Castles in Spain to Visit
92 listings across Granada, Seville and Madrid, 106,959 reviews, three managing bodies whose rules do not transfer. The median here is 62 EUR; the counters charge 14 to 24.
Spain sells its castles through three separate public bodies, and a rule that holds at one of them is worth nothing at the next. The Alhambra answers to the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, an Andalusian public body that prints your name on the ticket and scans your identity document at the gate. The Royal Palace of Madrid and El Escorial belong to Patrimonio Nacional, which gives away free afternoons but only over the counter, and gives the two sites different days for it. The Real Alcazar of Seville belongs to the city, which lets anyone born there walk in free and folds three municipal museums into a 15.50 EUR entry without advertising it. This catalogue tracks 92 listings across those three cities, and most of what they sell is not access. It is a half hour, a guide, or a coach.
The cheapest listing on the Spanish side of this catalogue costs 1.99 EUR, and it is not a ticket to anything. It is a tip-based walking tour with a token booking fee, one of three listings here priced under 10 EUR, and one of those three is the best rated product in the whole Spanish catalogue: a 2.99 EUR walk through old Madrid that passes the palace, with 7,436 reviews and a flat 5.0. Write from 1.99 EUR and you have described a genre, not a castle. The number that describes this catalogue is the median, and it is 62 EUR with those three taken out, 60.50 with them left in. The first quartile sits at 39 EUR, the third at 120.60, and five listings run past 250 because they are private tours with a car and a driver. Set that against the counters: 22.27 EUR for the Alhambra's general daytime ticket, 15.50 for the Real Alcazar, 24 for the Royal Palace of Madrid, 14 for El Escorial. The distance between those numbers and 62 is not a markup on the door price. It is a guide, and in Granada it is somebody else having secured the half hour before you thought to look.
Granada holds 37 of the listings and Seville 20, both built around one monument each. Madrid holds 35 and splits them between a palace in the middle of the city and a monastery out in the sierra, which is why its products last longest. The three cities behave differently enough to be worth comparing before anything is booked.
Choose a destination in Spain
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Granada
One hill, three separate walks, and a climb nobody sells you: 37 listings meet in Granada, two of them already up on the Paseo del Generalife, and not one of…
37 experiences in 2 destinations -
Seville
A Mudejar palace in the old town whose 15.50 EUR entry quietly opens three municipal museums as well.
20 experiences -
Madrid
Two royal sites, one national body, opposite weekly rhythms: El Escorial shuts every Monday, the palace shuts at 16:00 every Sunday, and the only day both…
35 experiences in 2 destinations
Castles Experiences in Spain
Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral: the Gasparini Chamber Included
The cathedral is included alongside the palace, and the route inside takes in the Gasparini Chamber and the Hall of Mirrors. Starts at Ópera metro.
Royal Palace of Madrid: the Throne Room, Goya and Giordano
A guided route through the Throne Room, the banqueting hall and the private apartments, with work by Giordano and Goya. Meet at the souvenir shop, not the gate.
Alcázar and Cathedral with Headsets, and the Giralda Climb on Your Own
Headsets are handed out at the office on Calle Francos, the Giralda climb is yours to make unguided, and the tour ends in the Alcázar gardens.
Alhambra Guided Tour and the Rooms Where Washington Irving Wrote
The guide covers the legends Washington Irving collected here while writing Tales of the Alhambra, along with the Nasrid fountains, gardens and decoration.
El Escorial Museums and the World's Largest Reliquary, Plus the Valley
The guided route covers the monastery museums, the towers and the royal tombs, and the basilica that holds the largest reliquary in the world. Meet on Gran Vía.
Private Alcázar Ending Among the Old Trees and Birds of the Gardens
A private guide through the Islamic, Mudéjar and Gothic parts of the palace, ending under old trees among the birds. The ticket is paid to the guide.
Royal Palace Madrid Guided: the Portrait Gallery and the Armouries
A guided route up the marble staircases and through the portrait gallery to the armouries, in a residence covering 135,000 square metres. Free cancellation.
Alcázar and Cathedral with Named Tickets: Bring Your Original ID
Each Alcázar ticket is issued in one person's name, so the original ID or passport has to be shown on the day. The Giralda climb is left free at the end.
Alcázar, Cathedral and Giralda in Three and a Half Hours
Three and a half hours with an official guide. Bring photo ID for the entrance, and note the cathedral bars tank tops, shorts and flip-flops indoors.
Alhambra Guided with Generalife, Charles V and Alcazaba, Nasrid Optional
An official guide leads the Generalife, the Palace of Charles V and the Alcazaba, with the Nasrid Palaces added only if you choose that option.
Alhambra Guided Without the Nasrid Palaces: Generalife, Alcazaba, Charles V
Two to three hours with an English-speaking guide through the Generalife and the Alcazaba. The Nasrid Palaces are not included in this ticket.
Alhambra in a Group of Ten: Three Faiths, One Hill, Sierra Nevada Views
Groups of about ten, and a guide who reads the hill through its Muslim, Christian and Jewish history, with Sierra Nevada from the Alcazaba walls.
Last-Minute Alhambra: Alcazaba, Generalife and Charles V, No Queue
For when the palace tickets have gone: a guided walk through the Alcazaba, the Generalife gardens and the Palace of Charles V, starting at Plaza Nueva.
Madrid Old Town: the Square That Changed Its Name Five Times
The walk to the palace goes through the Plaza Mayor, which has carried five names under five regimes, the San Miguel market and the Torre de los Lujanes.
Private El Escorial, a Building That Has Been Nine Things at Once
A private guide from the Ventas meeting point. Entry to the interior of the Valley is bought separately, so that stop can be taken inside or from outside.
Royal Palace and Prado in One Day, Running from Four People Up
Both admissions are in the price and the walk between them passes the Congreso and Puerta del Sol. The tour needs at least four people to run.
Royal Palace Madrid and the Palatine Stradivarius Collection
The route includes the palace collection of musical instruments and the Palatine Stradivarius, held by Patrimonio Nacional. Four people minimum to run.
Royal Palace of Madrid Fast Track: Crown Room, Armoury, Galleries
A fast-track ticket with no group attached, covering the Crown Room, the weapons armoury and the painting galleries. Tickets are non-refundable.
Alcázar at Opening Time, Where Lawrence of Arabia Was Filmed
Ninety minutes starting as the doors open, with the Cathedral and the Giralda as an option to add. Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones filmed here.
Alcázar Entry Ticket with a Downloadable Audio Guide App
Entry with no live guide: the commentary is a downloadable app on your own phone, so you set the route and the pace. Tickets are non-refundable.
Alhambra Entry Ticket with the Bath of the Mosque, Nasrid Optional
A self-guided ticket for the Generalife gardens, the Palace of Charles V and the Bath of the Mosque, with entry to the Nasrid Palaces as an option.
Alhambra Small Group with a Nationally Licensed Guide, Named in Advance
The guide holds a certified national licence, and their name and phone number arrive a few hours before the start. The Nasrid Palaces ticket is included.
El Escorial and the Chapels of the Valley Basilica, Five Hours by Bus
Five hours by bus from Plaza de Ramales, with the Habsburg palace and the library at El Escorial and the side chapels inside the Valley basilica.
El Escorial Half-Day from Madrid, the Valley as an Option to Select
Half a day out of Madrid to the monastery Philip II built in the 1500s, with the Civil War memorial in the Guadarrama added only if you select it.
Ratings collected by Tiqets, Viator, Tripadvisor and Civitatis