One of the highlights of visiting Grenada is the Alhambra. My husband had it on his wishlist of…read moreplaces to visit so I booked tickets online via their official website ahead of time when I knew we would be in port. Since our port day was 11 hours, we booked a very expensive bus ride (cruise excursion) from the cruise port in Motril to Grenada. The bus dropped us off steps from the Alhambra and we were able to access the grounds with our prebooked tickets. I chose the 2 pm timeslot for the Nasrid Palace. We were dropped off around 11:15 am so we were able to walk the gardens and all the other spaces prior to gaining access to the palace. The Alhambra is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture built in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition to seek out the Indies and spices). In 1812, it was partially destroyed by Napoleon's troops. The Alhambra has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. My husband and I spent the majority of our day exploring the Alhambra's grounds. We visited the Palace of Charles V, the Court of Lions, the Nasrid Palace, the Lindajara Courtyard, and the hammam. It's a vast complex of buildings and gardens. In the hot Spanish sun, we walked around marveling at the architecture and the grounds. They have an app to guide you through but the WiFi is spotty. It is beautiful and it is obvious they are preserving the history here. We just wandered around until we needed to grab lunch and head back to the bus.

I was really looking forward to seeing the Alhambra - it's a palace and fortress complex perching…read moreatop the steep hils of Granada, with construction first starting in the 1200s. It's one of the most famous architectural wonders of Islamic architecture and is one of the best preserved places in the world of islamic origin (mixed with Spanish Renaissance architecture). Our ticket included access to all visitable places of the complex (a lot free to the public), Nasrid palace (timed entrance), the gardens and the Generalife (former country estate). We did an unguided tour, so I felt like we missed out on the history a bit as we walked through the palace - it reminded us of the Real Alcazar from Seville, but bigger and more grand in scale. I'm glad our ticket was for 10AM because the grounds only got busier throughout the morning.

Wonderful air b&b view down centro city de granada and we are looking forward to our 13 minute walk…read moreto mirador de san nicolas

Great views of Alhambra. Pack full of people at night with…read morelive performers. Walk there through colorful moorish quarters and take a taxi back to your hotel. (Written by husband)