When to Visit the Alhambra in Spain

By Roberto (Updated Mar 22)

⏱ 3 min

When I visited the Alhambra, some months ago, I didn’t know it was as impressive as it is. I’m not joking when I say that the walls in the Alhambra have the most meticulous work I’ve ever seen. Whether you’re planning your visit to this super, human-made gem or already have your trip planned, read here about when to visit the Alhambra, and other basic information for your visit.

In case you want more details about the Alhambra in Granada, check out this other fresh post:

When to visit the Alhambra, by season

The Alhambra has Mediterranean Continental weather, meaning, cold and wet winters, and hot and dry summers, with mild temperatures in Spring and Autumn.

We recommend avoiding July and August because Andalusia gets really hot. On the contrary, in Winter it’s easy to get a rainy day and the views won’t be as nice as on a sunny day.

Therefore, our most recommended dates to visit the Alhambra are Spring and Autumn. In addition, in Spring you’ll find the gardens blooming. We went there in June and enjoyed the city and the Alhambra so much. But it’s true that walking up the hills of the Albaycín and moving for hours was pretty hot around midday.

When to visit the Alhambra, by hours

According to the official website, the schedule is as follows:

We did the day visit and it’s the one we recommend. Why? Because unless you’re a second or third-time visitor, you’d like to see as much as possible. The night tour offers other views of the internal details but it can’t compare to the regular visit. For more information about the night visit, check this other post (not from us). During the day, the Alhambra looks gorgeous with the sun passing through the windows and all the views from the Alcazaba.

Then, when to visit the Alhambra during the day? Simply, try to avoid the midday, when it gets super busy and hot in Spring and Summer. 9 in the morning or 5-7 pm would be good moments to enter, with fewer people, fresher temperatures, and better lighting.

Important things to know before you visit the Alhambra

The first thing you need to get – in advance! – are the tickets. We provide more details about them in this other post. Once you have your tickets, plan your visit following the below advice:

About the Access

To access the Alhambra, you should go to the entrance area or pabellón de entrada. To reach it, you can take a taxi or a bus, or – the healthiest way – walk.

In case you opt for walking, you have three ways: Cuesta del Rey Chico, de Gomérez o del Realejo, depending on your location. The three of them are demanding hills, but nothing my grandma couldn’t do. In our case, we did the Cuesta de Gomerez and loved it, thanks to its cute gardens. 🌳

How long does it take to visit the Alhambra?

Well, it depends on your visit, because you can get tickets to certain parts or the whole Alhambra, which we recommend. Consider an average of 3 hours.

Do you recommend booking a guided tour?

Absolutely yes, unless you know about Muslim architecture, Spanish history, and can read Arabic. If you go there without a guide, you’ll see ruins, beautiful walls and views, and colours, but you won’t understand anything.

There are some official websites that offer guided tours with 10-people groups. Some examples are:

• AlhambraOnline
• Alhambra
• AlhambrayGeneralife

Are they good? According to our guide, they depend on the guide… In any case, it will always be better to learn a bit than nothing! The tours are more or less affordable (less than 50€ per person).

The original tickets are 14 € and can be found here: Official Alhambra website

We were pretty lucky this time because we went there during Covid, and the Alhambra was almost empty! It was amazing to enjoy the visit without crowds, and our guide was… fantastic. The day before we did the Free Tour Leyendas del Albayzín y Sacromonte, guided by Iván Menguiano, and I personally loved his passion, knowledge, and the way he explained everything. I asked him if he could prepare us a private tour for the next day to the Alhambra, and he said we could join another group of 3 people. 😃

We did the tour in Spanish since the other people were Latinos, but he explained some particular things in English for Ellen, too. Feel free to contact him, as he told me. +34662690404 (only through WhatsApp). Maybe he can offer you a good deal for a private English tour.

Eat and drink in the Alhambra

Eating in the Alhambra is not allowed except in the gardens, where you can find benches and trash bins. You are also not supposed to drink but… considering the visit is long and you’ll need water, we recommend bringing your own bottle.

There are some vending machines in the entrance area for snacks and drinks, but there is no bar or restaurant. Bring your own protein cookies! 🍪

Other services

Due to the difficulties of building extra spaces in the Alhambra, there are few restrooms. Don’t worry because the main areas, like the entrance, have them. Also, for your own safety and the monument, the Alhambra is controlled by security guards that can help you in case you need any help.

We hope this information was helpful in planning your visit to the Alhambra! We also hope you fall in love with it as much as we did!