Alhambra Tickets - Where To Buy Entrance Tickets

The Alhambra is the most visited monument in Spain, more than 3 million tickets to the Alhambra are sold every year.

Individuals can purchase tickets to the Alhambra in Granada in 5 ways

1) In the ticket office located in the Alhambra (same day)
2) Internet (advance booking)
3) By phone, or at branches of the La Caixa bank (advance booking)
4) In Servicaixa cash machines (advance booking)
5) In an authorized travel agency

Warning: The ticket indicates a specific time to see the Nasrid Palaces in order to control the number of visitors in that part of the Alhambra. Pay attention when buying Alhambra tickets to see whether your intended visiting time is good for you.

1) Buy tickets for the Alhambra at the ticket office (same day)

• One person can buy a maximum of ten tickets
• Usually you can buy tickets the same day if you come before 8:00, but the queues can be long.
• At the Alhambra ticket office you can only buy tickets for the same day, not in advance.
• You can pay by credit card at the ticket office.
• To improve your chances of entry, it is advisable to book tickets in advance.

2) Buy tickets for the Alhambra in Granada on the Internet (in advance)

• You can buy tickets to the Alhambra between one and three months in advance of the visit, but not on the same day.


• You choose the day you want to make the visit to the Alhambra, the number of entries (up to 10) and the time when you want to visit (from 8:00-14:00 or 14:00-18:00). After selecting the hour, the next page tells you the time of entry to the Nasrid Palaces. This hour is assigned automatically, but you can change it by clicking on the link 'change'.

• There is a fee per booking of 1,30 euro (so the total cost of an entry ticket is 14,30 euros).

• You can buy tickets to the Alhambra on the website www.ticketmaster.es.

3) Buy tickets for the Alhambra on the phone (advance booking)

• You can buy tickets to the Alhambra by calling 902 888 001 (from Spain) or (34) 934 923 750 (outside Spain).
• You can buy tickets to the Alhambra between one and three months in advance of the visit, but not on the same day. There is a fee per booking of 1 euro.
• You cannot choose the time of entry to the Nasrid Palaces (but when you buy online, you can)

4) Buy tickets for the Alhambra at Servicaixa cash machines (in advance)

You can get a ticket to the Alhambra directly from the cash machines of Servicaixa and collect them without having to go to the ticket office.

Collecting tickets

• If your credit or debit card, that you used to pay for the tickets to Alhambra, was issued in Spain you can pick up your tickets at ATMs (yellow Servicaixa machines near the entrance) on the day of your visit.

• If you paid with a credit card that was issed abroad, you have to pick up the tickets at the box office; there are two windows, one of which is for bookings, where you must present a valid ID card or passport, as well as the same credit or debit card you used to purchase your tickets.

Refunds and Changes

• You cannot change the day and time of entry.
• Tickets sold cannot be returned or refunded.

Groups

For all types of group entries to the Alhambra and Generalife, you need to contact Reservations. For more information on how to book and discounts, send an e-mail to Junta de Andalucia.


See also: entrance prices

City Pass/Tourist Card

The only way to buy the Alhambra ticket when tickets are sold out is to purchase a City Pass which includes entrance to the Alhambra and discounts on tickets to other monuments, bus trips, and other benefits. Or you can book a guided visit but it will cost you al least 48 euros.

There are two types of City Pass: 3 days and 5 days for adults and children. For more information see City Pass or phone Caja Granada reservations on 902 100 095 or 958 244 500.

In high season, tickets to the Alhambra often sell out. However, with City Pass you can enter the Alhambra without having to make an advance booking.

The card is well worth having because you can also visit many other monuments for free, includes 9 bus trips and get discounts for museums, some hotels and restaurants.

We Answer Your Questions On Alhambra Tickets

Usually if you come at 8:00 in the morning, you can get tickets to the Alhambra on the same day, but there is no guarantee that tickets will be available. It is advisable to buy the Alhambra tickets in advance.

Opinions about Alhambra Tickets

Before you buy concession tickets from the TicketMaster web-site, here's some information about queuing which isn't mentioned on the official Alhambra web-site or the TicketMaster web-site (as far as I can see) which I discovered for myself yesterday (24/07/2012).

The concession tickets in my case were two child tickets but I assume other concessions will be similar. Normally when you pick up your pre-paid tickets from one of the many TicketMaster machines in the room next to the gift shop at the entrance, you avoid the long queue of punters buying their tickets on the day and will walk straight in to the Palace grounds.

However, and here's the thing, concession tickets are printed without a bar-code on them and the official manning the entrance gate won't let you in without the bar code. So you have to join the back of the queue of punters buying tickets on the day to get the ticket "authorised".

In my case I only had to wait 25 minutes in 32 degrees of heat (it was 18:00) but I imagine the wait time would be much longer at peak times and hotter. I tried jumping to the front of the queue but the armed security guard at the head of the queue was having none of it, after all the queue was probably made up of many others just like me simply waiting to get their tickets "authorised".

And another thing, you will need to have a passport or similar to show the cashier before she will convert your concession ticket to one with a bar-code. So my top tip for avoiding a long wait in the scorching sun is to avoid concession tickets altogether. To make everyone who is interested in Alhambra dream come ture, refund and change is fexible way especially for people who travel my themselves abroad. Just don’t go in the evening, as we just did today (10 pm entry). Nothing is properly lit, there are no descriptions (unless you pay 10 euro each for an audio guide on top of the ticket), and tonight the three most interesting place swere all roped off for restoration - Court of Lions, Hallk of the Abencerrages and the Hall of Ambassadors.

Extrenmely disappointing after reading Washington Irving for two months and fantasizing about a wander thru the palace(s). In fact you see about ten small rooms and the fine Court of Comares with its water feature.

Nothing above ground level is open anyway, it seems. Even lingering to try (no flash) photos of the detailed ceilings it was hard to spend more than half an hour on this five minute walk. best go in daytime – all is indoors and you might see something. And maybe pay the 10 euros, or have your Irving with you – some of the rooms are named, some not.

We travelled all the way from Australia and it is a big disappointment that it is so badly organised. Also had to walk back 10 minutes from Parador in the heat to get my ticket from the office (Norman). As a party we visited Alhambra last week. After queuing for ove an hour, one irate man cam away from the ticket ` office and told everyone that ha had queued for 90 minutes, to be told that tickets had sold out.

Communication there is exceptionally poor. Why cannot a board be put outside in several languages so that we don't queue unnecessarily? (Graham)

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