Your Alhambra ticket is the one thing you cannot leave until the last minute. It sells out, and once it does there is no shortcut. Here is how to buy it step by step: when tickets are released, which ticket you actually want, how the famous Nasrid Palaces time slot works, and what to do if everything already shows as sold out.
When tickets go on sale
Tickets are released 90 days in advance, at midnight Granada time. Every night the date three months ahead opens up, so the calendar rolls forward one day at a time.
In high season (June to August, Easter week and long weekends) the morning slots go within hours. In February or November you have more room, but do not get comfortable about a weekend.
The practical advice: work out the day your date is released and buy it that same day. And if your trip is less than three months away, buy now, before you read the rest of this.
How to buy them, step by step
Buying on the official website is straightforward once you know what it will ask you:
- Go to tickets.alhambra-patronato.es, the official ticket site of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife.
- Choose the ticket type. If this is your first visit, that is the Alhambra General.
- Choose the date. You will see the available Nasrid Palaces time slots, and that time governs your whole day.
- Enter the full name and ID or passport number of every person. Tickets are personal and they check the documents at the entrance.
- Pay and keep the QR code. That is your ticket: nothing to collect at a box office, nothing to exchange.
Two limits worth knowing before you start: you can buy a maximum of 10 tickets per person, and tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Check the date and the time carefully before you pay.
Which ticket to choose
The official site sells several, and this is where people get confused. These are the ones you will really be comparing:
- Alhambra General: the full visit. Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba, the Partal and the Generalife. It is what most people want and the first to sell out.
- Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba: the whole site except the Nasrid Palaces. Considerably cheaper, and a good fallback if the palaces are gone and you book them for another day or at night.
- Night visit to the Nasrid Palaces: the palaces only, lit up, with a separate quota. There is a full guide to the Alhambra at night.
- Night visit to the Gardens and Generalife: the evening version of the gardens, without the palaces.
- Dobla de Oro: the Alhambra plus the Andalusi monuments of the Albaicín (El Bañuelo, Casa de Zafra, Casa del Horno de Oro, the Dar al-Horra palace and the Corral del Carbón). If Moorish Granada is what brought you here, this is the one that gives you most.
- Alhambra Experiencias: combines the night visit to the palaces with the Alcazaba and gardens by day.
- Combined visit with the Rodríguez-Acosta Foundation: the monument plus the foundation’s carmen and art collection, right there on the Mauror hill.
What each one includes, and what it leaves out, is covered in the guide to Alhambra ticket types.
The Nasrid Palaces time slot: where everyone slips up
This is what ruins the most visits, so read it twice. The time printed on your ticket is for the Nasrid Palaces, not for entering the site.
- You can enter the grounds from opening time, 8:30, and stay until closing. The Alcazaba, the Generalife and the gardens are yours whenever you like within those hours.
- The palaces only let you in during your half-hour window. If your ticket says 12:00, you go in between 12:00 and 12:30.
- Miss that window and you do not see the palaces. There is no refund.
- It is about a 20-minute walk from the Access Pavilion to the door of the Nasrid Palaces, and it is not a flat stroll.
So the rule is simple: get to the site 45 minutes before the time on your ticket. And when you pick the slot, think about how you arrive that day. If you land or step off the train that same morning, do not take the first slot.
In July and August, earlier is better: by midday the Alcazaba is a frying pan and there is very little shade. In winter, mid-morning works well, because at 8:30 the hill is freezing and often in mist.
Where to buy them
There are four real routes, and each one has its own quota:
- The official Patronato website: the official price and the cheapest option. The catch is how fast it goes.
- The Granada Card, the city council’s tourist pass. It includes the full Alhambra, with its own Nasrid Palaces slot, plus the Cathedral, the Royal Chapel, the Cartuja monastery, San Jerónimo, Casa de Zafra, the Science Park and several city bus journeys. It comes in 24, 48 and 72-hour versions, plus a gardens-only one. It has its own quota, so there are often Granada Cards left when the official site is sold out. You still pick your palaces time when you buy it.
- Guided tours with the ticket included: companies holding their own allocation. You pay more, but the ticket is solved for you and someone explains what you are looking at. What to check before booking is in the guide to Alhambra guided tours.
- The box office and machines at the Access Pavilion: same-day sales only, with no guarantee whatsoever, because the quota has usually gone in advance sales.
One warning: search on Google and you will find sites that look a lot like the official one and resell with a mark-up. The official one is tickets.alhambra-patronato.es. If you do end up buying elsewhere, check two things: that the ticket is issued in the name of the person going in, and how much extra you are paying.
