Entering The Alhambra

The grounds are open to entry all day. It is only the ticketed areas that have time restrictions.

With a 2:00 pm entry time for the palaces, you will want to have your tickets picked up in hand well before that, and in line at the palace entry by 1:30 or earlier. You could consider arriving at the grounds in the morning to see the open areas, then having lunch at Hotel America or the parador, then going to the palace line around 1:25. At least that is what I would do.

Thanks, Lola, for your very helpful response. I like your plan for best utilizing our time!

Just to clarify, your Nasrid entry time is a specific window. You cannot get in line before that window starts and must be in line when the window closes. That window of time is printed on your ticket.

But the other advice is correct, you can wander the general grounds beforehand - you just cannot enter any of the other ticketed areas until after 2:00.

And be very careful about having lunch beforehand. The Spanish eat lunch late and service may not be as punctual as we expect in the US. You run the risk of being late because you can't get your waiter to give you your check or they expect you to have a 90 minute lunch (not an unusual expectation from their perspective). If you arrive early enough you should be fine, but don't sit down at a restaurant at 12:45 and expect to be finished by 1:30.

We did the same thing that Lola suggests. Our ticket for the Nasrid palaces was for the afternoon, so we spent the morning at the Generalife and the other untimed parts of the Alhambra.

You can get in line before your window. I just did this for a 10AM window - by 9:30 there was a line for the 10. At 10 we were allowed in, but the line started before 10.

With a 2, arrive at Nasrid anytime from 1:40 to 2:20 (you can get in until 2:30 but they are strict so I'd not push it!). Before 2 you can wander the grounds, eat at the Parador, and see the non-ticket sights (Charles V and museums in that building, the church, a small arab bath building and others). So do those, go to your palace visit, then the other ticketed sights.

Unless you are a big fan of standing in line there is really no reason to get in line. There is no advantage to be first in line or being last. I think the window is 15 minutes - could be 20. I don't remember exactly. When we first went by the entrance there was long line about 20 minutes early so we made a loop through the Palace near the entrance and return 10 minutes after our start time and there was no line and we walked straight in. Actually not very crowded because the mob standing in line had pushed through. It is a window for entry, not an exact time.

Thank you all for your input. All very good to know!