Granada, Spain

My advice for the Alhambra is to visit it twice, once (and ideally first) at night.

Yeah, it's extravagant, but think you much effort you made to get there!

I've never had a tour, but would be tempted.

Pick the morning session...the light is softer....and simply rent the audio tour...it's very good. You know about reserving tickets in advance? www.alhambra-tickets.es

I vote for the AM along with Norm. The timed entry for the Palace is critical. You have a 30 min window - don't miss it. It is massive so it will take most of the day. Second, Granada is in the mountain so be prepared for rain and cool weather in November. You absolutely must reserve you ticket in advance. For the Alhambra think Disneyworld. It is the most popular tourist site in all of Spain especially with locals. A live tour guide would be nice but the audio and Steve's guide for the Palace are very good.

Definately the morning, book the tickets in advance and ensure you allow time to collect the tickets.

We have been both morning and night (in that order on different trips) and although the night was lovely, although atmospheric, it lacks the overall experience of the Alhambra and there is much less you can see so I would not suggest night first, but second if you do both. In November, personally I may not be so tempted by the night visit.

I have never taken a guided tour so cannot advise you on that.

Just was at the Alhambra two days ago. I went both in the morning and at night. I would do both if you have time. On different days if possible. I used the audio guide, only available for the day, and it was enough information. I like that I could spend as much time taking pictues as I wanted and think that I would have missed that with a guide. At night you only see the palace but get great views of Granada at night.

We had a 10:30AM reservation for the Palace in early May, and we had almost no crowds at all. We walked right up to the bank of machines where you pick up your tickets with no wait. Definitely reserve your tickets in advance. You don't pay any extra for this. With a 10:30 entry time into the Palace, we still got there by about 9:00 and visited the other sites. You can easily spend hours on the grounds.
It's all very efficiently run. They have very helpful workers all over the place especially at the entrance. Heed the tip on the probable cold or rainy weather due to Granada's elevation. In mid May, we wore pants, long sleeves and a fleece and were comfortble. Enjoy.

Another vote for a morning reservation. The other advantage of the morning slot is that you can spend all day there if you want. Afternoon reservations can't enter the grounds until after 2:00 I think. Arrive at least an hour before your palace entry time to enjoy the grounds some first and walk the 20 minutes from the gate. If you have their audio tour or RS's book, skip the guided tour. The grounds are best enjoyed at your own pace. There is a hotel with a nice restaurant for lunch; outdoor patio seating with a view if the weather is nice. The weather in November is likely to be mild and pleasant, but of course it could get chilly or rain.

And if you want a magnificent view of the Sierra Nevada on a clear day, there's a path you can take from near the entrance. Best in the afternoon when the sun is behind you and shining on the snow-topped mountains. Go to maps.google.com and copy and paste the following coordinates (37.173688,-3.584654) and you'll see the start of a zig-zag path that climbs up a hill. Walk a little ways down the straight section, through the olive grove, for a magnificent view...bring your camera.