Trip to Spain Granada Or Not

Only you can decide if it’s worth visiting with the limited time you have.

Over the decades, I’ve been to the Alhambra four times and never as part of a tour. Between the palace, Generalife, and rest of the complex it’s easy to spend a half day or longer looking around. The Nasrid Palace is worth 2-3 hours by itself. In my opinion Granada’s Alhambra is one place that should be visited if you’re only going to be in Spain once.

I found Granada very worth visiting for more than just the Alhambra but I would not choose to go at a time when visiting the Alhambra was not possible. I realize that tickets are harder to get now than when I went about 15 years ago but the official website appears to me to show tickets available every single day from now through mid October. It looks like they don't book in advance further out than early October yet. Unless I am misreading something, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get tickets with a little planning.

Other things in Granada that I most enjoyed were: (1) walking around the area of Sacramento and the Albaicin (or Albayzin) neighbornoods. This is a very old area of Moorish and Roma houses including homes that started at caves built into the hillside. It was interesting, unusual, and great views. (2) The Granada tapas culture whereby all kinds of wonderful tapas snacks are served free with drinks. Although I have had tapas other places, Granada's were different and special. Granada is a university town with a lively student population so its not just tourists. I enjoyed a free outdoor concert. I did not tour the inside of the cathedral but many tourists do.

San Juan de Dios in Granada has an almost unbelievably over-the-top interior. There are many other worthwhile stops. Rick lists his top sightseeing suggestions in Granada here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain/granada. Click on At a Glance.

For me, you are trying to cover too much ground in too few days. Two nights in Seville is only one full day and some hours. You've allotted the same amount of time to Barcelona. Those are very interesting cities with a lot of sights. I'd recommend 4 nights in each.

I'm also doubtful about having just two nights in Lisbon, but I haven't been to Portugal recently.

Granada tops your list as my favorite. However, it does not fit well with your current plan. If you find 2 extra days, I think a better use of them is to give one to Seville and one to Barcelona.

You will be spending a lot of time traveling between cities. How are you getting between these areas? I would skip Granda this time and add to one of your other locals. The train ride between these cities with having to get to the stations and traveling will take up almost half a day each time. You honestly already have too many places in your plan.

The Alhambra is the No. 1 attraction in Spain for good reason. I visited on my first trip to Spain. I've been back 3 times since, twice in Andalucia, and didn't manage to fit it into my itinerary either time, though it was hands-down the highlight of my first visit. (note - I spent 3 weeks in Andalucia the first time, and a total of 5 weeks on the subsequent visits).

If you think this is likely to be your only visit to Spain, consider making the effort. The Alhambra is not "just another palace."
The Nasrid Palaces are exquisite, but there are many other buildings to see on the campus.

In addition to being architecturally exquisite, the Alhambra is of enormous historical importance. It is the site from which Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1492, decreed the ethnic cleansing of Jews and Muslims from Spain. I would call it a “must see.”
Both times that I’ve been there, our party secured a tour with a private guide, arranged through iur hotels. Very worthwhile and not too expensive.

About 12 years ago we visited my son, who was studying abroad in Granada. We only had a week and though I was looking forward to seeing my son, I was not thrilled about spending most of the time in Granada. I had always wanted to go to Barcelona and the northern areas, so I went into the trip with a somewhat crummy attitude. Boy was I wrong! I fell in love with and was fascinated by Granada. It enchanted me! All this back-story to say I highly recommend visiting this city, but as others have posted, it may not be worth it for such a short amount of time. (Oh, and my dream of going to Barcelona is coming true...finally...this April, which is why I'm scouring this forum.)

Check to see if there is a cruise ship excursion from Malaga. That’s what my wife and I did. I had been 48 (!) years before. It was the only bucket list place in Spain for my wife ( a Spanish teacher ! ). Just be sure that the excursion actually goes inside the Alhambra. The original one for our cruise ship had did not. When they announced that they just scheduled one that DID go inside, I rushed to change our tour.

My thanks to all for responding. Last night I found out that our cruise ship has an excursion from Malaga to Granada (transport only) but the timing is such that it is possible to tour Alhambra if the timed entry tickets are between 11:30am and 12:30pm. I was able to sign up for the transportation and I bought tickets to Alhambra last night. It turns out to be a great solution for my needs.

As Bigtyke suggested, the cruise ship also has an excursion to Granada but it specifically mentions that it does not include a tour of Alhambra, you only get a look from the outside.

Many thanks to all for your comments.

Tom