Welcome to the Alhambra

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Described by Lonely Planet as “the stuff of fairy tales” The Alhambra is one of the must-see attractions in Granada. Unfortunately, with all must-see attractions, The Alhambra attracts thousands of visitors and bulging tour groups everyday, so for us, the promised fairy tale didn’t quite live up to expectations.

Tickets are sold on a quota system and it is advised to book a ticket in advance during peak season or arrive very early to purchase tickets on the day of your visit.

Being low season we arrived an hour before the gates were due to open. We weren’t too concerned as we hopped off the bus and walked towards the ticket building. As we rounded the corner, our hearts sank. Already the queues stretched for miles, twisting around so much it was hard to see where the ever-increasing lines ended.

After a stressful hour long wait in the queue (will they have any tickets left?) we had almost reached the ticket machines when the wardens started letting big groups of people cut in front of the queue. Tempers flared and frozen disgruntled tourists started getting pushy as ‘pre-booked’ visitors arrived last minute to collect their tickets for their time slots. Already the fairy tale was looking a tad jaded!

The Alhambra itself was very impressive but it was quite hard to soak in the atmosphere with so many people all jostling for space and posing for photos in front of the lovely tile work and pillars. The Generalife (Architect’s gardens) were much more relaxing and we were able to walk around and enjoy the space without the crowds. I’m sure they would look even better outside of winter.

Aside from The Alhambra, we spent our time exploring the lovely Albayzin (old Muslim quarter) on the hill opposite the Alhambra. It had a definite alternative vibe to it, and is just the place we would move to if we ever decide to ‘go hippy’ (can’t you imagine? Me dancing about for tourists, circling coloured streamers above my head while Chris feeds organic chickpeas to our feral dog on a string leash… as our 8 long haired earth children play in the dirt next to our feet?) We loved the old twisty streets and luckily didn’t meet any of the thieves and muggers we were warned about.

The views from the viewpoint were awesome, taking in the whole of The Alhambra and the snow covered Sierra Navada behind. We came back here and watched the sunset on Christmas day and got a few photos of The Alhambra at dusk too. Christmas dinner this year was had in a teterias (Middle Eastern teahouse) - no turkey and cranberry sauce for us again this year!

During our stay in Granada, we also made a day trip out to the 70km stretch of crazy hillside villages called the Las Alpujarras. We aimed to drive out to the 3 little villages of Pampaneira, Bubion and Capileira and do a good half day walk. This time, we weren’t so lucky with the weather and explored the first village in the pouring rain. By the time we reached our third village, the temperature had dropped so we sat in the car trying to decide if it was safe to attempt any of the walks in the poor weather.

By the time we decided that we would forget the walking and settle on a decent lunch, we wiped the fogged up windscreen and found that it had started snowing! The afternoon turned out to be pretty good as we wandered around in the falling snow and finally holed up in warm little restaurant and tucked into some amazing regional dishes.

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Photos

Alhambra at dusk
Christmas Day 2007

After it stopped snowing
Capileira in the Las Alpujarras