Hi, I'm new to Fodor's community and have seen a lot of good forums on Spain. I'm staying in Nerja and it's about 2.5 + hours one way to get to Granada. Do you think it's worth to spend 5-6 hours of travel just to see Alahambra? I'm not going to have time to do anything else this day - there are limited buses and I need to work it out with the ticket time for Alahambra. Do you think that seeing Mesquita and Alkazar in Seville would give me an idea of what Alahambra is? Do you know if there are organized tours to Alahambra from Nerja/Malaga so that I will not waiste time with public transportation?

Whether it is worth it for you - I don't think anyone can answer it for you. Are you going to return to Spain anytime soon? Are you going to regret not seeing the Alhambra on this trip?

For me, seeing the Alhambra alone was worth going to Spain, even if I didn't see anything else. But others may disagree.

The Alcazar in Seville has some resemblance to the Alhambra, but much smaller in scale.

Not sure which Mezquita you're talking about in Seville. Did you mean to say the Mezquita in Cordoba? That Mezquita is very different in style.

I guess some questions can only be answered by the person doing the travelilng.
It is not difficult to see pictures, and read about the Cordoba MEzquita and the Alhambra. Two totally different things. For me is I had to choose I would go to Granada. But as I say it is a personal choice.

Often posted "worth" question cannot be answered except by you.

I have been to Alhambra, Mezquita in Cordoba, and Alcazar in Sevilla. If I were to drop a destination, I would drop Alcazar from the list.

Alhambra is one of a kind. I spent total 6 hrs over two visit, one at night and one during the day.

Mezquita in Cordoba is fascinating in a way a Mosque and a Cathedral were merged harmoniously in an enormous structure. This I thought was very unique.

The Alacazar in Sevilla, felt like yet another Alcazar in other cities. The palace and garden combination, while well kept and extensive, did not standout of something compelling enough to make a special trip.

I was glad we saw Alhambra ( Nasrid palace was lovely at night), but
the whole experience was a bit underwhelming.

Here is my personal ranking:

1. Alhambra.
2. Mesquita.
3. Sevilla.

What I would do if I had just one day (the drives are leisurely and quite scenic):

- Driving from Nerja to Cordoba (2:30).
- From Cordoba to Granada (2:30).
- From Granada back to Nerja (1:30).

If this is too much driving, skip Cordoba. BTW, the drive from Nerja to Granada is 1:30 only.

In any case, reserve your ticket to the Alhambra ASAP.
www.alhambratickets.com

Just returned Sunday from Spain.

We were supposed to get to Cordoba for the Mesquita but dropped it from our itinerary in favor of a few beach days so I can't rank it against the others.

We spent 2 nights in Granada to see Alhambra both at night and during the day. Our whole family agreed Granada wasn't worth a stop, but Alhambra itself was worth a major detour. We saw it at night and during the day. Pretty, pretty good as Larry David would say. I wish I had sprung for the Parador there as it is charming and right on site. If you like architecture, history, or gardens you can spend a day here at least. The night visit is very romantic and beautiful and only open to 400 tickets versus 6000 day tickets. Leave yourself at least an hour before your timeslot at night as it's not well-marked as to where to pick up the tickets and such and many people almost missed their timeslot (including us) as the ticket office is quite a long unmarked walk from the entrance to the night exhibit.

Just so you know, the lion fountain is currently under renovation

I frankly was underwhelmed with Seville in general - just not what I expected I guess, but did really enjoy the Alcazar and also the Belle Artes museum. It was not Alhambra, but the gardens at Alcazar were pretty amazing and I could have stayed all day wandering here. Also there were some pretty amazing ceilings in the palace and having just spent a week in Morocco and the 2 days at Alhambra just added to the experience for me. My family was pretty set after about 1.5 hours. Well, teenagers and husbands aren't usually into gardens...

I enjoyed our time in Ronda as well and found the scenery around the town pretty breathtaking. The city itself can be seen in a few hours but the gorge and bridge and surrounding hillsides are what made this town for me. Skip the mine garden and museum ... it's pretty rundown and the mines were unlit and unguided and therefore a bit of a ripoff...

Well, if you have further questions I 'd be happy to help.

I'd love to hear about Nerja and Cordoba if you get there!

(We spent our beach days in Marbella and there actually was a very nice old town there and we saw an excellent flamenco show at a charming little spot called Santa Ana Flamenco - it's up the hill by the church and the only show in this town. My husband and daughter had been to flamenco in Madrid and said this show was infinitely better.)

gruezi

I guess I didn't answer the question!

YES! go to Alhambra or you will definitely have missed something.

g.

Hi gruezi I am glad you liked Sevilla which I always found a fascinating city. Of course it is almost imopossible for me to compare a CIty as Sevilla, with the Alhambra.
The point I believe that Lovvetotravel has made is where to go, I would choose La Alhambra in Granada. It takes in my opinion several hours to appreciate and if you can go at night too much the better. Seville a city full of life and great landmarks is another story and I would recommend several days to visit it.

