I am back and hoping to gain from the experience of all of you travelers to Andalusia. 25th wedding anniversary trip ( albeit a bit early. This is when we can go.) . We have March 11-17 in Seville and Granada. The beginning and ending days are travel days so really only 5 days between the two, flying into Seville and out of Granada. I've always been particularly fascinated with the Alhambra and can't wait to see it, but everything I have read recommends more time in Seville. So here I am trying to split the time and figure out which hotels to choose. Hopefully you can guide me to a good decision as I notice some hotels in Granada are booked up already.

Our itinerary will probably look something like this unless I am persuaded otherwise.

March 11- arrive Seville 8:30 pm

March 14 or 15- early train to Granada. I believe I need to wait until 2 months out to book this and then I'll have the dubious pleasure of trying to use Renfe. Woo hoo. .

March 17- A.M. Flight out of Granada
Granada hotels I have read good things about

Palacio de Santa Paula
Casa Morsica
Casa 1800
Alhambra Palace
The Parador is showing as sold out for those dates as well as Carmen de la Alcubilla

We will probably only have time for the Alhambra and Albaicin (sp?), so which is going to have a terrific convenience factor and be a wonderful and provide restful sleep and have a warm and attentive staff? Not asking for too much am I?
Also open to other suggestions for Granada and Seville. I haven't really looked into that yet.
Thanks in advance

Suggest this
March 11, arrive Seville very late
March 12, Seville
March,13, day trip to Córdoba to see la Mezquita
March 14, Seville
March 15, early to Granada, afternoon free, night visit to the Alhambra
March 16, day time visit to Alhambra, rest of day free
March 17, depart

If you have your heart set on a night visit to the Alhambra, be mindful that they have limited night visits during that time of year--unless they alter their schedule (if memory serves, they only offer night visits on Friday and a Saturday nights until April 1).

My guess is that the hotels aren't fully booked; they're just not showing availability this far out. Also, the train line between Seville and Granada is currently under construction. You can still book through Renfe, but it will actually be a train/bus combo that Renfe arranges. Of course, I suppose they may complete the project by then (it's already behind schedule). You can also take a bus. Check out Alsa's website.

We were in Andalusia this past March. We enjoyed pleasant weather and the crowds were manageable.

Thank you sassafras for the tweak to the schedule. After much vacillating , we have decided to save Córdoba for another trip and hopefully we'll be back again. We never considered a daytrip though, so the pendulum swings back.

Indyhiker- I wondered about that. I had read someone else's post regarding part train, part bus trip. That seems like it would make the journey more of an all day affair. Perhaps we'll rent a car, but we do love taking the train. I'm also happy to hear that the weather and crowds cooperated for you.
There are a few posts regarding the night visits that I need to go back and read. I have some confusion regarding what exactly it is you are seeing. Some people mention the generalife, some people the palace and gardens. That's also another website that I am dreading a showdown with. I lose every time with temperamental sites.

Which hotels have the two of you stayed at and did you enjoy them?

The bus/train trip does not make it an all day affair; Renfe has it better coordinated than that. If you check Renfe's site, you can figure out how long the journey takes. I'm guessing between 3-4 hours. The bus may be similar. I'd compare the timetables and prices when it's time to book. If you're lucky, the high speed train route will be up and running.

For the night visit, you can either tour the generalife (gardens) or the Nasrid Palace. I'd prefer the Palace myself. But like I said, the tours are offered on limited nights in March per the current schedule. I think it's only Friday and Saturday. There's a lot of outdated info on the Alhambra out there; your best bet is to use only the official website.

We rented apartments in both cities, so I can't help you with hotels. We stayed in Santa Cruz in Sevilla and the Albaicin in Granada. I liked Santa Cruz well enough, but I would have preferred a different area in Granada. The parador would have been a really nice experience, at least for a night or two.

When I compare the Renfre trip time to the bus time it can be pretty comparable. Check both and choose the one that works best for you since the schedules differ (which affects both timing and travel duration), and the class of bus.

Thank you.
Indyhiker- What didn't you like about the Albaicin area. Was it just too far from everything? Did you feel unsafe? Did you just loathe the uphill trek to the Alhambra? Was there a dearth of delicious food available?

