Pabellón de Acceso
The access pavilion is marked on the official map with ticketing and visitor services. It is a useful landmark, but not the Nasrid Palace entrance.
One fixed time. A day around it.
Plan your Alhambra visit around your palace time.
For a daytime visit with Nasrid admission, make the palace time on your ticket the fixed point. Arrange the Generalife and Alcazaba around it, within opening hours. If you booked a guided tour, follow the operator’s meeting time and route instead.
Find your starting point
Start with your ticket
When are you going into the palaces?
Three suggested orders for an independent daytime visit with an Alhambra General ticket. Choose the one that fits the time you actually hold.
The Patronato advises planning around Nasrid entry. The routes below are our suggestions, subject to current access directions. Official visit guidance ↗
Protect the appointment
Arrival, meeting, palace entry.
These may be three different times and places.
- Arriving at the Alhambra
- Your journey ends here; the walk to your next point may still be ahead.
- Meeting your guide
- If you booked a tour, use its final meeting instructions. Your guide sets the route.
- Entering the Nasrid Palaces
- The allocated ticket time controls entry. Missing it means no palace admission under the official rule.
01 An early palace slot
Begin with the palace interiors.
When your palace slot leaves little time after opening, keep the beginning of the day simple. Reach the correct entrance, visit the interiors, then make room for the wider complex.
- Before your slot
Go to the Nasrid entrance
Allow for your journey, the walk inside the complex and admission checks. Do not squeeze in a garden circuit simply because you have reached the Alhambra.
- At your booked timeFixed entry
Nasrid Palaces
Use the time printed on your ticket. Being at a ticket office or a tour meeting point is not the same as being at palace entry.
- After the palaces
Alcazaba, then Generalife
One possible order is the fortress followed by the gardens, including the Partal along your permitted route. Adjust to current directions and your pace.
Our takeBest when you would rather secure the timed part first and give the rest of the visit more flexibility.
02 A middle-of-day slot
Give each side of the slot some space.
A slot in the middle of the day can divide the visit naturally. Start with one included area only if you have enough time to finish it and reach palace entry without rushing.
- Before your slot
Generalife, if time allows
A garden-first route works when you can reach the palaces comfortably afterwards. If the gap is tight, leave the gardens for later and head to the palace entrance.
- At your booked timeFixed entry
Nasrid Palaces
Keep the entry time fixed when choosing breaks or earlier stops. A slower garden visit does not move the palace reservation.
- After the palaces
The remaining included areas
Continue with the Alcazaba and any unvisited areas on your ticket, while they are open. Leave room for a break instead of adding another booked activity immediately.
Our takeBest when the time available before and after the palaces is generous enough for your walking pace.
03 A late palace slot
Let the palaces be the finale.
A late palace time can work well if you arrive earlier for the other included spaces. The shorter winter opening day makes that ordering especially important.
- Earlier in the day
Generalife and Alcazaba
Visit the other areas you want to see before palace entry. This is still part of your daytime ticket, not permission to stay beyond the closing time.
- Before palace entry
Finish the wider route
Leave time to reach the Nasrid entrance. Treat the slot as your next appointment rather than attempting one more paid area at the last moment.
- At your booked timeFixed entry
Nasrid Palaces
End with the interiors, following staff directions. Do not save the gardens or fortress for afterwards if their opening hours will already be over.
Our takeBest when you can reach the Alhambra well before the palace slot; a late slot does not make a late arrival suitable for a full visit.
The other edge of your day
Closing time matters, too.
A late palace slot does not extend opening hours for the other areas. Leave time for them earlier.
- 15 October — 31 March
- 08:30 — 18:00
- 1 April — 14 October
- 08:30 — 20:00
Published daytime hours. Closed 25 December and 1 January. Night visits have a separate schedule.
Official hours · checked 28 October 2026 ↗Get to the right place
One complex. Different arrival points.
Use the place named on your ticket or tour confirmation. The access pavilion, a gate and the palace entrance are not interchangeable.
Puerta de la Justicia
The Gate of Justice is a separate location on the complex. If it is your meeting point, navigate to that name rather than to the ticket office.
Palacios Nazaríes
This is the palace entry point relevant to your timed ticket. Reaching another part of the Alhambra does not mean you have reached this entrance.
A different kind of visit
No daytime palace slot?
Start with what your ticket actually includes.
Gardens & fortressA route without the Nasrid interiors. Compare the included areas and ticket arrangements.A night visitA separate visit and schedule. Establish the night ticket conditions before planning around it.Still looking for admission?What to try when tickets are sold out, and which alternatives change the visit itself.
Details that shape the day
Before you set out.
How much time should I leave?
The Patronato gives around three hours as a general visit estimate. Add your journey, arrival arrangements and time for your own pace. An included transfer or extra city visit can make a tour much longer. Read the full visit-length answer.
Tickets and original identity documents
Bring your ticket and original ID card or passport. Children also need their own admission ticket. Match the visitor details to the booking and follow any operator collection instructions. Official document and ticket requirements ↗
Bags and visiting with a stroller
The official FAQ limits bags to 40 × 40 cm. Strollers are restricted in the visitable monument spaces, including the Nasrid Palaces, Generalife, Alcazaba and Partal, although they can use connecting paths. Plan for how your child will manage those sections. Official family and bag guidance ↗
Mobility needs and changes to the route
Use the official accessibility map to discuss the actual route, slopes and surfaces with the venue or your operator. A general accessibility label does not settle what will work for you. Follow current staff directions where access has changed. Official accessibility map ↗
Can I return to an area later?
The official FAQ distinguishes leaving and re-entering the wider complex from revisiting paid areas: each included paid area may be visited once. Plan breaks around that limit and your palace time. Official access and re-entry guidance ↗