I am planning to visit the Alhambra in Granada this November. We will arrive in Granada in the evening and spend that night and the next at a Hotel in Granada probably near the Plaza Nueva. We are dropping off a car when we arrive in Granada.<BR><BR>Should we take the guided tour or do it ourselves? I know there were some suggestions earlier and a discussion of how to get tickets. The Alhambra web site looks like a pretty easy way to buy tickets.<BR><BR>Any suggestions as always appreciated.<BR><BR>

Harvey, I was there in May and you can book your tickets through the banks there (BBV?)to get a set time to enter. I am sure the website you found is just as easy. When I was there most time slots were full so I had to take the guided tour and I am so glad I did. They pick you up at your hotel and the cost is $33 per person. I got much more info from the tour then going on my own. I would suggest the Reina Christina for an inexpensive hotel that is in the center of town. Very lovely but not plush so it depends on your needs.

Thanks for your reply Deb. Anyone else?

OK. The guided tour starts at 10. They pick you up at your hotel at 9:30. Other posters say that you should see the Palacios Nazaries at the earliest entry which is 8:30 before the tours begin. Anyone have an opinion? <BR><BR>Also if you took the guided tour which last about three hours, could you leave and come back or if you got an early time could you leave and come back? From what I can see on the web sites probably not.

I am topping this one more time in hope of a reply. Reserving Alhambra tickets is the last arrangement I need to make for my trip which is a little more than a month. Thanks to many for the help.

We didn't join the guided tour. It just preference. We bought our tickets a month before hand by phoning the BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) telephone banking who handle the tickets selling. We then picked them up at the gate on the day of our visit with a passport (the purchaser's). Our time to the Nasrid palace was at 9:30am and we found ourselves among many tour groups. We got inside the Alhambra at around 8:30am and other parts of the alhambra were pretty empty. We were at the Alcazabar first.<BR><BR>There is a short walk from the gate to the Nasrid Palace. I am not sure how long it took us to get there but we had plenty of time to walk around before entering the palace. You need to get inside the palace within half an hour of the time slot. The gate opens at 8:30am. That was the time when we visited there but don't know if it changes in the fall. www.alhambra.org has some info.<BR><BR>I remember there are re-entry restrictions at certain sites. The Nasrid Palace is probably one. Hold on to your tickets.<BR><BR>We also found that the free map we got from the entrance wasn't very helpful at all. We had the Rough Guide instead(sorry, Fodors).<BR><BR>There are no full service restaurant inside the Alhambra. There is a vending machine by the washrooms and a hut selling beaverage.<BR><BR>Driving in the Albaicin in Granada would be quite a challenge for those who are used to North American roads. We stayed at the Palacio des Santa Ines which is less than 5 mins walk from Plaza Nueva where we took the minibus to the Alhambra. (ok, 7 mins for a really relaxing stroll)<BR><BR>Hope you have a great time. The Alhambra is so beautiful. We just wondered around the Generalife (the gardens) after visiting the palace and found so many beautiful spots.

I would HIGHLY recommend getting a guided tour. I knew just about nothing about the Alhambra before I went (less than a month ago) - and just learned heaps from our guide. Even if you do research on the Alhambra before you go - there are still little details, while not major, are still interesting to learn about. Especially from a country where you have to be licensed to be a tour guide and it is considered a profession.

I've just returned from my visit to the Alhambra and wish I would've had a guided tour. It was gorgeous but overwhelming. I'm not sure what I saw! I did, however, pick up a very nice photo book in the bookstore and plan to enjoy the memories of my visit while learning more about the place. <BR><BR>Next time I will take a guided tour and also arrange to begin early in the morning before the crowds gather. There are two hotels on the property and I think it would be nice to stay right there so you can spend some more leisurely time in the gardens, etc. <BR><BR>Enjoy!

Can someone give me more information about two hotels which are located right in Alhambra that Elizabeth mentioned?

We opted to tour by ourselves and got an 8:30 entry. I think a guided tour would be good also but we followed the mini-tour in Rick Steves Spain. There is so much to see and the seeing is in the architectural detail that I don't see much advantage in a guided tour and besides they start about 10:00 (they pick you up at Hotel at 9:30 I believe. We spent about 3 hours touring the main palacio and another two on the fort and gardens. So about 2 we were ready to take a taxi back to our hotel. Right by the taxi stand we found a very nice restaurant were we had a leisurly lunch. I would recommend it very highly. It is on the same side of the road as the Alhambra exit. I can't find the name right now but if you email me I will reply. I will also post it somewhere along with another restaurant near the Reina Sofia in Madrid. The two hotels on the grounds are the Paradore which is very expensive but supposed to be worth it and the American Hotel which has gotten mixed reviews on this site. There is also the Washington Irving which is inexpensive and gotten mixed/bad reviews on this site.