I have looked at the renfe site and completely missed the bus/train situation. I clearly need to take a closer look.

All of the above. I liked our apartment and the area during the day was lively enough. But after 7 or so, it became eerily deserted. I just felt uneasy at times. Much of it isn't well lit. The walk up and down was sort of a pain (we averaged 12 miles a day) at the end of the day/night. I just didn't connect with the area. I would stay in the area closer to the cathedral were I to return.

But I also wouldn't overthink this. The city is relatively small. Taxis and buses are easy to come by. No one location will be central to everything. I wish I hadn't agonized about where to stay in Seville and Granada as much as I did. I wish I'd focused more on the history of each place. That would have been time better spent -- for me at least.

The Renfe site doesn't really detail the train/bus transfer. You take the train to Antequera and then transfer to a waiting bus. Antequera's station is small; it'll be obvious where to go. The bus is comfortable. The journey takes about 3 1/2 hours and costs roughly 30 Euros.

With such a limited amount of time, you might consider giving Granada only 2 nights (and I say that even though I spent nearly 2.5 very busy, enjoyable days there). While in Sevilla I would strongly encourage you to take a day trip to Cordoba for the magnificent Mezquita (and other sites that interest you given your competing priorities for Sevilla).

While in Granada, I spent essentially a full day at the Alhambra – I got there shortly after it opened in the morning and stayed until it closed for the day at about 6 p.m.; I then had a quick bite and glass of wine and returned for the evening visit, which I believe was from 8 p.m. until about 10 p.m.

If you plan your trip so that you have more time in Granada than you want for the Alhambra, then I, personally, would make the Cathedral a higher priority than the Albaicin, with the exception of a stop at the Mirador St. Nicolas, preferably just before sunset. JMO. I enjoyed a stroll through the Albaicin, but that was enough for me. I stayed near the Cathedral in Granada, and was glad I did – lots of restaurants and cafés and interesting plazas, etc.

As indyhiker has suggested, I doubt that you will have the option to visit the Alhambra’s Generalife at that time of year, but even if it is, I would definitely make an evening visit to the Nasrid Palace a higher priority. During the day, you can visit the entire Alhambra, but you will do so with MANY others, so be prepared for crowds. In the evening, you can visit the magnificent Nasrid Palace (only) with just a few other visitors. When I was there, everyone who was there spoke very, very quietly, and I found it absolutely magical! I didn't need to learn about what I was seeing -- I had done that during the day. But I got to see this incredible palace with very different lighting, and to smell the flowering shrubs, and hear the fountains, and … well, I'm sure you get it.

BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break. Places like the Alhambra and Mezquita are not overly limited in access or particularly affected by these typical closing hours, but be sure to check anything you hope to make a priority.

In Sevilla, I stated at Las Casas de la Juderia, which still gets decent reviews.
http://www.lascasasdelajuderiasevilla.com

Hope that helps!

KJA- It sounds like you had a near perfect nighttime experience at the Palace, magical. I believe we hit the extended summer night visit extension absolutely perfectly. I think the daily availability begins March 15, so yay for us. I think I might kick myself if we missed that.

I also appreciate the hotel rec. I'll take a peek.

If your experience of the Nasrid Palace is anything like mine was, I think you’ll be glad to plan for it!

Cjar, we relied on info saying that the extended summer hours and night time schedule Egan on March 15 only to learn when we tried to book tickets that they had changed the start date to April 1. The only website that reflected that was the official website. There are any number of online sources that have outdated info. So before you rely on that March 15 date, double check the official site.

BTW, the official site is www.alhambra-patronata.es. I just checked that site, and it does say summer hours begin 4/1.

My impression is that the switch used to be in mid-March. I discovered this conflict last December when I tried to buy night tickets. At that point, even the official site had conflicting info (if you click on my name, you'll see a thread detailing my confusion and frustration). They've at least corrected the official site, but it would appear that many other sources are still wrong.

That said, if you're in Granada on 3/16 (a Friday), you should be able to book a night visit that night.

I also recommend to stay as long as possible in plain fantastic Sevilla until you'll do the grand Alhambra tour to Granada.

