You need a ticket to visit the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens, ideally pre-booked in advance; each ticket has an allocated entry time for the Nasrid Palaces. The number of admissions per day and hour is limited. All tickets must bear the full name of the holder. This is a guide to the different ways to buy an Alambra Ticket.
The name Alhambra comes from an Arabic root which means "red or crimson castle", perhaps due to the hue of the towers and walls that surround the entire hill of La Sabica which by starlight is silver but by sunlight is transformed into gold.
We enter the Alhambra from the Generalife Gardens by the bridge called Puente Nuevo. However, the original route of access, in Moorish times, between the Alhambra and the Generalife went through the Puerta del Hierro, the Iron Gate, and made it necessary to cross the ravine on foot
The Alhambra palace complex is imposingly situated above the town of Granada, on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, southern Spain. It is the most important surviving medieval Islamic palace in the world.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the famous Alhambra in Granada, Spain, the construction of the palaces (called Casa Real Vieja, "old Royal House or Palace") dates back to the 14th century and is the work of two great kings: Yusuf I and Muhammed V.
Meet at visitor centre next to Alhambra ticket office at 09.45. Skip past the long entrance lines. Guided 3 hr tour listening to official tourist guide in English by radio ear-piece provided. After exploring the palaces, enjoy the Generalife Gardens.
Meet your guide at the Alhambra. Choose one of several times. Skip past the long entrance lines. Small group visit with guide. English, Spanish or French available. Visit of the Generalife, the Alcazaba, the Palace of Carlos and the baths. Visit of the the Nasrid Palaces. Headphones to listen to the guide's explanations.
The Alhambra, the 'red fort' on its rocky hill above Granada, with its fountained courts and gardens, and intricate decoration, has long been a byword for exotic and melancholy beauty. In a stimulating new book in the 'Wonders of the World' series Robert Irwin, Arabist and novelist, examines its engrossing and often mysterious history.
Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. Irving lived at the Alhambra Palace in Granada while writing some of the material for his book.
Washington Irving was the son of a New York merchant, he was trained in law but gave it up for the family business. When it collapsed he turned to writing with success of "The legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" He travelled to Paris in 1821 and thence to Madrid in 1826 as historical document about the Americas had been released.
