I have purchased tickets for November for 10 am entrance to Nasarid Palace. I had read that there is a time window for entry. Does this mean I have to enter between 10-10:30 am, or do I have enter between 9:30-10?
One of my tickets is for a youth, and requires age verification by an employee before I get the actual tickets. I want to make sure I leave plenty of time to get the tickets at the main entrance so we don’t miss our entry window!
Your time to enter is at 10 am to 10:30. There will be people lined up for the 10 am entry before it starts.
They stick to the rules no ifs ands or buts
We took a guided tour, and it took over 3 hours to get through the tour. Our guide was excellent, and she made it so easy to obtain tickets that are not that easy to get on short notice..
For those with the least mobility problems, Alhambra could be difficult. It about wore me out, and I walk very well.
It is absolutely 10 - 10.30. At 10.35 you are dead. It is about ten minutes from the front gate. Charles' palace is next to the entry point for Nasarid Palace. So go early and wonder through Charles' palace. Personally I would enter at 10.15 to 10.20. Lets the first wave of eager tourist to spread out inside so you will not be pushed from behind. Take your time, a lot of see.
People line up for the Nasrid entry as much as 30-40 minutes ahead. If you get there at 10.00 or 10.15 you'll see a line. Just go to the very front and show your tickets and you'll get in. Allow plenty of time to get to the entrance. The route through the Nasrid is one-way, so you exit fairly far from the entrance. You may want to visit the Alcazaba and the Charles V palace (and museum) first since they are very close to the Nasrid entrance. Otherwise it means coming back to them later in the day. The Alhambra campus is big.
Do take heed to the great advise given by the previous posters.
A few more thoughts...
Do consider picking up your tickets the afternoon before to avoid being rushed or stressed the morning of your visit.
Keep in mind that most tour groups visit the Alhambra in the morning, so it will be crowded.
There may be a long queue at the main entrance as other visitors may be retrieving their tickets.
It may take 20- 30 minutes to get to the Nasrid Palace (if you don’t stop along the way) from the main entrance.
We entered through the Justice Gate (closest to the Nasrid Palace), and as mentioned previously, there’s always a long queue outside of the Nasrid Palace.
Here’s more information from the Alhambra website:
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you all so much. Your experiences are so helpful. I will plan to pick up our tickets the day before and enter via the Justice gate.
I’ve contacted the Alhambra to see if reduced price tickets can be picked up in the Alhambra bookstore in town. This would save us some time. If I had known I couldn’t print them from home I would have paid full price. Lesson learned.
I have purchased Alhambra tickets online, and received the pdf tickets in my email. Do I still need to retrieve another ticket before being allowed to enter? Or can I just use/show the printed tickets from the email?
You should be able to show the printed tickets. The only reason I am not able to, is because one of my tickets was discounted (youth). This requires someone to check ID and confirm that my son is eligible. On the top of each of our tickets (3 adults and 1 youth) it says in English THIS IS NOT A TICKET, then in Spanish explains to present the document for verification of the discounted price. If your pdf does not say this, I think you are ok.
There's another thread currently on the forum the Alhambra and needing to have your passports with you.
Tip: Book your stay at Hotel America (it's inside the Alhambra grounds right next to the Parador) - a 4 minute walk to Nasarid Palace entrance. A few weeks before departing from the US we booked our Palace tickets online for the first time slot in the morning (traveled in early May). We arrived at Hotel America the day before our scheduled Palace visit and walked over to the ticket office to pick up our tickets. The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast (included in the room rate) at the hotel and walked over to the Palace entry queue about 30 minutes early to be first in line. When they opened there were 100+ people in the line. We took our time on our self-guided tour and in many cases were the only ones in many areas of the Palace, which made it all the more special.
