Alhambra tickets - Granada

We went around 10am and it was great. This was in September 2005, and we did not find it to be too crowded. We spent about six hours in the complex including a late lunch. But, I like to linger so the average person could probably do the whole thing in four. There is a street that runs up a gully below the Alhambra with a few restaurants that have outdoor seating. At night the Alhambra is (of course) wonderfully lit up and you can look up at it as you eat and discuss your visit. If you do not do the night tour that is. We arrive without a ticket after the guidebook advice that you could get them in any bank in Spain turned out not to be accurate (or there was some reason it would not work when we stopped in). We bought a city pass that provided an entry time -- this was on the day before we visited. Still, you are right to play it safe. I would book with the hotel and go in the morning.

The afternoon time slot worked out great for us. We visited this past May and bought our tickets ahead of time online. You then pick up your tickets at the machines outside of the gate before entering. There are several places to eat outside of the grounds that we had a late lunch at prior to our entrance time. We did the 2-8 afternoon visit with 4 or 5 pm entrance to palace.
As the day got later the crowds thinned out and touring was MUCH, MUCH more pleasant. We then took the bus to San Nicolas view point to watch the sunset with a glass of wine. Your going to love it!

It will be less crowded in the late afternoon for sure but I prefer the morning if you like to linger. Assume about 30 minutes from the entry gate where you pick up your ticket to get to the Palace. You MUST enter the palace in the 30 minute window. All other entry sites must be done in the morning slot but you can linger on the grounds as long as you wish or have lunch at one of the restaurants on site. If you have an afternoon entry, you cannot enter the grounds until the afternoon and so your time there is more limited.

A slight correction to Douglas' statement that " If you have an afternoon entry, you cannot enter the grounds until the afternoon and so your time there is more limited." You CAN enter the grounds of the Alhambra in the morning with an afternoon ticket. It is only the three ticketed-entry points (Nasrid palaces, Alcazaba, Generalife gardens) that you cannot enter befor 2:00 with an afternoon ticket. The Alhambra is a large complex, and there is much to see outside of the ticketed-entry areas. You are free to wander it all, or stop in for lunch at the parador or Hotel America, all day, not just in your ticketed time slot. Our favorite time for photography was early in the morning, before 9:00 and before many people arrive. We picked up our tickets the day before, so we could enter through the Justice Gate, which is much closer to the Alcazar and palace entry. It was very quiet and peaceful at that time, as the crowds were at the ticket area at the far end of the complex.

Thanks everyone! We asked out hotel to book our tickets for the morning and entrance into the Nasrid palace by 1030. :-) Hopefully our friend from Sevilla will be joining us too! Did anyone hire a tour guide? We plan to get the audio tours. :-) Thanks again!
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Lola - Is that a rules change? I've seen it posted that the grounds are off limits for those with afternoon tickets before 2:00. And I recall passing through a checkpoint when I visited a couple years ago.

DouglasI just wrote a very long response which the site would not accept, and it was lost. Grrrrr. But the gist of it was, I have no idea if this is a "rule change" as our visit last May was our first time at the Alhambra. But we spent 3 nights in Granada and most of our time there was at the Alhambra. We did have tickets for a night visit the first night, a "Conquest of Water" walking tour on Day 2, and a "General Visit" on Day 3, but we did a lot of walking around the grounds outside the ticketed areas at all times of the day, and there were no restrictions. The only think you cannot do with an afternoon ticket is enter any of the 3 ticketed areas before 2:00. Similarly, with a morning ticket, you cannot enter any of the 3 areas after 2:00. But you can go anywhere else you like on the grounds.