Short answer. Alhambra tickets sell out, and the Nasrid Palaces are the part that goes first. Book as soon as you know your date. If the single ticket is gone, a guided visit with entry included or the City Pass may still have places. Check on each card whether the Nasrid Palaces are included, because some visits leave them out.
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Alhambra: Entry Ticket with Optional Nasrid Palaces
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from €16
Book tickets and tours →Why do Alhambra tickets sell out?
The Nasrid Palaces take a limited number of people: 300 every half hour. That is a small number for a monument that millions of people want to see, so the slots for the best days run out early. A share of the yearly capacity is also set aside for organised groups, which is why guided visits with entry included can still have places when the single ticket is gone.
So the real question is not whether you can still go, but which visit you can still get. Work through the choices below and pick the one that fits your date.
Which ticket should I choose?
Here is a simple way to decide:
- Want the Palaces and the full monument? Choose an entry ticket for the Alhambra and add the Nasrid Palaces when you book, where the card says they are optional. If those slots are gone, look at the guided visits that include the Palaces: a guided tour of about 3 hours, a small group, or a private guide.
- Want a guide? Choose a guided visit. Some leave out the Palaces, and the card says it clearly. Those visits cover the Generalife, the Alcazaba and the Palace of Charles V, and the shortest lasts about 2 hours.
- Palaces sold out, but you still want to go? Choose the visit without the Nasrid Palaces. It is a real way to see the gardens, the fortress and the views, and it works well when the full visit is not available.
- Like audio guides? Choose an entry ticket with an audio guide. One of them is only for the Generalife gardens, the Alcazaba and the Palace of Charles V, with the towers of the Alcazaba to climb.
- Want to see more of the city? The City Pass includes the Alhambra and the Nasrid Palaces, plus a hop-on hop-off train and an audio guide app for the city.
- Want more than the Alhambra? There is a guided tour of about 5 hours that adds the Albaicín and Sacromonte, and another that adds the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel.
How does the Nasrid Palaces time slot work?
The date and time of your entry to the Palaces are on the ticket, and you visit them only in that slot. The other areas, the Alcazaba, the Generalife and the gardens, you can visit at any time within the general hours.
The rule is strict. If you are not at the entrance of the Palaces at the time on your ticket, you will not be allowed in. The number of minutes of tolerance is not published, so treat your time as a firm time and arrive with time to spare. The ticket does not give you a second turn in the Palaces: each area can be visited only once, although you can leave the complex and come back during the day.
Are tickets named? What ID do I need?
Yes. Tickets are personal and cannot be transferred. Every visitor carries their own ticket for the whole visit and shows it with a personal identity document: a passport or an ID card from their country. Staff, security guards or police can ask for both. Bring the document of every person in your group, and keep your ticket on your phone or printed until you leave.
Children under 12 enter free of charge, but they still need a ticket, which you buy together with the adult tickets.
Can I change or cancel?
Each card tells you whether the ticket can be cancelled, and most Alhambra entry tickets and tours cannot. The purchase is also final from the point of view of the monument: it does not allow a change of date or time. Pick your day with care, and check the opening hours before you book.
What changed after the August 2026 earthquakes?
After the earthquakes of August 2026 some routes in the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife have changed, and some areas may be closed. The Alcazaba reopened on 23 September 2026 with an adapted route. This does not change how you buy, but it changes what you walk through, so do not expect the route of an older guidebook.
Which one for you?
Short on time? Choose a guided tour of about 2 hours. Want to see the Palaces without a guide? Choose the entry ticket and add the Palaces. Want the story told as you walk? Choose the guided visit with the Palaces. Can’t get a slot for your day at all? Choose the visit without the Palaces. To plan the day, read our visit tips, and to decide what to see, our guide to the highlights. You can compare everything on the tickets page.