The Alhambra Palace is one of the best historical sights I have ever visited. The palace sprawls across what feels like a city in itself, high up on a hill with fantastic views of Granada. It is comparable with the Forbidden City in Beijing China in terms of size and excellence.
When visiting the Alhambra Palace you really need a whole day there, maybe more. We set off straight after our breakfast. Luckily there was a bus for the Alhambra Palace right outside our hotel (the 3 star Puerta de las Granadas Hotel). The queue was not too bad (although it was winter when we were there). I have heard that in the summer the queues are horrendous, and not only should you be there at the crack of dawn, but it very worth while buying an e-ticket directly from the Alhambra Palace website. When you arrive there are plenty of options to take from an official tour, a booklet with a map and details of the palace, to a headset walkman. We took the walkman option, and I am glad we did, for only a few Euros, it was very user friendly and pleasurably to know where you were at anytime, without the stress or restrictions of an organised tour group.
It was a sunny morning so we headed first of all to the Alhambra Palace gardens. Even in the winter they were amazing. Plenty of fountains, equilibrium, flowers, and the most perfect hedges you have ever seen! Along the way we often stopped in a little court yard, or in a sunny spot and bought a coffee from a stall, and ice cream for the children.
A lot of the day was spent outside, walking just within the fortress walls. The finer details of the Alhambra Palace are quite astonishing with Arabic carved into stone walls that spread metres upon metres, dome ceilings with highly decorative stone carvings and towers and turrets galore. Climbing staircase upon staircase to another turret or tower with yet another amazing view was something to behold. There was maze after maze of 7 foot hedges, leading to more exquisite building, fountains, and towers. Water is a real feature at the Alhambra Palace giving you the feel of opulence to the max. One area of the Alhambra Palace looked like the Coliseum in Rome. Although I believe it was simply a courtyard! The extravagance was not held back anywhere.
Towards the end of the afternoon we sat exhausted on the wall by where all the buses pull up, and noticed that there was a sightseeing bus of Granada city arriving shortly, and decided to wait for it. Not only would it give us a glance at the rest of Granada but drop us back to the hotel, a perfect end to a perfect day. - 16492
When visiting the Alhambra Palace you really need a whole day there, maybe more. We set off straight after our breakfast. Luckily there was a bus for the Alhambra Palace right outside our hotel (the 3 star Puerta de las Granadas Hotel). The queue was not too bad (although it was winter when we were there). I have heard that in the summer the queues are horrendous, and not only should you be there at the crack of dawn, but it very worth while buying an e-ticket directly from the Alhambra Palace website. When you arrive there are plenty of options to take from an official tour, a booklet with a map and details of the palace, to a headset walkman. We took the walkman option, and I am glad we did, for only a few Euros, it was very user friendly and pleasurably to know where you were at anytime, without the stress or restrictions of an organised tour group.
It was a sunny morning so we headed first of all to the Alhambra Palace gardens. Even in the winter they were amazing. Plenty of fountains, equilibrium, flowers, and the most perfect hedges you have ever seen! Along the way we often stopped in a little court yard, or in a sunny spot and bought a coffee from a stall, and ice cream for the children.
A lot of the day was spent outside, walking just within the fortress walls. The finer details of the Alhambra Palace are quite astonishing with Arabic carved into stone walls that spread metres upon metres, dome ceilings with highly decorative stone carvings and towers and turrets galore. Climbing staircase upon staircase to another turret or tower with yet another amazing view was something to behold. There was maze after maze of 7 foot hedges, leading to more exquisite building, fountains, and towers. Water is a real feature at the Alhambra Palace giving you the feel of opulence to the max. One area of the Alhambra Palace looked like the Coliseum in Rome. Although I believe it was simply a courtyard! The extravagance was not held back anywhere.
Towards the end of the afternoon we sat exhausted on the wall by where all the buses pull up, and noticed that there was a sightseeing bus of Granada city arriving shortly, and decided to wait for it. Not only would it give us a glance at the rest of Granada but drop us back to the hotel, a perfect end to a perfect day. - 16492
