Is the Alhambra worth $140?

I toyed with the same issue but in the end, we hired a private guide because I believe it's one of our world's very important sites and holds the history to the region.

That said, I am not young and this is my one trip to Granada.

This place had guided group tours for and is listed in Rick's book: https://walkingranada.com/alhambra/visita-guiada-con-entrada-alhambra/

I love the Alhambra but have never taken a tour. I've just read about that sight on the internet and in RS's guidebook. Please just go and do your research. $140 is a lot of money when you can just enjoy the Alhambra and grounds by yourself as it appears many do.

I'm elated. I just found https://entradas.granadatur.com/en which is a city pass for many Granada sites, including Alhambra and the Nasrid. And they had availability at the date I was planning to come. It's $60, so still more than the $20 Alhambra ticket, but far less than $140. And it includes fees to other attractions, so it's not a totally fair comparison. And, I preferred an audio-guide to tour guide, and this enables me to go around Alhambra at my own pace. So happy to have found it!

I was on a group trip to Andulusia in 2018. The Alhambra and La Mezquita were the two places I had to see and were on the trip- for both of these sites we had local guides.

We had a tour guide for the entire trip. When we went to the Alhambra we had a local guide - I don't know how much $ the local guide added to the tour but it was so worthwhile to have guide. He was excellent and explained about the site and history and created an evocative story as we went to the different area. It is huge site. From the many sites visited in Spain, (for the days we had on our own), the was a vast range in the quality (English translation/ functioning of guide, depth of information) in the audio guides for various sites.

The Alhambra is a star attraction in Spain so the audio guide may be better quality than from some other sites? Maybe someone that used the audio guide will comment.

We were there right before the Pandemic. I'm not paying $140 for any such tour. But the tour guides were very good.

Let me just warn anyone going to Alhambra that's not in really good shape. Alhambra is a long tour, and it requires a lot of stair climbing. My wife couldn't begin to make it through the tour today since she's now somewhat mobility challenged.

We were in an apartment a short distance down the hill from Alhambra. The town is very inexpensive to stay in, and it's a must see if you're visiting inland Spain.

That discount card sounds fantastic! I don’t recall what the admission price was when we went back in 2002. Maybe €29? Even considering the value of money compared to today, €140 is exhorbitant. The Alhambra is magnificent. Remodeling a bathroom several years later, we featured 8-pointed stars, inspired by a motif repeated throughout the Alhambra.

Enjoy seeing the interior. Seeing the exterior, lit up at night from the Albaicin hillside neighborhood, would be a bonus. I remember that during dinner there one night.

Thanks for posting about the city pass. I wasn't aware that it existed. I have a trip planned for February and will price it out if it would make sense to buy it if I plan to see more than the Alhambra when in Granada.

We loved the Alhambra, but it seems that visiting it would be out of your way and a bit expensive.

If you are young, you will be back to Spain, plan to see it then.

There’s enough to see in Sevilla that I wouldn’t want to make a long day trip to Granada to see the Alhambra. As a compromise, visit the Alcázar in Sevilla instead and plan to visit Granada at a later date. You’re vacation, your choice.

So glad you found a solution. I thought it was fantastic, and that was without a guide, audio or otherwise. I did not wish we had gotten a guide, but as a general rule, I think good guides enhance any site.

I thought the audio guide was fine, but I'm more a visual person than a history person.

Quick and honest answer: NO.

Get the audio guide and view yourself

How did you get/find the audio guide? These days it feels like everything is moving to app, and I was hoping to pre-download it, but can't seem to find any information in advance.

In 2018 I did the night tour first, and I think the cart renting the audio guide was near the point where you line up to enter the Nasrid Palaces. In the daytime, you may need to stop at the visitor center. They charge for it, so I don't think you're going to find a way to download it ahead of time (I could be wrong about that). I'd ask whoever checks you ticket at the first entry point about where to get the audio guide.

So just went there yesterday.. posting in case anyone else has the same question.

They told me they discontinued the rental audio tour AND the app about 3 weeks ago (start of Oct 2023).

Instead they have a website now (QR code available onsite) where you can play the audio guide. I have no idea how the old rental device or app worked, but while nice that there's a free website now... 2 bad things: it is VERY finicky. If you switch to camera on your phone and take too long to go back to the guide, it starts all over from language selection. Also, I used about 1 gig of data to do the tour... so data be warned!

I've had issues at other locations with that sort of audio guide; I'm sorry the Alhambra has made the switch. I suppose it would be smart to download the guide ahead of time, if possible, and listen to it in advance to partially alleviate on-site issues. Some of the guides I've used operated based on your location at the museum/site, though, so use before arrival wasn't possible with them.

a visit to the Alhambra is an activity not to be missed. In my opinion it is the most beautiful monument in Spain. I don't know if there is still availability but there are local agencies in Seville that organize day trips to the Alhambra from Seville. They include transportation and a guided tour of the Alhambra. I think the price is much cheaper than 200$. I know of agencies like these, but I know there are many more.
https://exprilo.com/tour/alhambra-day-trip-from-seville/

https://welcometoseville.com/tour/seville-alhambra-granada-day-trip/

Glad you found the city pass and hope it works out well for you.
Would you please share your experience here afterward?
Thanks. (We hope to visit Granada and the Alhambra in early January.)