Castles · Tour

Alhambra Defensive Towers, Generalife and Partal, No Nasrid Palaces

The Nasrid Palaces are not part of this tour. What is left, walked with a guide, is the fortress, the gardens and the oldest palace on the hill. The Alcazaba is the substance of it. This was the military quarter of the walled city, and the route goes along its defensive towers, which is the part of the Alhambra that was built for a purpose rather than for display. From the top the whole of Granada is spread out below, and it becomes obvious why the Nasrids fortified this ridge and nowhere else. The Generalife holds gardens from several periods with palace buildings among them, some of them Nasrid. Al-Andalus at its height is easier to picture here than in the state rooms: this was where the court came to stop performing. The Partal is the third piece, older than the famous palaces, with a pond beside it and the Torre de las Damas standing as the only surviving part of the building that gave the area its name. The Palace of Charles V completes the circuit, the Renaissance building the victors put in the middle of the conquered city. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start, which is not the norm at this monument.