The last Moorish kingdom in Spain: the Alhambra's Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife gardens on a hill above the white Albaicín quarter, with the Sierra Nevada behind. Alhambra tickets are timed, sold online weeks ahead, name the hour you enter the Nasrid Palaces, and sell out in spring and autumn: book before anything else. Tapas still come free with a drink in many bars. Under 1.5 hours from Málaga and about 3.5 from Madrid by train. Skiing in the Sierra Nevada from December to April.
Highlights
- The Alhambra's Nasrid Palaces (timed tickets)
- Generalife gardens
- Sunset from the Mirador de San Nicolás
- Albaicín lanes and tea houses
- Flamenco in a Sacromonte cave
- Royal Chapel of the Catholic Monarchs
- Free tapas with a drink
Things to do
- Alhambra: Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba and GeneralifeMorning · 4h
- Albaicín walk to the Mirador de San Nicolás at sunsetEvening · 2h 30m
- Cathedral and the Royal ChapelAfternoon · 1h 30m
- Zambra flamenco in a Sacromonte caveEvening · 2h
- Day in the Sierra Nevada (skiing in winter, walks in summer)Morning · 7h
Tours & tickets
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When to go
Best time: March – June, September – November
Heads up
Summer Heat in Andalusia and Castile
July and August inland are fiercely hot: 38-42 °C is normal in Seville and Córdoba and heatwaves pass 45 °C; Madrid, Toledo and Granada reach the high 30s. Sightsee from opening time until about 13:00 and again after 19:00, rest in the afternoon as the Spanish do, carry water, and book rooms with air-conditioning. Many sights open early and late in summer; the coast is cooler. June and September are hot too.
Worth knowing
Alhambra: Timed Tickets Sell Out
The Alhambra admits a fixed number of visitors a day, and each ticket names the half-hour you must enter the Nasrid Palaces. Tickets (€21 general) are sold online on the official site weeks ahead and sell out, from March to June and September to November above all; resellers and tours charge far more. Book as soon as your dates are fixed, carry the passport the ticket is named to, and arrive early for your slot.
Heads up
Sierra Nevada Ski Season
From about December to March or April the Sierra Nevada ski station, about an hour above Granada, is open, and the mountain road can need chains after snow. Granada itself is cold at night in winter (near freezing) but sunny; bring a warm coat for evenings in the Albaicín.
- Holy Week (Semana Santa) — In Andalusia the week before Easter is a week of processions: brotherhoods in hooded robes carry great floats of Christ and the Virgin through the streets, day and night, to drums and trumpets. Seville's and Málaga's are the most famous. The old towns are packed and some streets impassable, rooms cost double and sell out months ahead, and many sights change their hours.