Alhambra Palace Granada guide. A simple route with photo stops

My Alhambra Palace Granada guide is built for first timers, around a simple, repeatable route. You start in the Generalife gardens, move into the core Alhambra areas, do the fortress and viewpoints, and make it to your pre-booked time slot at Nasrid Palace, before finishing at the Partal Palace. 

I share the exact order I did it in, as well as my best tips, photo spots and all the things you need to do before you get there. This will ensure you have an enjoyable, and smooth, visit to one of Spain’s best tourist attractions!

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What to check before you go 

These are the bits that stop your day going wrong – make sure you check!

• Book your Nasrid Palaces time first. Everything else can flex, that slot can’t.
• Bring the original passport or ID you used when booking. It’s mandatory to access the complex.
• Your Nasrid Palaces entry is timed. The ticket time is strict, I recommend you get there 35-50 minutes before your slot, as the queue builds fast
• Screenshot your tickets and the entry time. It saves fiddling at the gate.
• Bring water and wear decent shoes. You will be on stone, slopes, and steps for hours.
• Know the four names you need to follow signs: Generalife, Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces, Partal.

My Top Tip! If you are seeing “sold out” on the official website when trying to get your ticket, you have another option. Alhambra guided tours, I had to do this and really enjoyed having a pro show me around. It cost a bit more but meant I didn’t miss out. 

How long to allow for your Alhambra visit

• Fast highlights: 2.5-3 hours – you keep moving and make limit stops
• Comfortable first visit: 4-5 hours – more time to pause, fewer rushed photos
• Slower walkers: 5-6 hours – more breaks and time to appreciate everything

My route to follow once inside

1. Generalife. Walk the canal, gardens, and viewpoint arches.
2. Walk back into the core. Pass the Convento de San Francisco area on the way.
3. Alcazaba. Walls, towers, and views over Granada.
4. Nasrid Palaces. Make your timed entry and slow down to enjoy.
5. Partal Palace. Finish outside with the reflection and views.

If your Nasrid time is early, do Generalife first, go to Nasrid at your slot, then come back out to Alcazaba, viewpoints, and Partal.

Stop 1: Generalife. Start with gardens, water, and views

The Generalife is the best start. It’s spacious, relaxing, easy to follow, and it gets you into the right mood before the more crowded areas.

Fun facts

• The Generalife was the Nasrid rulers’ country estate and summer retreat, just uphill from the Alhambra.
• The Patio de la Acequia is the best-known part. It’s a long court built around a central water channel.
• The name “Generalife” is often linked to Arabic roots meaning something like “Garden of the Architect”, though the exact origin is debated.

How to do it without wandering in circles

1. Walk the main water channel end to end.
2. Take at least one side path through the planted areas.
3. Finish with the framed views back towards the Alhambra, then leave.

My Top Photo Tip! I recommend you take one long shot along the canal first, then switch to the tighter garden details, save the “Alhambra in the distance” framing for last. It’s a beautiful view if you can capture it in one of the ornate arches.

And here’s where you’re heading next!

Stop 2: From the Generalife to the Alhambra core.

The San Francisco area and the waterworks. This stretch is more interesting than it looks at first glance. You’re walking through the bit that joins “garden estate” to “palace city”, with layers from both the Nasrid period and the Christian period after 1492.

Fun facts

• The Alhambra’s fountains and gardens were powered by a major canal system, the Acequia Real, bringing water from the Darro River upstream and running past the Generalife orchards.
• The Convent of San Francisco was created after the conquest. It was founded in the 1490s on the site of an earlier Nasrid palace.
• Queen Isabella’s will asked to be buried here first. Her remains were later moved to the Royal Chapel in central Granada.

What to do

1. Treat this as a deliberate “walk-through” section. One photo, then keep moving.
2. Follow signs towards the Alcazaba unless your Nasrid entry time is close.
3. Take a look at the Convento de San Francisco and it’s gardens
4. Don’t miss the Iglesia de Santa María de la Encarnación or Palacio de Carlos V
5. If you see Nasrid queues and your slot is not soon, do not be tempted to join them.

Stop 3: Alcazaba and viewpoints.

Do this section with a clear order and it’s straightforward, fortress first, then the best Granada views. The mistake is bouncing between towers, tunnels and viewpoints without following a loop.

Fun facts

• The Alcazaba is the military citadel, and one of the oldest surviving parts of the Alhambra.
• In the 13th century the Nasrids gave it much of its current form, including major towers like the Torre de la Vela.

A simple loop to follow

1. Fortress walls and towers.
2. Climb the tower to the top, it’s not strenuous, so most people will be able to manage the stairs
3. Viewpoints with arches.

My Top Photo Tip! When you reach the miradors, give yourself a proper break. Look out across Granada, then turn back and notice the stonework and the framing. If you are there early in the morning or later afternoon the light is spectacular on the big walls. The views over Granada and back to Albaicín are great, you can clearly spot the view Mirador de San Nicolás.

If you’re running late for Nasrid, cut extra viewpoint stops or consider not going up the tower.

Stop 4: Nasrid Palaces for your timed entry

This is the headline part, and it’s the most controlled, to try and manage crowds. Your ticket time is for the Nasrid Palaces and access is only at the time indicated, so do not miss your slot.

Fun facts

• The timed section is typically described as Mexuar, Comares and the Patio de los Leones (Lions Courtyard).
• The Court of the Myrtles is the central courtyard of the Comares Palace, built around a long reflecting pool and myrtle hedges.

What to do right before you go in

• Get to the area early enough (I recommend 35-50mins) to find the correct entrance without rushing.
• A queue will form well before your entry time, so getting there early means you’re one of the first through the gate
• Have your ticket and your original passport or ID ready to show.
• Once you’re inside, you’ll enjoy it more if you slow your pace. The ceilings and upper walls are easy to miss, I recommend you stop and look up frequently. I found it some of the most impressive architecture

Start with the long reflection courtyard

Stop 5: Partal Palace and the surrounding gardens

Ending at the Partal Palace works well because you leave the busiest interiors and step back into open air, to enjoy the gardens, views over Granada and back to the Generalife. We finished just before sunset and the light reflecting back on the Generalife was spectacular, keep an eye out for this view.

Fun facts

• The Partal Palace is one of the oldest surviving palatial structures in the Alhambra, associated with the Nasrid ruler Muhammad III in the early 14th century.
• The name “Partal” is linked to the idea of a portico or portal, and the surviving highlight is that portico facing the reflecting pool.

My Top Photo Tip! If you want your ending photo to feel like a full stop, take the pool and portico first, then take one last look back across the complex before you leave.

My tips to make your visit easier

• Set a phone alarm for your Nasrid entry time. It’s easy to lose track once you’re inside.
• Keep your passport or ID somewhere you can access fast, not buried in a bag.
• Google maps works well inside the whole complex, so refer to this if you lose your bearings
• Use viewpoints as rest stops. Water, snack, quick time check, then carry on.
• If you need to cut something, cut a photo stop, not a whole section. The order is what keeps this route easy and means you don’t miss the best bits.
• Keep Partal as the finish. It’s the nicest way to end after the Nasrid Palaces.
• There are actually two hotels on the grounds if you feel like staying very close by. They need to be booked a long while in advance.

FAQs about the Alhambra Palace