Seeing The Alhambra in late February

It probably wasn't planned as such but our day (August 2007) visiting the Alhambra was just perfect.
Your visit is in two parts - first the gardens and then the palace.
I think we started in the Generalife Gardens at 1pm or so.
Then before our scheduled time of 4pm for the Nasrid Palace we retreated to the patio of the adjacent Parador.
One or 2 jugs of sangria later we were refreshed to continue on.
Later that evening and a stunning restaurant terrace in Albaicin with the Alhambra gloriously illuminated.

It may depend on daylight. If it gets dark by 4:30 or so, will you have enough time to see everything? You should be able to find out sunset for Granada during the time you will be there. And while your morning or afternoon ticket gets you access to the ticketed areas within that timeframe, you don't have to show up right at 8:30 and the grounds are open all day. The key timeslot is for the Nasrid Palace, which you must meet or lose your chance to see that. You can schedule a late morning Nasrid time, see some of the sites before then and the rest after (as long as it's within the morning slot). Then stick around as long as you want to have lunch, shop or see the museum.

Personally I like the morning, but if there is enough daylight and you prefer afternoons, go for it.

Oh, I didn't understand this properly. So the "entry time" that you specify when you buy the tickets is only for the Nasrid Palaces part of the tour!

OK, so I have another question. The Alhambra website divides its opening times into morning (8:30 am to 2 pm) and afternoon (2 pm to 6 pm). If we have tickets for 2 pm, could we get there around noon, see the Generalife, then go to the Nazrid Palaces at 2, and then see the Alacazaba after that?

For some reason, I thought that the "morning ticket people" had to be done by 2 pm and leave. What you're saying is that I could get there any time and stay until closing, as long as I enter the Nasrid Palaces at the specific time on my ticket. Right?

The website doesn't explain that very well. It's rather confusing! When I bought an advance ticket to the Vatican Museums, for instance, it was just for that day and I could go any time that day. I now see that this is different.

No. If you have a morning entry time for the Nasrid Palaces, your last entry into any of the ticketed areas ( Generalife, Alcazaba) must be made before 2:00 (no limit on when you leave).if you are not morning people, you could book an 11 am entry to the palaces, arrive around 10 to see the fortress ( not much time needed ) then get in line for the palaces. As long as you enter the Generalife before 2 you will be fine.

Just remember to leave time for lunch. I am a hummingbird and need to eat on time. We left time for lunch on the patio at Hotel America between the Nasrid Palaces and Generalife and that worked well.

OK, so if I understand this correctly, the "morning ticket" people must be done by 2 pm. So if you book a ticket for any time before 2 pm, you need to be totally done with everything by 2pm?

Sorry if I seem dense -- this just isn't explained very well on the Alhambra's website. I'm not sure whether Rick's book explains it -- I don't have it yet. It's on order from the library and I should have it in a few days.

If you purchase a morning ticket and are in a ticketed area at 2 p.m. you may remain in that last ticketed area beyond 2 p.m. (until the end of the day if you wish).

And no, you do not have to be totally done with everything by 2 p.m. as there are unticketed areas like the museum and church which you can see at any time until the end of the day.

Is this clear?

The Alhambra is a very large site with several sites within it. Your morning or afternoon ticket allows you access to the ticketed sites only during that shift (but at any time during that shift). And you'll reserve a specific Nasrid Palace time; for that you MUST enter during that time window (I believe it is a 30 minute window). So for example, a morning ticket with an 11:30 Nasrid reservation means you can enter the ticketed areas at any time before 14:00 and the Nasrid at 11:30. The Nasrid is the highlight and will take the longest to tour, but the other ticketed sites are also worth a visit, especially the Generalife Palace.

For the rest of the site, you can wander around before or after. There are shops, restaurants, a hotel, a museum and some gardens.

Thank you all for clarifying this for me.

So a person has two options: see the Alhambra in the morning but need to leave by 2 pm. Or see it in the afternoon and leave at closing, 6 pm. The ticket time is for the Nariz Palaces, and you can see other attractions before or after your ticket time. But you need to leave by 2 pm for the morning session, or 6 pm for the afternoon session.

I need to discuss this with my husband to decide whether we can muster up the energy to get up a bit earlier than usual to see The Alhambra in the earlier part of the day. The sun will be setting just before 7pm. The Alhambra will be open until 6 pm so there will still be daylight, but it will be fading.

Obviously you get more hours to see the whole place if you get there in the earlier part of the day.

TravelMom,
Of course, if you want maximum flexibility to 'decide that day' if you want to go early or go later, you could always buy tickets (two different sets) for both the morning AND the afternoon. I'm too frugal to do that, but since you would have come all that way to see it, and getting going in the morning might be ' a bit of a challenge ' for you, this would give you ultimate flexibility (for not that much more vacation cost).

If you wind up not needing the second set, you might be able to sell them to another visitor (or simply delight someone else with free tickets).

If the sun doesn't set until almost 7:00 when you will be there, why not just do the afternoon then?

And you are still not understanding how it works. The general grounds are OPEN to you at any time. It is the ticketed sites only that must be seen during the morning or afternoon slots, and the Nasrid Palace site that is at a specific time.

So, for example, you could purchase tickets for an afternoon slot with a Nasrid reservation at 3:00. You won't be able to enter the ticketed areas (of which there are several) until 2:00, but you can show up at 10:00 and wander the grounds and gardens, shop, eat an early lunch etc... Then at 2:00, see one of the ticketed sites, then see the Nasrid, then see the rest of the ticketed sites up until 6:00. Leave when you are exhausted or it gets dark.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/9145335/Granada-Spain-guide-to-visiting-the-Alhambra.html

If you want to spend the entire day at the Alhambra, here's the way. It's a quirk in their system. Choose a morning entry to the Nasrid Palaces that is after 11.30. You will be able to enter the other ticketed areas either before OR after your visit to the Nasrid Palaces. You can enter the grounds any time during the day, no matter when your Nasrid entry is. Only the ticketed areas are time-sensitive. I did this 2 years ago in February with a 12.30 ticket (went in around 10.30). I went into the other ticketed areas after that.

Enter at the main entrance and pick up a free map. You can also get an audio guide (take your driver's license to leave as security). Ask if there's anything special. There are several buildings that are only open once in a while. You may be lucky.

I also did the evening tour of the Nasrid Palaces before my daytime visit and I'm very glad I did both, and in that order. The palaces are much different and well worth visiting twice. If you go at night, be sure to get off at the entrance nearest the Nasrid Palaces, otherwise it's a long walk down from the main entrance.