Granada - Buying Alhambra tickets online

The Alhambra in Granada is the most visited monument in Spain so booking tickets can initially seem daunting.

First of all it's important to understand that the Alhambra is made up of five parts:

- Nasrid Palaces, which is the most spectacular part. 

- Alcazaba, the castle or fortress.

- Generalife, the summer residence and gardens.

- Partal Gardens, the grounds of the Nasrid Palaces.

- Carlos V Palace which hosts the Museum and Art Gallery.

The Carlos V Palace with Museum and Art Gallery are free to visit for EU citizens together with the small gardens outside them and the Santa Maria church. To reach these places just follow the tarmac road up from Granada town or the path which is called Cuesta Gomerez and then go in through Puerta Justicia. Access to this area which also includes toilets, kiosk selling food and drink, left luggage, shops and the Parador hotel, café and restaurant is free to all.

All the other parts of the Alhambra are ticketed.

Buying tickets directly online

If you want to book tickets yourself, the only official website for buying Alhambra tickets directly is 

http://www.alhambra-patronato.es

Tickets become available one year in advance on the first of each month so ideally you should book your flights, if you're flying, and your Alhambra tickets at the same time to be sure you get the dates and type of ticket you need.
The General ticket is the best value since it gives access to Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba, Generalife and Partal Gardens for just over 19 euros. It's agood idea to book in advance to be sure to get the type of ticket you want. When you decide to sit down and book you will need to have ready with you the Identity document of all the people you are purchasing tickets for and your credit card.

Procedure

To book tickets online go to the official website http://www.alhambra-patronato.es Choose English at the top right.

Then choose Visit the Alhambra, then Individual tourism, then Ticket sale, then Prices. You will find a list of the various types of ticket, the price and, by clicking on 'info' on the right of each line you can open a page which will tell you exactly what is included in each ticket. For example with the Alhambra General ticket you can visit all areas of the Monumental Complex open to the public: Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces, Generalife and all the Gardens.

The Dobla de oro General includes a day visit to the Alhambra (Nasrid Palaces, Generalife, Partal and Alcazaba) and also entry to the following monuments: Bañuelo, Casa Morisca Horno de Oro, Dar al-Horra’s Palace, Casa del Chapiz, Casa de Zafra and Corral del Carbón. However, bear in mind that Corral del Carbón has free admission anyway and Bañuelo, Casa Morisca Horno de Oro, Dar al-Horra’s Palace, Casa del Chapiz and Casa de Zafra can be visited free on Sundays.

When choosing your ticket bear in mind that you probably want to see the Nasrid Palaces (the most spectacular part of the Alhambra.

These tickets include Nasrid palaces

• Alhambra General: 19 euros. [+info]
• Alhambra Nocturna: 10.16 euros. [+info] (evening visit)
• Dobla de Oro General: 27.30 euros.  [+info]
• Dobla de Oro Nocturna:  20.93 euros.  [+info]
• Alhambra Experiencias: Night visit to Nasrid Palaces lit and daytime visit to Alcazaba, the Generalife Gardens and Palace on two consecutive days.: 19 euros.  [+info]
• Alhambra y Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta: coming soon  [+info]

This ticket doesn't include Nasrid palaces:

• Alhambra Jardines: 10 euros. [+info]

Once you are clear about which type of ticket you want to buy, click on 'purchase tickets' or 'comprar entradas' on that page or go back to Individual tourism and proceed from there. Sometimes the website keeps going back to Spanish in which case choose English again in the top right of the page.

You should now be on the website tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en, so if you are buying the Alhamabra general ticket, for example, you will be on https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/tickets-alhambra-general/ . This page gives you a summary of what is included in the ticket. Check carefully you are buying the one you want, then click on 'Purchase tickets'.

You now have to choose whether you want the ordinary ticket or some sort of discounted ticket. Bear in mind that you can print the ordinary ticket at home and go directly to the part of the complex you want to visit first, while you must provide documentation at the ticket offices for all reduced tickets before getting them. So, you will need to allow time to do so, the website recommends at least one hour earlier than the time allocated for your visit to the Nasrid palaces, but earlier is better, so think about whether the discount is worth the extra hassle.

So, choose the number of tickets you want to buy then proceed to step 2

For step 2 you must choose the date you wish to visit the Alhambra and the time you want to access the Nasrid Palaces. This time is fixed and cannot be changed. If you don't arrive at the correct time you will not be allowed access.

Tickets become available on the 1st of the month one year in advance. All tickets, but especially the General ticket which is the cheapest, get sold out quite quickly, especially for the most popular months. 

If the ticket you want is not available try another option - for example the Dobla de Or General includes the Alhambra General ticket. 

Click on the date you want and then, below, on the access time you want for the Nasrid Palaces. The number in brackets shows the number of places available.

At step 3 you have to first enter all i.d. information for the person buying the tickets and then below the information for the person/people who will be using the tickets. You must take those identity documents with you when you visit the Alhambra because you may be asked to show it.

Finally in step 4 you have to pay. If you haven't bought reduced price tickets you can generally print them yourself at home - this is clearly stated on the ticket. Tickets purchased online can also be picked up  at the automatic ticket machines at the Alhambra entrance pavilion, using the same credit card used to purchase the tickets. Now (2023) it is not obligatory to print the tickets. In fact it says on the website:

1. Carry the ticket with QR code in physical or digital format (including children under 12).

I know it's more environmentally friendly to save paper, but for the Alhambra, I would still print the ticket. The Nasrid Palace timed entry part is a little stressful - the palaces are incredibly beautiful and you don't want to miss them because you forgot to charge your phone ....you will probably be taking a lot of photos too. If you print at home, the print must be of good quality. Partially printed, stained, damaged or illegible tickets will not be accepted. To check the good quality of the print, make sure the information written on the ticket, as well as the QR code are legible.

If the above tickets are sold out another option (but much more expensive) is  the 

Granada card http://www.granadatur.com/granada-card, which includes Nasrid Palaces and entire Alhambra Access as well as various other entrance fees and some public transport.

This post was updated on 27th March 2023