Hello,

Going to Grenada in late August while touring around Southern Spain. We will be staying at Hotel America within the grounds of the Alhambra. I'm trying to decide between the day tour and the night tour to Alhambra (or both?!). From what I've seen, the night tour is fantastic, but I want to make sure we don't miss anything by not going in the daytime. As our hotel is situated within the Alhambra, I'm thinking that we can wander around the free areas whenever we want, since we're already in the complex... and then visiting the Nasrid palace during the night is similar to visiting during the day (as it's inside). I can't find enough info online to confirm my assumptions.

Is this all correct? Or is it worth it for us to do the night visit and the day visit given the location of our hotel?

Thanks in advance!
Lauren

Night visit restricts you to Nasrid Palace for 90 min. Other ticketed areas, the Alcazar and the Generalife, aren't included and you cannot just wander in during the day without a ticket. It would be a pity to miss those two, as they display different aspects of Alhambra from the Nasrid. So don't miss your day visit, and if a choice has to be made, I'd drop the night visit. Non-ticketed parts of the complex include Charles V Palace, the churches and Arab baths.
Read Maribel's guide for full explnation of various ticket options:
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_granada.pdf

I visited Granada in 2005. Personally, I would recommend both the day and night visit. As noted, you need to visit during the day to see the entire complex as the whole thing is not open at night. When I went for the night visit (October), the place was very empty so you had a large area to yourself. The tour itself was ok, but the better reason to go is just wandering around in the quiet.

We stayed at the Parador - right beside the America. As above, at night you can only walk the street down to the main 'square' (the area between the Charles V & the fort). It is atmospheric but the fort, Charles V & Generalife are all closed with the Nasrid open for ticketed night tours.

Ian

Thanks to all three of you for your excellent answers! We will definitely do a day visit, and perhaps the night one too.

hi gulch,

ditto what pittsburgh says - do both. we had booked our day tickets in advance, but when we got there, it was such a lovely night we decided to try to see it then as well. How glad we were - it's quite magical, and they allow far fewer people into the palaces than they do in the daytime. and in August, the gardens at night will be more visible than they were in November when we went.

the day-time visit, you get to see more of the overall site, and the generalife, but there are more people. going at both times will help you appreciate it as much as possible.

regards, ann