Alhambra ​

The most important building in the city of Granada and one of the most famous buildings in all of Spain is the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex that sits on the hills above the city of Granada and was built (and inhabited) by the Arab kings in Granada between 900 and 1400.

The complex has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 and is now the most visited tourist attraction in Spain. Every year the Alhambra is visited by around 2 million people. The city castle with its many different palaces, courtyards and gardens is considered a masterpiece of Islamic architecture and was an absolute highlight of our European trip for us. There is so much to see on the Alhambra complex that you can easily spend the whole day there. And it’s hard to decide what’s more beautiful: the lush, colorful gardens; the majestic, detailed-decorated palaces or the quiet, peaceful courtyards of the buildings with their calming water fountains. No matter where you are on the Alhambra: every corner is special. You really don’t know where to look at first because there are so many cool details to spot!

For me, visiting the Alhambra was absolutely stunning because there were endless different colorful tiles and patterns to see in all the palaces. No matter whether on floor tiles, archways, wooden pillars, windows, in fountains or directly above me on the ceiling of the rooms. The whole complex is auch a magical place that it is quite difficult to describe. So if you ever have the opportunity to visit the Alhambra, you should definitely do it! My favorite thing on the Alhambra were the beautiful Nasrid palaces, which require an extra ticket, but are so worth it. After you have visited all the palaces on the Alhambra, you can end the day relaxing in the gorgeous gardens around the Alhambra (“Generalife”).

By the way, the best view of the Alhambra is from the place where I took the photo with my sketchbook. Our lovelyof our Airbnb host was kind enough to send us not only a list of bar recommendations, but also the route of his favorite hike around the city, which we ended up liking so much that we did it twice. In fact, this hike was one of our favorite things we did in Granada and we can’t recommend it enough!

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