cathy16

We are planning to visit Alhambra on Tuesday, May 28. Right now there are many ticket options for the Nasrid Palace. I'm curious which would be the best ticket time, considering the weather and busy time of year.

Currently, I am thinking of a 12:30pm ticket. The plan would be to have breakfast in town and take the the C32 bus from Plaza Isabel la Catolica to the Justice Gate entrance, arriving around 10-10:30am. We would see the Alcazaba and Carlos V Palace, then enter the Nasrid Palace. We would then continue to the Generalife and exit from there.

How does that plan sound? Does it provide enough time to see the Alcazaba and Carlos V Palace before the Nasrid timed entrance?

Any suggestions on places to eat lunch after visiting Alhambra?

Melnq8

We were advised to go as early as possible, so we booked tickets for 8:30 am. It got very busy (this in late October) as the day progressed. I'm glad we went early. It was a pretty full day, and we barely scratched the surface.

Maribel

I think that advice could have been mine,
For me, going as early as possible, meant that we were able to enter the Nasrid Palace rooms with relatively few crowds, and it made photography so much easier, as Mel's lovely photographs of the Patio de Leones prove (see her TR), a testament to that strategy, photos void of crowds. The Nasrid Palace, and the Alhambra complex itself, does get very busy these days when the bus tours arrive around 11. With the huge onslaught of visitors to Spain and to Granada specifically and to its Alhambra these days, it really pays to be an "early bird", ime.

I actually would advise you to do the Nasrid Palace first, simply because you won´t have to worry, fret, about making your timed entrance hour at the Nasrid Palace (the guards are strict about this), as you see other parts of the Alhambra. For me it has always been Nasrid Palace with fewer crowds, then Generalife, a logical progression, then Alcazaba fortress (not many crowds), then Palace of Carlos V, where your ticket will not be scanned and inside there is a lovely Museo de la Alhambra, with Hispano-Arabic treasures.

My usual lunch spot is the restaurant of the Parador, inside the grounds, at the top end of Calle Real. One can reserve a table online, and one should if you want to go there.
My runner up is the inside courtyard of the little Hotel América, also inside the grounds, on Calle Real on the way to the Parador. They serve nice salads and light fare in a pretty setting. The other dining spots on the Alhambra hill to me are just so..so and I'd rather eat downtown than eat at the other Alhambra hill dining spots.

maitaitom

When we visited in 2015, we arrived at 9am and booked the 11am Nasrid Palace visit. Worked out great. Able to see a lot before, and a lot after. Below is link to my day and night tour trip report of the Alhambra, which we did on the same day. Lots of photos, too.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...mbra-by-night/

cathy16

Very helpful insights, thank you. I enjoyed reading both of your trip reports, Melnq8 and maitaitom. It seems that even though you were there very early, there were still many crowds to contend with. It seems the best plan is to see the Nasrid Palace first. I'll see if I can convince my parents to an early morning. Perhaps a taxi ride instead of the bus will help us get there earlier.

Maribel

cathy16,
The early morning is tough for some (the last time we missed breakfast at our B&B just to do this), but the first entrance to the Nasrid Palace did award us with some nice photos, like Mel's, without contending with all the selfie sticks and Instagram posing---fewer crowds in these narrow rooms--, but your parents may prefer to go later. In any case, I would do the Nasrid Palace first.