Atop a hill overlooking Granada, in southern Spain, is the majestic and stunning Alhambra. Both fortress and palace, it has been home to kings and vagabonds. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is an awe inspiring blend of Moorish and Christian architecture and design.
Here’s a look inside.
If you’re planning a big trip, check out 10 Things To Bring On Every International Flight (And 3 Things Not To), By Train Or Plane Across Europe?, The Best Cellular Plan for Travelers, Why You Should Always Pack Light, What To Pack On An Around-The-World Adventure.
You need tickets. This I learned upon arrival to my hostel in Granada. No problem, I thought, I’ll buy a ticket. Yeah… not so much. They were fully booked a month out.
For people like me who find planning a trip more than a few days in advance a Bad Idea akin to over packing or staying in hotels, there were two options. The first option is to get up very early, and get in line at the main ticket gate around 6AM. The Alhambra holds 100 or so tickets each day to give out to early risers.
The other option is to hope there are cancellations. At the tourist information center downtown you can ask in person after 2:30. I lucked out here, there were a few cancellations for the next evening. Sold.
It’s a hike to get up to the fortress, as you could probably guess from the pictures. You can actually walk around the grounds for free, including the patio of the Palace of Charles V, a square building with a round interior visually quite different from the rest of the fortress (with good reason).
At the “front” of the fortress (closest to and facing town), is alcazaba, otherwise known as the citadel. It’s far less preserved than the rest of the Alhambra. Walking though the weatherworn walls feels like stepping back in time. Climb the foremost tower, and you can enjoy a view of the alcazaba, Granada, and the Sierra Nevadas in the distance.
With your entrance ticket, you’re given a specific time to tour the Nasrid Palaces. The beauty held behind those walls is what makes the visit so worthwhile.
The first rooms you enter are beautiful, but are but a fraction of what you’ll see.
These first rooms lead you to the Court of the Myrtles, an open-air courtyard with a pool fed by two fountains at either end. When the afternoon light hits it right, it has a tremendous warm glow. I have an even better version of the photo below on my Instagram (IG embeds are buggy).
The Salón de los Embajadores is directly off the Court. It’s the largest enclosed room in the Alhambra. In this room Isabel and Ferdinand gave Chris Columbus the OK to go “discover” the “new” world. It’s not a big room, but the ornate wall and ceiling work are mind blowing.
A short passage connects to the Patio de los Leones, Court of the Lions. It’s a tranquil space, the fountains bubbling and echoing against the stone.
The incredible archways and pillars are probably what you’ve seen in any picture of the Alhambra, or perhaps even this style of Moorish architecture.
Off the Court of the Lions is the Sala de las dos Hermanas, what I think is the most beautiful and impressive of all the rooms in the Alhambra. The ceiling looks carved from a single piece of stone, over what must have taken many stiff-necked artisans centuries.
That’s just how it looks, though (the entire palace took centuries to reach its current state, but the individual rooms didn’t). They’re in fact individual cells, around 5000.
After this room, you’re filed past a small garden and back out into the rest of the Alhambra… except I didn’t. I turned around. My ticket, you see, was for 5:30 to 8, and I’d taken my time. It was around 7:30. Even limiting how many people can enter at any one time, the Alhambra is packed with tourists.
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Morrison
Don’t let my photos deceive you: Photoshop and careful timing was involved. You’re always being blocked or jostled by massive oblivious tour groups. It’s frustrating, and disappointing in such an otherwise serene place.
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Morrison
That is, unless you wait. I sat down in the Court of the Myrtles and took some lovely sunset photos, and waiting for the last of the people to enter… and then exit. Then I had the place almost entirely to myself.
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Morrison
I apologized in Spanish (with a big dopy smile) to the cleaning crews as they swept and mopped, in preparation for the night tours to begin later. But for a few moments in each room, I could capture their beauty, minus los turistas. The photos you see throughout were captured mostly from those moments.
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Morrison
I’ve toured several amazing castles, and the Alhambra was certainly wonderfully different from most. The Moorish designs are tremendous artistry and craftsmanship.
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Morrison
It’s definitely worth seeing in person, but I’d recommend the off season, and if you can, the afternoon timeslot like I did.
