Granada  (Click for Photos of the Alhambra)

The famous city of Granada is some 2.5  hours away by car (not going over 100 kph/62 mph on the motorway and 194 km / 121 miles one way from Cencerrita).  This indeed is a cultural day out. Whilst it is, in our opinion, a little over-hyped even those who are not particularly interested in sightseeing cannot fail to be fascinated by the Alhambra. It is undoubtedly the best preserved medieval Arab palace in the world.   To get the most out of your visit here, it is essential to read some of the numerous pieces of literature on the monument - otherwise you may walk past pieces of incredible history without even knowing it! There are electronic guides for hire in your language: their advantage is a little dubious as most of the commentary is made up of Irving Washington's poetical descriptions, with facts and figures few and far between - but we felt it was 4 euros well spent! Washington Irving 's Alhambra can be read in its entirety here: Click

The Alhambra made up of three main parts: The Royal Palace, The Alcazaba (fortress) and the Medina.  As so many visitors flock here all through the year, it is essential to book tickets in advance otherwise you may not get in at all.  The official site is www.alhambra-tickets.es  Enough of the site is in English so a small amount of common sense should get you through it okay. Entrance fees are  approximately 13 euros per adult. The tickets you want to buy are to the "Alhambra and Generalife".  Those mentioning the gardens (jardin) do not allow you access to the Nazrid palace.  You can choose a morning or afternoon session (and guests who are not by nature early risers should pick the afternoon! We left at 10am and were back at Cencerrita before it was completely dark, about 21:00 in early April) and then a time slot is issued for when you are able to enter the palace.  As we were there at about 12:00 and not allowed to go in until 14:00, we collected our tickets and audio-guides while there were hardly any queues, before having a great lunch (for only 9 euros) just a short distance from the entrance.

Beware! You must join the Nazrid Palace queue about 5 mins before your allocated time slot, or you won't be allowed in to see the palace. You will see a queue building up, but there is no point in trying to join it early as the time on the ticket is checked by a member of staff. Although you are timed for going into the Nazrid Palaces, you are not thrown out after half an hour! So don't hurry, just enjoy admiring the intricate craftsmanship of the facades and other delights at your leisure and wander through at your own speed.

Your allotted time at the Nazrid Palaces will define your route around the Alhambra: whether to see the gardens first or the Alcazaba - or make straight for the palaces.  Tickets are checked all over the place and you are only allowed once into the Alcazaba and gardens.  It took us well over an hour to look at the gardens, while we rushed through the Alcazaba in less than half an hour as we were concerned we would miss our Nazrid Palace slot ...  it needed a little longer. 

Costs in 2009:

• Entrance - 13 euros

• Parking - 5.5 hours cost 6.50 euros (there's a maximum of just under 17 euros per day)

• Audio Guide - 4 euros each (passport or credit card must be left as security)

• Menu del Día - 9 euros (we had great lunch of salad/soup, spit roasted chicken and dessert.  Drinks are extra.  After parking the car and before you go in, there is a row of restaurants - we picked the one with the outside balcony/terrace at the top)

Guests that have been to Granada certainly seem to like it - click here for the Smith family's email all about it!