For a 25 year wedding anniversary it doesn't get any better than Alfonso XII in Sevilla, one of the finest hotels in the country and next door to both the cathedral/Giraldillo and the Real Alcázar.
https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/sta...nso.en-gb.html
http://www.hotel-alfonsoxiii-seville.com/

Apart from all the sights and experiences in the famous Santa Cruz district, I also recommend to go to the local atmosphere Triana district, right on the other side of the city river Guadalquivir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mFE9k0E-2Y&t=60s
http://azahar-sevilla.com/about-sevi...arrios/triana/
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/triana.htm

A fabulous food scene in Sevilla. Azahar has lived here for some 20 years and knows every little tapas bar in town. You could go on one of her tours or just let loose and go for the evening tapeo with the locals. http://azahar-sevilla.com/tapas-tours/tapas-tours/
http://azahar-sevilla.com/tapas-tours/gourmet/

El Rinconcillo from 1670 is the oldest tapas bar in town, a very special place: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletap...l-rinconcillo/

Bodea dos de Mayo is perhaps my favourite tapas bar in Sevilla: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...Andalucia.html

And here are all the 24 restaurants in Sevilla recommended in the Guía Repsol, the Spanish equvivalent to the Michelin guide. One restaurant in town with two "soles" (suns)and Three restaurants with one sol: https://www.guiarepsol.com/es/la-gui...locality=|6964

And Sevilla is a cradle of the flamenco culture so important for all of Andalucía. You can see the finest artis here all the time. I recommend Casa de la Memória or La Casa del flamenco as an introduction to this beautiful and powerful art. Only top of the shelf artists perform in these intimate venues. No food, no drinks, just 60 mins of flamenco and less than half the price of the tablaos (flamenco restaurants):
https://www.casadelamemoria.es/
http://www.lacasadelflamencosevilla.com/

Argh, make that www.alhambra-patronato.es. I really shouldn't type when I have insomnia.

Kimhe- I appreciate the hotel and tapas recommendations so much. As soon as I finish this response, I will be looking at all of those wonderful links. We love food tours or tapas hopping as it seems in this case, so I'm particularly interested in the tour with Azahar.

Indyhiker- You have saved me from the kind of frustration that induces hair pulling and tears. I will look at the "official" site. I actually thought I had found it, but apparently not.

We have narrowed hotel choices in Granada to

Casa Marisco- great consistent reviews. Is the area good /convenient?

Casa 1800- I really fell in love with the style and feel, but reviews are meh.

Palace Alhambra- many reviews say it is dated, but I love the idea of staying near the Alhambra since we are so short on time.

Palacio de Las Patos- Looks lovely ,but I'm flinching a bit at the price. It is our anniversary though so.....

Anyone have any thoughts on these?

Here's another hotel to add into the mix for Granada - the Hotel Guadelupe which is right opposite the main entrance to the Alhambra:

http://www.hotelguadalupe.es

As you will be spending so much of your time at the Alhambra it's a very convenient place to be, but it's also a very nice comfortable place to be with a good restaurant, big rooms and nice bathrooms. As for access to the rest of the town, it's an easy and interesting walk down into the centre, or you can catch a bus, some of which go all the way to the Albercin.

To get back up to the Hotel from the centre there are frequent buses from the square at the bottom of the hill.

I have recommended this hotel to several fodorites and have yet to have a complaint!

Thank you, annhig. I think you helped me out tremendously when we went to Italy for our 20th anniversary.

I know I'm really harping on hotels, but I find the right hotel adds to the overall experience of a place and the wrong one can make a stay challenging if it's in a less accessible or convenient area or if their staff is disinterested or the room is umm less than clean.

So thank you.

We managed to get a room at the Grenada parador after, on our first try, there was no availability. So try again. It's the perfect place from which to visit the Alhambra.

We also enjoyed a couple nights in Albaicin, at the Hotel Santa Isabel la Real. This is a charming, family-run hotel in an old Spanish/Moorish house built around a patio. Just outside the door is a bus stop for the bus into the center of town.

I really liked Granada; it's a relatively small city, not like Seville, which has a population of 700,000. However, Seville doesn't feel that big and most people, including my husband, are charmed by it.