Alhambra afternoon/night

Have done early morning on one trip and did night on another. Both special and recollection night is pretty late so why not do both?

We did both day and night visits on our trip in April, and each is different and wonderful.

What I would recommend is seeing the entire site in the morning (including the Nasrid palaces) with a general ticket, either with the audioguide or with a tour guide so that you can learn the full history and impact of what you're seeing. It's so impressive. And yes, you can easily spend 4-5 hours during this visit. Don't rush.

Consider a tapas tour for lunch. Granada is famous for its tapas; they are still served free with your drinks at most of the bars in the city. We used granadatapastours.com and enjoyed our tour very much. Or just walk around the historical area and find a menu you like.

In the afternoon, go see other sites in Granada. Yes, Rick's old town walk covers the central ones. The cathedral is beautiful (light and airy, a totally different feel from Spain's other cathedrals), and right next door is the Capilla Real with the tombs of Isabel and Fernando. Afterward, you can wander through the Alcaiceria for souvenir shopping. It's largely touristy now, but still fun, and it's interesting to see the architecture when you understand its history (see Rick's book, or google for more; even though the buildings burned and have been rebuilt, it was fascinating for me to learn about the trade aspect of Granada's history).

When you are done sightseeing, grab some tapas or dinner. Los Diamantes, along the Plaza Nueva, is awesome for seafood and is right next to the walking path up to the Alhambra (or you can catch at taxi at the stand out front).

Then head up for a night visit to the palaces (starts 10 p.m). It's magical at night. Plan on spending about an hour or an hour and a half just to wander around. Really beautiful.

You need to purchase your Alhambra tickets ASAP -- they are showing limited availability for your travel dates.

P.S. -- on the 19th, take the time to wander around the the Albaicin. It's a really special area with a unique vibe. Make sure to get ice cream at Los Helados de San Nicolas. If you want a really memorable dinner, I recommend Carmen Aben Humeya, just off the Mirador San Nicolas. It has a stunning view of the Alhambra, which is beautiful at night, and the food is to die for. It's expensive, but worth the whole experience. You might need a reservation for dinner.

Have a great trip!

It’s really a personal preference. If it’s your first visit, then 4-5 hours sounds about right. On my last visit, we stayed right at the Alhambra complex so was able to experience it at night. Once the mains buildings are closed, there isn’t much to see. The best view of the complex at night would be from the San Nicolas overlook that you already plan on visiting. Most tourist groups tend to visit during the morning, so the first afternoon entrance should be fine. Remember the ticket is only for the Nazarid palace and supposedly the gardens, so you can wander the rest of the grounds while waiting for your entrance time. Anybody can wander the grounds without a ticket. Our last time here, nobody was checking tickets at the Generalife.

Wow, thanks for the long reply it is greatly appreciated.

Shortly after I posted this question, I went to the Alhambra web site and found that the evening times were already sold out. So, I got first thing in the morning instead.

We will certainly check out the places you mention!

If you want a “night visit” to the Alhambra, tickets are still available for 10/19 and 10/20, but they are limited, so get those ASAP if you want them.

A night visit gives you another entrance to the Nasrid palaces (inside) at 10 pm. They are all lit up on the inside so that the architectural features are highlighted. It is a different experience from the day visit (the “general” ticket you have already purchased), so if you have the time and interest, I highly recommend going.

The Alhambra is also lit up on the outside at night and is beautiful from the viewpoint, but is is a unique experience to see the inside of the Nasrid palaces at night.

You would do this visit in addition to your day visit (general ticket), regardless of the specific time of your day visit.

There used to be a combo night and day ticket for day before or after. Surprised the night tickets are sold out.

I guess they aren't sold out. I'm not sure what I was looking at now.

In any case, we already have tickets for first thing in the morning and we're not sure we want to go there twice given that we're only there for about a day and a half.

OP-
As much as I liked the Alhambra, with only a day and a half in town, I would just do the early morning tour and then concentrate on the rest of the city. Try to get there if possible when it opens as it was incredible to walk the grounds in silence and think about how life would have been 1000 years ago.
IMO, there is more to see in Granada like the Cathedral or the neighborhoods.

"It sounds as if seeing it at night is truly special. At least the Palacio."

Here's a different take. I went in 2006, when the only night view was the Palacio - the gardens were not open for night visits. I had gone earlier for a day visit, and I was surprised by 1) how different the experiences were, and 2) how much inferior the night visit was. Under spotlights, many of the best features of the palace weren't highlighted; there was no audioguide; and you don't even get to see the whole palace (rather than the regular exit, you saw about two thirds of the palace route and then had to backtrack to the entry).

So, my take is, don't worry about missing the night visit. It wasn't uninteresting, but it wasn't a special thing to me, either.

Maybe that's why I enjoyed the night visit. I did it first. I found it quite romantic, especially the views of the city below and the lions' courtyard was breathtaking. The next day, I was delighted to see all the colors and detail that were obscured in the limited night lighting.

We loved the night visit, too, but you're right, you have a short visit, and Granada is a wonderful town with plenty to do. Although consider that the night visit starts at 10 p.m., so not a whole lot of other "sights" open at that time. But all the restaurants will be, so just hanging out, relaxing over some great food, will also be great at that hour. No bad choices here, right?

Just an update on Harold's post: they have apparently added more of the buildings to the night visit, so that everything we saw this year during the day (in the Nasrid palaces) is lit up and available for viewing at night. We followed the same entry/exit path as we had during the day.

Enjoy your visit!

Thanks Guys! All the comments are much appreciated. :)