If you do not have the time to see it properly and without exhaustion and can conceive of returning to Spain one day, then I see nothing wrong with skipping it.
I imagine there is an organized tour you can take.
La Mezquita is a really unique experience--and Cordoba is underrated imo. The Alcazar is probably not as dramatic as Alhambra, but it certainly interesting. It all boils down to: Only you can decide this.

I do think that the Alhambra is worth the time/effort.

Years ago, my family stayed in Nerja for a week and my mother took an organised day-trip to Granada and the Alhambra from there.

I had a look on Google and found this:
http://www.eclipsevacations.com/gran...cia_tours.html

I'm pretty sure there must be other companies offering day trips to Granada as well - I would think that your hotel or a local tour operator in Nerja would probably be able to provide you with more info.

the local travel agencies in nerja can fill you in on all the tours available.

i can´t imagine being that close and not going.

take a book and relax at parador´s restaurant or on the terrace if you are one of the lucky ones to get a table.

if you have time to go to the cathedral, do go into the king and queen of spain´s crypt to see their amazing alabaster tombs for the whole family. This is ferdinand and isabel and the children.

very very impressive.

graziella,

maybe I wasn't clear, we <i>didn't</i> love Seville, in fact left 2 days early. We did love Alhambra and I recommended that Lovetotravel definitely go there...

gruezi

Thank you all for your advise.
I certainly want to try to make Alahambra tour. Could you please comment on my plan. May be I can adjust to have a little more time to relax and visit the best places.
- Arrive Barcelona on Friday. One of the days may be visit Dali museum.
- Monday afternoon flight to Madrid, evening in Madrid
- Tuesday - visit Prado and relax - may be royal palace if have time
- Wednesday - day trip to Toledo
- Thursday - travel to Seville via Cordoba. Spend a day in Cordoba seeing Mesquita and walk around. Sleep in Sevilla
- Friday - a minibus tour (local guide Paul M) to Andalusia white towns
- Saturday - walking tour of Sevilla and Alkazar, see Flamenco show
- Sunday - morning bus to Nerja. Sleep in Nerja
- Monday - day to go to Alahambra???
- Tuesday - relax, see caves in Nerja
- Wednesday - fly out of Malaga
I've seen the bus tour to Alahambra from Nerja - thanks for the link. It's a bit much - includes more than I want to see. I know it would be much easier if we rent a car, but my husband does not want to do it this time. Barcelona - Madrid part is set, but the rest can be adjusted. Please comment. I'm not sure if I plan to return to Spain in any near future.

I travelled from the other side of the world to visit the Alhambra. (and Cordoba)

And then I came back again to see Sevilla.

Absolutely all worth it!

you'll be spending a lot of time on trains, in bus stations, and checking in and out of hotels.
Each time you move you lose half a day!
Barcelona and Madrid are large cities with wonderful art, history, food....
Too bad you will spend less than 2 days in each.
Some others here do the same: 10 cities in 12 days - seems rushed to me .

Obviously different strokes for different folks. We love Seville, have been on 4 - 5 different occasions, including an initial 2 week trip. We now live in Spain so it is relatively easy for us to go back but I cannot imagine ever getting tired of it.

On the Alcazar, Mezquita and Alhambra question - to me they are all very different and all worthwhile and wonderful in their own way. As are Seville, Cordoba and Granada - and yes I agree Cordoba is under rated by many. But it seems many people go to these places just to see these major sites -rather than soak up the cities - which is more what we do.

But as most others have pointed out - only you can decide.

We just got back from Spain and didn't go to Granada or Cordoba. I have been to both places, think they're both wonderful and beautiful. However, I was planning a trip with a few other people and they made it clear that they'd rather have a bit more leisurely paced time, with room to make a few plans on the fly. With that in mind, it didn't seem reasonable to get the tickets in advance as I heard it would be necessary for the Alahambra. I agree with a prior post, there is so much more to Spain than looking at big beautiful buildings and gardens. I would err on the side of staying somewhere for a bit longer and getting to know other parts of what the city has to offer. I have spent quite a bit of time in Sevilla, including going to school there, so we took the time to get into that city a bit more. The Alcazar and cathedral were both great buildings/grounds to tour, but in the end we appreciated the great experiences in the bars, restaurants, and streets more than anything. You can't do that if you're scrambling from one building or garden to the next.

Sorry, Gruezi, that I misunderstood you. May be next time you find the key to enjoy Seville.
I am with Kymeril , I love the way everyday life develops in Seville, however I consider the Alhambra and the Mesquite both extraordinary and more than mere buildings. We have visited both several times and I would go again. I agree too that one has to be careful not to include too many visits to landmarks and forget the &quot;soul &quot; of a city or place. But each of us is different and we care for different things, answering the question of Lovetotravel I do not think that seeing the Mesquite and Alcazar would give any idea of what the Alhambra is. ...nor vice versa.

Thanks guys... I realized that I do want to see Alhambra. So I'm going to try to make it on my way from Sevilla to Nerja.