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Advanced Tickets??

Posted by on

Hey all, I am wondering the necessity of buying advanced tickets for the following places for my trip to Spain May 2-10 2024. My preference is to not book any advanced tickets so we aren't confined to specific times, however if it's necessary we will. Do not want to spend our vacation waiting in lines. Would it be advised to purchase online on the day of so that we keep our flexibility and avoid waiting on lines, or is it more likely things will be sold out?

  • Seville Cathedral & Giralda (read we can get day of tickets at Church of El Salvador which typically has no lines and that tickets will not be for a specific time, which I would prefer. Is this still true?
  • Cordoba Mezquita (worried about not buying in advanced since only there for a day trip but if we don't have to be tied down to a specific time, that would be prefered)
  • Madrid Royal Palace (planning to visit around 3:30pm on a Monday. is this a buys time? advanced tickets necessary?)
  • Prado in Madrid (overall unsure if we need advanced tickets or if can buy morning of online to avoid any lines. do they sell out?)
Posted by
5595 posts

Its been about 5 years since I've been to Andalusia. We had an amazing time! For the Mezquita, we stayed about 10 feet away, and got there right at opening. There was no line for tickets and we had the place almost to ourselves for at least a half hour.

Yes, when we went to Sevilla, we got to the Church of El Salvador at opening, the line was very short, we visited that church and went over to the cathedral the following morning. You don't mention the Sevilla Alcazar. I wouldn't miss that. I had been told that in November, I wouldn't need advance tickets. Well, we ended up waiting at least an hour in line. There also are royal apartments in the Alcazar and those book out weeks in advance. I would get advance tickets to the Alcazar.

We were in Madrid just a short time. I didn't go in the royal palace but just wanted to mention that the area was beautiful at night.

Posted by
51 posts

Thank you! We actually already pre-booked the Alcazar which is why I didn’t mention it. Trying to balance having a relaxed trip that’s not on a tight time schedule with actually getting to visit some of these main sites, while also minimizing waiting in lines. Good to know about the Mezquita. We don’t arrive in Cordoba until 10:30am, so unfortunately will miss the early opening where it’s likely less crowded

Posted by
775 posts

You can monitor availability on the websites for the sites. I just visited in mid-March. All of your sites were full with not all time slots available during my visit which is not as "high season" as May. I would recommend checking on the tickets available for all your sites and buying in advance if availability diminishes.

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