The Alhambra

The Alhambra is the most exquisite surviving palace of the Moorish world, a hilltop citadel above Granada where the sultans of the last Muslim kingdom in Spain built a dreamlike complex of slender columns, honeycombed vaults, carved stucco filigree and tiled courts around fountain gardens. A UNESCO jewel set against the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

History

There may have been a Roman presence on the Sabika hill, and a small fortress, probably Visigothic, stood here by the 9th century; the red castle, named for the iron-red clay of its rammed-earth walls, is first mentioned in fighting under the emir Abdallah, who ruled from 888 to 912. In the 11th century the Zirids of Granada linked a fortress here to their citadel on the Albaicín hill, and in 1238 Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, founder of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of al-Andalus, began the present complex, which later Nasrid rulers kept reshaping, above all Yusuf I and Muhammad V in the 14th century. After the Reconquista ended in 1492 Renaissance buildings were added, and today it is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and the only well-preserved palace of the medieval Islamic world (Wikipedia, Alhambra).

Highlights

• The Nasrid Palaces - the exquisite carved and tiled royal halls and courts.
• The Court of the Lions - the famous fountain court of slender columns.
• The Generalife gardens - the summer palace gardens of water and greenery.
• The Alcazaba and views - the old fortress and the view over Granada.

When to go

Spring and autumn for mild weather and blooming gardens; summer is very hot. Book a timed ticket well ahead, as the Nasrid Palaces have a strict timed entry and sell out weeks in advance.

Good to know

The famous Nasrid Palaces have a strict timed entry and sell out far ahead, so book weeks in advance; without a ticket you cannot enter them. The full site is large and needs half a day and a lot of walking. It is deservedly world-famous and busy.

Nearby

The Albaicin old quarter faces it across the valley; the Sierra Nevada rises behind.

Key facts