We will be in the area around Granada 12/26-12/30. Is it necessary to buy tickets in advance for Ahambra.

It is not necessary... IT IS COMPULSORY. In the ticket you have the specific date and times when you can visit the Alhambra. I think they give a range of two hours or something like that. If you miss it, you´ve lost your money.

Thanks for the reply. How far in advance is it necessary to book.

Well, it's not compulsory but very advisable to buy them in advance. The tickets you buy at the Alhambra ticket office are only valid for the day you buy them and it's likely that they are sold out.

You can do it online at AlhambraTickets.com , at any branch of the BBVA bank or on the phone number 902 22 44 60 (00 34 91 346 59 36 if calling from abroad).

Carmen,
I think you may be thinking of visiting the Salon de Leones?! It may have changed since the last time I went (a couple of years ago), but tickets unless you went with a tour, were VERY hard to get. So, for those of us not attending a tour, we got up bright and early to get there BEFORE it opens (already a HUGE line!) and wait to get a ticket. Once you're in, there is a time on the ticket that allows you a time slot to visit the Lion's den, a room that has limited access and a limited number of people that they let in at a time. If you miss the time your ticket gives you, they won't let you in! We almost missed ours had it not been for a very friendly tourist!

Good luck and enjoy!

I just visited the alhambra in Oct 2001.

I ordered my tickets on the internet and picked them up at a special window at the entrance. This worked out great.

You have an entry time for the Alhambra palace but not any particular room. We took the first entry of the day, 8 am. It worked out great because most of the large tour groups came in around 9 a.m. so we had the place before it was packed with the groups.

The entire alhambra complex blew me away. We spent the entire morning visiting and then had special evening tickets (I thing only available during the summer) and returned again.

Hey Cathy, tell us about the night visit. How much do you get to see at nite, the whole inside? Just went in Nov. and I had remarked that I wondered what they used for light then and now, cause I didn't see lights nor torch marks of old. Am curious. Did see lights out in the gardens.

The night entrance was just for the interior of the palace.

It was quite a contrast to our visit earlier in the day. First of all there was hardly anyone there - we practically had the place to ourselves. It was raining somewhat hard earlier in the evening so I don't know if people who had bought tickets simply didn't show or if this is usual for the night visits. Also, the difference of the colors and how they show up was quite striking. It was somewhat spooky to be roaming around the palace at night - very easy to imagine what it may have been like hundreds of years ago.

I would definately recommend a night (and of course day) visit if you have the chance.

Thanks for the replies. We will plan on getting tickets in advance and also trying to work in a night visit. This whole trip is getting pretty confusing as the various family members have now decided that they dfinitely want to wok in a couple of days in Cordoba. So we are thinking of spending the first two nights in Madrid and then renting a car (should we do this in advance) on the 24th of Dec. and heading down to Cordoba with a stop for most of the day in Toledo. We are really getting a bit messed up with plans because of Monday when many museums are closed. We plan to get to Almunecar on the 26th and stay four nights - then return to Madrid. Too bad the trip has to be so short.

As others have noted, it is smart to have reserved tickets. The Alhambra is a zoo, although it's well worth the crowds, be warned. It's chaotic, and the well designed entrance is a testament to its popularity. When I visited in 2001 we had tickets, bought on the Internet, but the code (provided by their website) wasn't found valid by the ticket takers. Fortunately, they were aware of the site's problems and simply provided our entrance based on the computer print-out we'd brought from home. Yes, yes, yes, reserve tickets, this is one place you don't want to miss. The buildings, gardens, and amazing water transport system (running throughout the compound) are incredible. Hope you all enjoy your Alhambra visit...I have fond memories!

Actually it's neither necessary nor compulsory to get advance tickets to the Alhambra y Generalife. However, there are a couple of risks in not having one. First, the queue may be long and you may have to stand in line for half-an-hour to an hour. Secondly, they do limit the number of tickets sold per day, and once that limit is reached, you're out of luck.

Having said that, I was in Granada around Jan 3, 2002 and did not have advance tickets. I arrived at the Alhambra at about 10am and had to wait about 30 minutes to buy my tickets. At that time, part of the slowdown was that the Euro had just been introduced and there was some confusion because both pesetas and euros were being used, but whatever you used, you got change only in Euros.

Also, as far as I remember, there was only 1 place inside the premises that had some sort of "controlled entry" and that was the Nazari palace and this was necessitated by the tight spaces in some of the rooms. Anyway, the ticket to this palace had a time on it and you could only enter the palace at that time.

Babs, did you go? How was it? Did you get the tickets online in advance? With those tickets, did you still have to wait in long lines? Any first-hand information/feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

Saludos, MadridMan

We had a wonderful time in Spain. I have been waiting for some free time to post a meaningful reply. It is necessary to make reservations in advance for entrance to Alhambra and Palace. It is essential to be on time to tour the Palace and don't leave the building unless you are prepared to stay out because they won't let you back in. One of our kids wondered out not realizing he was actually exiting and he couldn't get back in to rejoin us.

The food issue was tricky for us because we keep kosher and some of us don't eat fish -- better knowledge of Spainish would have been nice since we were in a number of places where people didn't speak English. French and Latin helped us and you can certainly manage and have a great time without Spainish.

The museums for the most part only have information signs in Spainish so it is particularly valuable to get the audio tour earphones. We also got a guide (extremely reasonable) to tour the Mezquita in Cordova (which was fascinating). We formed a group with some other people making a total of eight in the group and we split the cost of 30 Eur.
We stayed at the Hotel Maestra in Cordova which was a real bargain as well as being quite beautiful. We wished that we had allotted more time in Cordova.

Granada was also a great place to be. We were able to get rooms in a very comfortable Hostal Princessa upon arrival in the city in the early afternoon and stayed a couple of nights before returning to Madrid by way of Toledo.

In Madrid we stayed at the Hostal Cervantes which was a comfortable place to be in a great location. The couple that manages the place are very accommodating. Highly recommend the place -

It was unfortunate that we didn't have more time. There were so many more places we would have liked to see...but we really wanted to relax. The driving was great. The Spainiards are fast drivers but the roads are very good and it was quite easy to find our way around. Parking wasn't a major problem for us though during the summer it is probably much more of an issue.

Thanks for all the information.

Just realized I didn't totally answer. We called for tickets when we got to Granada but were unable to get until the next day in the afternoon. I had a friend who went in the summer and was unable to get a group she was leading in two weeks in advance.

We ordered our tickets a few weeks in advance by internet. It was very easy. Remember to take your reservation number with you because without it, you cannot get your tickets. We took the bus to the Alhambra. When you get off the bus, go DOWN the hill to the ticket window. Those with reservations are ushered to the front of the LONG line. The clerk gives you your ticket with your specific palace entrance time. We allowed ourselves an hour to tour the grounds before we entered the palace. DON'T BE LATE!!! The Alhambra is an incredible place and the Generalife gardens are wonderful as well. The Parador on the grounds has a wonderful, high-quality restaurant where we ate and rested before continuing our exploration. We were there 8 hours, including our peaceful dinner. I would love to go again!!!