The Alhambra receives 8,500 visitors a day, and the first ticket, the 8.30am slot for the Nasrid Palaces, is the one you want: the dawn light on the stucco of the Mexuar, the Court of the Myrtles reflected in the pool before the first selfie stick enters the frame, and the Hall of the Ambassadors, the throne room of the Nasrid sultans, the ceiling a wooden vault of 8,017 pieces representing the seven heavens of Islamic cosmology, in the silence of the morning. By 10am, the palace is a river of tour groups and flag-waving guides, and the experience is different: still magnificent, still essential, and no longer a private conversation between you and the most beautiful building in Europe. The 8.30am ticket, the November or February visit (the queues are shorter, the light is softer, and the sky over the Sierra Nevada, snow-capped from November to May, is the colour of a faded postcard), and the realisation that you are standing in the last and greatest palace of al-Andalus, the Islamic civilisation of Spain that endured for 781 years and vanished in the snow of the Sierra Nevada when the last Sultan, Boabdil, surrendered the keys of the Alhambra to Ferdinand and Isabella on the 2nd of January 1492. Here is your travel guide to Granada.

Granada, Essential Guide

• The Alhambra, the essential strategy: The Alhambra is a complex: the Nasrid Palaces (the heart, the Court of the Lions, the Hall of the Two Sisters, the ceaseless, intricate, mathematically perfect stucco that makes the stone walls look like lace), the Generalife (the summer palace and gardens, the water channels, the roses, and the view of the Alhambra from the Generalife, the red walls, the towers, and the Sierra Nevada behind, that is the most beautiful view in Granada), and the Alcazaba (the fortress, the oldest part of the complex, the 13th-century watchtowers, the view of the Albaicín, the old Arab quarter of the city). Tickets: ~€19, and they sell out weeks in advance for the peak seasons. Book online at the official website (tickets.alhambra-patronato.es) the moment your travel dates are confirmed. If the Nasrid Palaces are sold out, the Dobla de Oro ticket (~€27) includes the additional Andalusian monuments of the Albaicín and is the essential alternative, the experience is almost as good for the overall visit, and the additional monuments (the Bañuelo, the 11th-century Arab baths, the Dar al-Horra palace) are beautiful. The essential alternative: the Alhambra at night (the “Visita Nocturna”, the Nasrid Palaces lit, the crowds much thinner, the atmosphere intimate and eerie and almost unbearably romantic. ~€8 for the night ticket. Book separately from the day ticket). More Spain →
• The Albaicín, the Arab quarter: The Albaicín is the old Arab quarter, a maze of cobbled streets, whitewashed houses, and cármenes (the traditional Granada houses with walled gardens, the fountains, the cypresses). The essential Albaicín experience: the walk from the Plaza Nueva up the Carrera del Darro (the most beautiful street in Granada, the river on one side, the Alhambra towering on the opposite bank, the 11th-century Arab bridge, and the Bañuelo, the Arab baths, the oldest and best-preserved in Spain. ~€3), to the Mirador de San Nicolás (the viewpoint at the top of the Albaicín, the Alhambra, the Sierra Nevada, and the vega, the plain, of Granada spread below. The sunset, the guitarists, the crowds, the view, is the essential Granada experience. Go early, claim your spot on the wall, and wait. The sunset is worth every minute of the anticipation). The Albaicín walk takes about 2 hours (uphill, the cobbles are uneven, wear good shoes), and the reward, the view, the streets, and the sense of walking through a city that was Arab for 600 years and has never forgotten, is the best free experience in Granada
• The Capilla Real, the Catholic Monarchs: In the centre of Granada, beside the cathedral, the Capilla Real, the Royal Chapel, contains the marble tombs of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs who completed the Reconquista, expelled the Jews and the Muslims from Spain, and commissioned the first voyage of Christopher Columbus. The tombs are magnificent, the crypt below (the simple lead coffins of the monarchs, their daughter Joanna the Mad, and her husband Philip the Handsome) is unexpectedly moving, and the museum, Isabella’s crown, her sceptre, and the sword of Ferdinand, is the most important collection of Spanish royal artefacts outside Madrid. Entry: ~€5. Allow 45 minutes. No photographs inside the chapel
• The food, tapas that are free with your drink: Granada is one of the last cities in Spain where a tapa comes free with every drink: order a caña (a small beer, ~€2.50), and the tapa arrives, a slice of tortilla, a plate of jamón, a montadito (a small sandwich), the quantity and quality increasing with each round. The essential tapas streets: Calle Navas (the most famous, the tapas are smaller than they used to be, the atmosphere is still lively, and the experience of hopping from bar to bar, collecting a free tapa with each drink, is one of the most pleasant drinking experiences in Europe), Calle Elvira (the alternative, the more local, and the better: the flamenco bars, the Zambra María la Canastera, a cave in the Sacromonte, the flamenco that is not for tourists but for the local community, the cheapest and most authentic show in town), and the bars of the Realejo (the old Jewish quarter, the quietest and most local of the tapas zones). Essential tapas: the patatas a lo pobre (potatoes fried with peppers and onions, the “poor man’s potatoes,” the most delicious dish in Granada), the berenjenas con miel (fried aubergine with honey, the sweet, salty, and savoury, the best single dish in the city), and the piononos (the small syrup-soaked pastries from the nearby town of Santa Fe, the essential Granada dessert)

World Tube https://www.youtube.com/user/World1Tube Madrid, Spain Travel Guide http://bit.ly/Zna88N Shepherd Entertainment takes you on a tour of Granada, a c… Video Rating: 5 / 5

Have you held the 8.30am Nasrid Palaces ticket, eaten your free tapa on Calle Elvira, or watched the sunset from San Nicolás? Share your Granada moments in the comments! 🏰

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