Harvey,<BR>How did you end up getting your tickets -- did you call Spain? I tried the other day but the woman didn't speak any English. Not sure what to do now, since I don't want to use my credit card on an unsecure website. Was it very crowded when you were there? Maybe I'll just wait until I arrive in Spain in early Feb.

<BR>Liza,<BR>Hotel America. 13 rooms, between the Ahambra Parador and the palace. Lovely place with a nice restaurant (just for lunch!). Funny and helpful owner, Manuel. We enjoyed our stay there right in the heart of Alhambra.<BR>AA

For Laura<BR>Reservations can be made at the nearly 4000 branches of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in Spain and at their Paris, London, Milan and New York offices.<BR><BR>Anyone knows the address and telephone number of New York office?

BBVA office at New York doesn't sell Alhambra tickets anymore. At least that's what I was told when I called them about a month back. So I bought it online at www.alhambratickets.com.

I can reaffirm that the BBVA branch in Manhattan on Avenue of the Americas doesn't take reservations, because I just called them this morning. They will just offer to give you the phone # in Madrid or tell you to purchase on the web.

Lisa,<BR>About the Alhambra hill hotels:<BR>There are 3 that we've enjoyed, each totally different and for different budgets as well.<BR><BR>We've also found the tiny 14 rm. Hotel America, on the Alhambra grounds, the one that AA has described (hi AA!), to be quaint, charming in its simplicity, a good value, and the owner, who speaks very good English quite amusing and welcoming. We stayed there with 2 other couples who felt the same. Although the rooms are petite, they're nicely decorated with hand woven bedspreads and curtains, very &quot;granadino&quot; in style. The downstairs sitting room is chock full of bric-a-brac: ceramics, paintings, plants. It's much like staying in a private home. There's a nice Andalusian geranium-festooned patio for light lunches (not gourmet, just home-cooking with nice salads, omeletes, etc.). This is where we stop to have lunch and rest after touring, after 2:30 when it's not so busy, even if we're not staying there.<BR> <BR>Our choice last time was the far larger and more deluxe 4 star Alhambra Palace (red rating for charm in the Michelin guide), a 1910 pink pseudo Moorish castle/fortress looking building complete with turrets, a short (10 min.?) walk from the Alhambra entrance. We like the valet parking, the friendly, efficient concierge desk, the ATM, the extravagantly decorated, &quot;nuevo-Mud&eacute;jar&quot; public rooms (mimicking the ornate style of the Nasrid Palace), the pretty views from the outdoor terrace, r.service, the copious buffet breakfast, even the fixed price dinners are fine, and they have occasional concerts in the parlors (Andr&eacute;s Segovia gave his first concert here), and there's a Loewe boutique for luxury leather purchases to tempt you. But rates have risen. We last paid 130 euros, and now I've seen rates of 150, even 170 over the holiday season. Best rms are those facing the back with balconies over the city.<BR><BR>Our splurge this spring will be the Parador, which sits right above the America, also on the Alhambra grounds. A former 15th c convent, it's steeped with history, and evening dining on the terrace, serenaded by classical guitar, with views of the Generalife, is magical moment to be forever rememberd. The bedrooms are simply decorated with heavy Castilian furniture, in keeping with its convent past, and are in 2 wings, a few have terraces, and tariffs are uniform throughout the year, 208 euros in '03. I booked our room for April long ago, as it's the most popular Parador, and it's not unusual for it to be completely booked 6-9 months in advance, particularly in high season. <BR><BR>There are other options on the Alhambra hill. Friends have stayed in the Guadalupe (inexp.), across from the Alhambra parking lots , we stayed long ago with teens in tow at the next door Alixares (pool but extremely thin walls!) I find the Washing Irving not well cared for (they don't bother to fix their sign, the letters have been askew for yrs), and honestly, rather dark and grim.<BR>Hope this helps.

Thanks for the update. Now I know I need to buy those tickets on line. <BR>When are you all going? how about getting together for lunch when there. My treat if under 10 people.

I bought tickets through the internet ahead of time for the first entrance time. Then I bought the audio-tour just inside the entrance. With my Rick Steves books and the audio tour it was perfect. I could stop, reply information on the audiotape, and go at my own pace without having to follow a large group. In addition, I was able to get some great photographs without any people since we had the first entrance and were not hampered with a group.<BR><BR>This was the perfect way to visit for me!