If tickets are sold out
A red calendar does not mean you are locked out. These are the real ways in, roughly in the order I would try them:
- The Granada Card, which runs on its own allocation and survives when the official site has nothing left.
- A guided tour with the ticket included, for the same reason: separate quota.
- The night visit to the Nasrid Palaces, booked separately. The palaces half empty and lit up after dark are one of the best things you can do in Granada.
- The Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba ticket to see the site, leaving the palaces for another day or for the night visit.
- Watching the site in the days before: slots come back through cancellations and unsold agency allocations.
- Trying the box office early, on a weekday and out of high season. In August, do not even consider it.
And if you end up without a ticket, Granada does not stop there: the Alhambra seen from outside at sunset, from the viewpoints of the Albaicín, is the image most people take home anyway.
Who gets in free and who pays less
- Children under 12: free, but they still need their own ticket. Add them to the booking or you will be turned away at the gate.
- Reduced rate: EU citizens over 65, European Youth Card holders and people with a recognised disability of 33 % or more.
- In every case you must bring the document that proves it. Saying so is not enough.
- The Andalusi monuments of the Dobla de Oro (El Bañuelo, Casa de Zafra and the rest) are free on Sundays.
- The Silla del Moro and the Torres Bermejas are always free, and the view from the Silla del Moro is worth the climb.
What to bring on the day
- The original ID card or passport for each person, the same one used to buy the ticket. They ask for it and they look at it.
- The QR code, on your phone or printed.
- Very little luggage: bags and backpacks larger than 40 x 40 cm are not allowed in.
- Water and comfortable shoes. It is several hours of slopes, steps and cobbles.
- Spare time, which is what you will be most grateful for.
One more thing that is not in the confirmation email: each area can only be visited once. If you walk out of the Nasrid Palaces because you left something behind, you are not going back in.
Which gate to use
There are two entrances worth knowing about, and choosing the right one saves you half an hour of walking:
- The Access Pavilion (on Avenida del Generalife) is where the box office and the machines are. Go there if you need to buy, sort out a problem, or start with the Generalife.
- The Puerta de la Justicia, at the top of Cuesta de Gomérez, is far closer to the Nasrid Palaces. If you already have your QR code and an early slot, use this one and skip the long walk.
To get up there, take the C30 or C32 minibus from Plaza Isabel la Católica, a taxi, or walk up Cuesta de Gomérez from Plaza Nueva (about 20 minutes uphill, shaded by elms). Drive only if you are staying up on the hill: there is a car park, but the old town is restricted traffic.
The mistakes we see every season
- Booking the hotel first and the Alhambra afterwards. It works the other way round: the Alhambra sets the dates.
- Assuming the gardens ticket includes the Nasrid Palaces. It does not.
- Choosing a palaces slot right after the train, the bus or the flight lands.
- Buying every ticket in one person’s name for the whole group.
- Turning up with a photo of your passport instead of the document itself.
- Counting on buying at the box office in the middle of August.
Ticket sorted: now plan the day
With the palaces slot fixed, everything else falls into place. Read what to see inside the Alhambra so you arrive with a route in mind, decide whether you want an audio guide, to go on your own or with a guide, and slot the visit into your two-day itinerary or your single day. If you have not booked a room yet, where to stay in the centre covers the areas you can walk up from. And the rest of the monument is in the complete Alhambra guide.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you buy Alhambra tickets?
On the official Patronato website, tickets.alhambra-patronato.es, which is the cheapest. You can also use the city’s Granada Card or a guided tour that includes entry: both hold separate quotas and often have space when the official site is sold out.
How far in advance do tickets go on sale?
90 days ahead, at midnight Granada time. In summer, at Easter and on long weekends the morning slots disappear within hours, so buy on the day your date is released.
What if the tickets are sold out?
Look at the Granada Card, a guided tour with entry included or the night visit to the Nasrid Palaces, which all run on different quotas. Another option is the Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba ticket, leaving the palaces for another day.
Do you need ID to enter the Alhambra?
Yes. Tickets are personal and at the entrance they ask for the original ID card or passport of each visitor, the same one used for the booking. A photo on your phone is not accepted.
Can you buy tickets on the day at the box office?
They are sold at the box office and the machines at the Access Pavilion, but only for that same day and with no guarantee anything is left. In high season everything is normally gone in advance.
How many tickets can one person buy?
A maximum of 10 per person. Larger groups have to go through an authorised agency or split the booking between several people, each with their own details.
What happens if I am late for my Nasrid Palaces slot?
You have a half-hour window from the time printed on the ticket. After that you cannot enter the palaces and there is no refund, although you can still visit the Alcazaba, the Generalife and the gardens.