wear my own clothes @ the end of this trip.)

kimhe

Perhaps make sure you stay in Granada on a Thursday night?

Then you could go for the performance at Peña Flamenca La Platería, the oldest exisiting flamenco club in Spain. In the Albaycín district close to the center and Plaza Nueva. This is the real deal, and you could be up for an excperience to remember for very long. Sometimes they also have performances on Saturday nights. The performances starts at 10.30pm and the entrance is only some 10-12€. Also a restaurant, make reservations ahead. http://www.laplateria.org.es/

One of the greatest up and coming flamenco dancers in the world today, Patricia Guerrero, literally grew up here, and the greatest local flamenco artists perform here on a regular basis. This clip gives you an idea of the place and the atmosphere. Here, the extremely popular singer Diana Navarro from Málaga performs. She is not a traditional flamenco singer, but she has a beautiful voice and are fully capable of creating magic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgPrfjinEgQ

burnhamski

Great tip, Kimhe p thank you. Haven't booked the hotels yet but tentative plan is to arrive by train about 9:30 on Thurs night, so the 10:30 show is possible. A bit late, but possible since you say it is not to me be missed, and we will most likely be in a hotel in the Albayzin. Will check the links you provided when I return home tomorrow.

kimhe

Here's a very young Patricia Guerrero in Peña la Platería more than 10 years ago. Like many Andalusian girls she started to dance from when she learned to walk. Her mother still teaches flamenco classes in Albaycín and today Patricia tours world stages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlMTSnQxgcc

burnhamski

Got back & checked links - terrific. Thanks so much for the suggestion to see whoever is performing @ Peña la Platería. Looks like it's a short walk from the hotel where we hope to stay, so should be possible. This is the kind of invaluable info available only from fodorites. Thank you!

So we arrive in Granada Thurs evening, flamenco, sleep, Alhambra Fri mornining, siesta Fri afternoon, Alhambra Fri night. Sounds like a week, not 24 hours! Also sounds great! Many thanks to all for sharing suggestions & experience.