Guided tours of Alhambra & Flamenco shows

I enjoyed Casa Memoria in Seville so much that I went again the next night. Different show each night, really well done. I also went to a show in Cordoba and thought that Casa Memoria's shows were a whole lot better.

I did not take a tour of the Alhambra; I just used tbe audioguide. I couldn't tell you how many hours I spent there, but I know it was lot more than 3.

At many sights a tour that left you wanting more wouldn't matter; you'd be inside the ticketed perimeter and could just stay until closing time if you wanted to. But the Alhambra is different. Some of the key areas are single entry (the Nasrid Palaces for sure, and they are by far the star attraction). You will probably be able to spend more time in the last area the tour visits, but you will most likely be limited in your ability to return to some of the others if you seek more time there.

Are you keen on taking a lot of photos of the places you visit? The Alhambra is very crowded. If you prefer your photos populated by as few other tourists as possible, you will need extra time and may find the tour is pushing you faster than you want to go.

Yet another challenge is that there are sights within the Alhambra open limited hours. They may not be covered by your tour (3 hours is not long). If you want to see them, you may find they are closed by the time your tour ends.

I am an all-or-nothing traveler. There are a lot of places on other people's must-see lists I'm really not interested in. I don't bother going to those places at all. Other places really interest me, and I try to make sure I have all the time I need to fully appreciate them.

I've observed that tour groups generally move through sites much, much faster than I do--and I typically don't take many photos. But I assume most of the tours' clients are happy with the time allocated (or are only willing to pay as much money as a tour of that length costs).

So I suggest asking yourself:

• How interested am I in the Alhambra?
• How much do I like Moorish architecture?
• When I go to a museum or sight that really interests me, do I like to spend a ton of time there, or am I ready to move on to something different after a few hours, no matter what?
• After 2 or 3 hours on my feet, am I basically done for the day and not interested in any more walking?

to acraven - Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions, which emphasize one of the great quandries of travel. I do generally enjoy guided tours but find that they do often move more quickly than we would prefer. We take LOTS of photos (we had over 7000 from our visit to Italy, Greece, and Turkey earlier this year and have taken 3000 - 4000 on other trips) and it's difficult to spend as much time composing a picture as we would like on a tour. The primary reason we are considering one for the Alhambra is that we are planning the trip to Spain with much less lead time than usual and may not be able to get tickets to the Alhambra without a tour. I assume that we could return to any place we wanted to spend more time other than the Nasrid Palaces.

I only see general opening hours for the general daytime or night time visits, not specific times for the various places within the Alhambra. Do you know where these are found? Thanks!

I believe the hours of some of the other buildings vary from day to day. I didn't find a list ahead of time but I got some information after I arrived in Granada. I'm not certain, but I think I asked at the information desk before my nighttime visit to the Nasrid Palace. I opted to do that the evening before my full, daytime visit.

I believe the Generalife is an area that, like the Nasrid Palaces, allows entry only once. That may apply to the museum as well, but I am less sure about the museum.

to acraven - Thanks again for your feedback. I forgot to address one of the considerations you raised - are we ready to quit after 2-3 hours of walking? Not so far! We are usually out by 8:30 and go pretty much without stopping (except sometimes for a quick lunch break) until dinner. We always walk at least 6 miles a day and usually 7-8 but on our most recent trip did 12 miles in Athens one day. We would never do that at home but are fueled by adrenaline when we travel! I appreciate your taking the time and thought to weigh in.

If we just get an audio guide, can we stay in the Nasrid Palaces for an extended period of time? The tour only allows 1 hour there. Did you just rent the audio guide at the entrance to the Alhambra? I don't recall it being offered with the tickets but I may have overlooked it.

There is currently no time limit for the Nasrid Palaces visit other than whatever is the day's closing time. You cannot get inside earlier than the time on your ticket, however. So I think for people expecting to love the place (I am very fond of Moorish architecture), especially if photography is an interest, the audio guide is a good solution--assuming you don't have the fund$$$ for something like a 6-hour private tour!

At the time of my May visits the audio guides were sold from a little cart near where folks line up for the Nasrid Palaces as well as at a counter in the visitor center. I don't think there's a way to rent one online. Most people were not getting audio guides, which is probably a good thing, because the sales process was just a bit slow, what with setting the device up for the desired language and providing brief instructions. Do figure to spend a bit of time completing that step.

I was told to keep the receipt for my nighttime audio-guide rental and I'd get either a freebie or a discount (don't remember which) when I returned the next day for the daytime visit, and it did work. I noticed that I paid a bit more for my audio guide than the young woman in front of me. She may have been a student. So don't be surprised if that happens to you, too.

to acraven - Thanks for the info on the audio guide. We booked our flight to Spain yesterday and today I was able to buy tickets for the Alhambra General Experience. We decided to take your advice and not take a tour so that we wouldn't feel rushed. I've collected a lot of information about the Alhambra so we'll know quite a bit about it before we go.

The Nasrid Palace tour is at 1:30 (all of the earlier tours were gone), so we could go early and see the Nasrid last or see some other sights in Granada, tour the Nasrid at 1:30, and then see the rest of the Alhambra complex in the late afternoon. Is one plan better than the other? I've read that it's less crowded in the afternoon and the light is better. If you have any other recommendations for Granada, I'm all ears! Thanks!

I'd tend to want to do at least part of the complex before the palaces, if possible. I say that because it's difficult to predict how much time you'll want to spend seeing each part (how much will the photography slow you down?) and some buildings might be open before your 1:30 time-slot but closed by the time you finish up in the palaces. I don't think you need to be much concerned about crowding except at the palaces.

You would need to be careful not to enter any controlled-access area you are not 100% certain you will finish with before your 1:30 entry time. And you probably won't want to do the Generalife earlier unless you opt to go up to the Alhambra quite early; it's quite a walk from the palaces.

I don't know the date of you trip or when the Alhambra will close at that time of year. With a 1:30 starting time, you might have all the time you need by doing all the other parts of the complex afterward, but it would make me nervous to be in that position.