We will be visiting Spain in December and I know that there are advantages in booking some places in advance (e.g. the Alhambra). We will visit Madrid and Andalusia. Which popular sights are we best booking in advance? Last time I was there, not only was it not necessary to book in advance, it wasn't even possible.

Secondly, if we take trains from town to town which are only a short-ish journey (e.g. Seville to Jerez, Ronda to Granada) is it best to book in advance?

Thank you.

AFAIK only the Alhambra has to be booked in advance, some days sell out months in advance.

We were travelling in May(2011) and we could easily get in to any other site purchasing tickets on the spot.

Same for short distance trains and buses. Makes no sense to book in advance, price is the same. Trains are not popular(except the long distance high-speed trains), because most locals drive or take the bus, and all the trains we took had plenty of free seats.

dreamon,
If you plan to visit Sevilla's Real Alcázar and especially if you want to tour the Royal Family's Apartments (the Cuarto Real Alto), open only in the morning, via an obligatory audio guided tour accompanied by a guard, you should book in advance.
The tickets for the Royal Apartments visit do sell out.
Access to the Royal Apartments is limited to a 10-visitor per time slot. These visits are given only in the mornings, from 10 am-1:30 pm in half-hour intervals.
And when we visited in November, the lines by mid-morning to secure tickets to the Alcázar itself were quite long.

Ditto to the Cathedral lines.
But if you don't want to book in advance for the Cathedral and you find the line for purchasing tickets there quite long, as it sometimes is, you can first visit the Iglesia Colegio del Salvador at 11 am and purchase there a joint ticket for this (quite magnificent) church + the cathedral.
You don’t have to visit both monuments on the same day, and this joint ticket is valid for one week.

Also in November we didn't purchase advance tickets for the short distance MD train from Sevilla to Jerez, but the Jerez to Sevilla MD that we wanted to take for our same day return was sold out, for some reason. *We just took a later return train.

I haven't lately taken the 2 hour, 30-minute MD that runs from Ronda to Granada. There are only 3 departures a day on that line. *But I don't think you'll need to purchase them ahead of time.
*

no, I don't see any reason why you'd book short train journeys in advance. Some are just regular trains,I think (like Seville to Cordoba, you don't have to take an AVE). I took the bus to Jerez, not sure why, maybe I just thought it seemed simpler (the bus station wasn't far from my hotel) and was cheaper. They go to about the same place in Jerez, near Retiro park, and the bus only takes about 15 minutes more.

Thank you so much for all that information. We'll definitely book the Alhambra and look into tickets for the Alcazar in Seville. Thanks for the tip, Maribel, about the cathedral. It would be nicer to not have to have everything super organised and just decide when where there what we want to see that day. I'll check the bus as alternative to the train to Jerez, too. I think for the journey from Ronda to Granada, that there is one that leaves early afternoon (but I think may involve a bus for one section of it).

Is it necessary to book tickets in advance for the Prado in Madrid?

I'm travelling with my daughter who is a university student and who will have an ISIC card. Is this generally recognised in Spain for discounts?

dreamon,
Bus versus train fro Sevilla to Jerez:
The bus from Sevilla to Jerez is run by Autobuses Comes. The bus ride takes 1 hr. 15 min, the fare is 9 euros and the buses leave from Sevilla's Prado de San Sebastián bus station, which may (or may not) sit closer to your hotel (apartment). The bus arrives in Jerez at the bus station close to the train station.
TRANSPORTES GENERALES COMES

The Seville-Jerez train is the MD, the ride takes around 1 hour and costs 11.50 euros. These MD trains leave from Santa Justa station (the AVE station) and make a stop at the San Bernardo station. You can take the tram (metro) from the Avenida de la Constitución stop (near the Cathedral-convenient to many hotels) to San Bernardo, which is what we do. Single metro ticket costs 1.35 and you purchase at the machine. (This is very easy). There are a couple of slightly faster Alvia trains that daily run that route but costs more.
Renfe

I don't usually book tickets in advance for the Prado unless there is a "blockbuster" special exhibit I want to see that I think will bring in huge crowds, like the current Velázquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer (it closes 9/29) . Or in July/August when I don't want spend even a moment standing in line in 100 degree temperatures.
In December I don't see one of those very special exhibits scheduled. But I do get there about 15 min before opening time.

