Granada, Alhambra, Iberia, Madrid airport

Sounds as if the safest course is to bring luggage to Granada, take a cab to the train station, check luggage, then take another cab to Alhambra.

We'll reserve tickets once they are available, which would be around August 18.

Given a 12:30 scheduled landing and stopping at the train station, a 14:00 entrance with a 14:30-15:00 admission to the Palace seems about right?

We'll try to get a good view on the way back from the airport.

Does this sound right? Anything else we should know?

thanks again

Presuming the luggage you want to leave is carry-on, then you might find the timing tight. The left luggage area is on the other side of security, so you'll have to leave the luggage pickup area, possibly stand in line until your bag is x-rayed at the left luggage area, then hustle back upstairs and through security again. If your flight to Granada is at one extreme end of T-4, it could take you 15 minutes just to get from security to the boarding gate. The taxi time from Granada airport to the Alhambra is good. The Alhambra trust group has just initiated a new web agent to sell ticket, as of August 1st. They go on a more limited schedule for the winter as of November 1st, so maybe they just don't have the new winter system up and running yet. In any event, if you want to try to book by phone, since your itinerary is so tight, try 011-34-93-49-2375. The "902" numbers are low-toll numbers which can only be dialled in Spain.

The luggage is carry-on. What would you recommend doing with it? Are there any convenient lockers in Granada? A Granada web site says that the only luggage lockers in Granada are in the train station.

Alhambra's web site lists two numbers. The one I posted gets a busy signal. The one you posted gets a "disconnected or no longer in service" recording.

Sorry Richard...dropped a digit at the end...011-34-934-923750. That takes you to ServiTicket, a Spanish company based in Barcelona that's now handling ticket sales for the Alhambra. One of the Alhambra's websites for tour operators now says tour group tickets can only be reserved three months in advance....maybe that's the case for individuals as well, espy since the November change in hours also means less tickets can be sold. But at least with the ServiTicket number, you should be able to find out when the go on sale for November. The 902 numbers are low-toll numbers only accessible from Spain.

Will stopping at the train station to put our luggage in a locker take us long (or much out of our way) from the airport to the Alhambra? I can't quite find the train station on a map - is it near where Ave de Andalucia changes to Ave de Constitucion?

Web sites mistakenly list the phone number without the trailing "0". You're right, tickets are only available 3 months in advance.

thank you

Yes, the train station is just up from where Ave. de la Constitucion changes into Ave de Andalucia, just after it crosses Calle Cruz del Sur. The airport is just west of the suburb of Santa Fe on the A-92. If you take the A-92G, it turns into Ave. de Andalucia so takes you right past the train station. From there, it's right down Ave. de la Constitucion, Calle Gran Via, and up to the Alhambra

The timing sounds OK....Granada's not a huge city...about 240,000, so it's not difficult to get around. Take some time to wander around Plaza Nueva and Plaza Santa Ana and up into the Albayzin quarter. You'll get your best evening view of the Alhambra from Plaza Mirador de San Nicolas. If you don't want to hike up there, I think the #31 bus from Plaza Nueva still takes you up there. There's a TI on the plaza that can help. Have a great trip!

I hope to see the sunset from the Plaza Mirador de San Nicolas.

I just need Iberia to behave on the incoming flights.

This will be a "if it's Tuesday" visit - Brussels, Amsterdam, Budapest, Venice, Granada and Madrid in two weeks. Brussels and Granada being just day trips.

Thanks again. Incredibly helpful.