For Ronda-Granada there's a 1:15 MD train arriving at 3:50. MD trains have only one class of service.

In the past, in my experience traveling with students, the ISIC card has generally been accepted.
Hope this helps.
*

I forgot to add that my Renfe app says that there is no longer a replacement bus on the Ronda-Granada route.

It certainly does help, Maribel, very much appreciated.

Can I ask, is there a preferred time slot for the Nasrid palace which allows us to maximise our time at the Alhambra, or doesn't it matter a great deal? Thank you.

dreamon,
It really depends on personal preferences.
Since we don't mind getting up early, we like to be at the Nasrid Palace doors a bit before 8:30 am for the first timed entrance slot.
2 reasons: in summer it's cooler at that time of the day to do an Alhambra tour, and also we get a bit more breathing room in the small palace rooms to walk around/photograph before the crowds get thicker, although entrance to the Nasrid Palace is capacity controlled. With the 8:30 time slot one can enter at any time between 8:30 and 8:59. Guards tend to be strict about this.

Afterwards, we head to the Alcazaba, then to Generalife Gardens where it's cooler, then back down to finish up inside the Renaissance Palace of Charles V, where the excellent Museum of the Alhambra is housed, filled with Islamic Art. We take a coffee/snack break inside the Parador de San Francisco at the downstairs bar.

We tend to do our "heavy" monument/museum touring in the morning when we're fresh. The afternoons we save for other lighter sightseeing or strolling around the city photographing or activities that don't require as much concentration. But that's just our personal preference.
Some may prefer an afternoon Nasrid Palace entrance. In Dec. it closes at 6 pm.

In the afternoon we visit the Fundación Rodríguez Acosta with beautiful gardens and statuary, sitting on the hill below the Alhambra, and we then explore downtown: Cathedral, Capilla Real, Monasterio de San Jerónimo or take a late afternoon walk through the former Arab quarter, the Albayzín, maybe stopping at the Casa Museo Max Moreau there (free entrance).

We also like to visit the special exhibits in the Centro José Guerrero downtown (contemporary art). I see that from 4/10-12/1 there will be a special exhibit of his paintings and those of Abstract Expressionist Esteban Vicente, from his excellent museum in Segovia. He was a contemporary of Rothko/Pollock and a naturalized American citizen.

Just some ideas.

Paseo del Arte ticket in Madrid ... "The Paseo del Arte pass allows you to visit three of Madrid’s best museums and is valid for one year after purchase. With this pass, you can visit three of the best museums in Madrid with a single ticket: the Museo del Prado, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia..."
https://www.musement.com/us/madrid/p...o-museum-2452/

Maribel, that sounds like a perfect few days. Thank you for those suggestions and about the timing. I visited Cordoba 25 years ago and particularly remember our visit to Museo Julio Romero de Torres, which I loved and plan to return to on this holiday. I often find I enjoy the smaller museums and galleries as much as the big ones.

maitaitom, thanks for the information about the museum pass.

It's very easy to see that we could easily fill much, much more time than we'll have available.

@ Maribel: I haven't seen any posts from Robert for a while. I hope he's well!

@ dreamon: Sorry for the off-topic comment.

Hi kja,
He's fine, just busy.
Thanks for asking, you're very kind! Actually not only kind, but your my kind of great traveler and thoughtful poster! Love, love, love your trip reports!

@ Maribel: I'm glad to hear that he is well! Many thanks for the unexpected compliments.

Hi kja.
Grammar alert!
I meant "you're my kind of .." but same sentiments anyway!
I've saved your wonderful and detailed trip report on southeastern France for our future visit. Keep them coming..they're terrific!

@ Maribel: I assumed it was an auto-correct problem. And thanks again.