Alhambra tickets sold out? What to do in 2026-27
Official Alhambra tickets in Granada are released in batches and often sell out. Here is how the official releases work, what the Granada Card and last-minute releases offer, the price and ID rules, and what tours that include a ticket cost.
By Nomad's Travel Guides. Published .
Researched from official and operator sources and fact-checked before publishing. Prices and rules change, so each one is dated where it appears.
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Visiting the Alhambra in Granada takes a named ticket for a fixed date, and if you want to see the Nasrid Palaces, a fixed 30-minute entry slot. Official tickets regularly sell out. This guide explains how official releases work, which official alternatives exist, and what to do when the calendar shows no tickets.
Planning a trip? Start with our Spain country guide.
The short answer
- Check the official ticket site first. The full day ticket (General) costs EUR 22.08 online and is sold at tickets.alhambra-patronato.es. Make sure the ticket you pick includes the Nasrid Palaces.
- If your date is sold out, try the Granada Card. Granada's city council sells it with its own reserved Alhambra tickets, from EUR 55 with General entry.
- Check again the evening before and the days before. Unsold tickets stay on sale close to the visit, and the city tourism site says last-minute tickets sometimes appear between 20:00 and 22:00 the day before.
- If that fails, a tour that includes the ticket is the realistic way in. On 4 November 2026, Tiqets' Alhambra page (opens Tiqets in a new tab) had guided tours that include the Nasrid Palaces from USD 73.01, roughly three times the official price.
How official tickets are released
Tickets are not all released at once. Under the Alhambra's visiting rules, 70% of the year's tickets are for direct sale and go on sale in three batches: 25% twelve months ahead, 25% three months ahead and 20% one month ahead (Normativa de Visita, BOJA 27 June 2023). A sold-out date can therefore get new tickets three months and one month before the visit, and it is worth checking again at those points. Tickets left unsold "can be bought up to 2 hours before" the Nasrid Palaces visit. A further 12% goes to agreements such as the Granada Card.
The official site publishes no release calendar, and its pages disagree on the cut-off: one says online sales close at 23:59 the day before; the ticket site's tips page says Nasrid Palaces tickets can be bought "less than two hours in advance, subject to availability".
Where to buy. Official channels are the website, the phone line +34 858 889 002, ticket machines at the Alhambra, and the ticket office, which sells same-day tickets "subject to availability" (Patronato FAQ). Payment is by Visa, Mastercard or American Express only (purchase policy).
Limits. You can buy up to 10 tickets per person, bank card and month (Patronato).
Names on tickets. Each ticket is personal and carries the visitor's ID card or passport number. You enter it at purchase, and staff can ask for the ticket and ID at any point. A child's ticket carries the accompanying adult's ID number (tips). Names can be changed until the day before, and only on orders of 5 or more: one name for 5 to 9 tickets, two for 10 to 19, via the call centre. Dates and times cannot be changed, purchases are final, and the booking fee is never refunded. The rules also ban the resale of tickets. In practice that means a ticket bought in someone else's name: because the ID number is checked, it will not get you in. Tour sellers book the ticket in your own name, but we could not find an official list of authorised sellers, so make sure your name and ID number are on the booking.
Official prices and what each ticket covers
Online prices as of 4 November 2026, from the official ticket site:
| Ticket | Online price | Nasrid Palaces? |
|---|---|---|
| Alhambra General (day) | EUR 22.08 | Yes, timed slot |
| Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba | EUR 12.62 | No |
| Night Visit to Nasrid Palaces | EUR 12.62 | Yes, at night only |
| Night visit to Gardens and Generalife | EUR 8.41 | No |
| Alhambra Experiences (night palaces + day gardens, two consecutive days) | EUR 22.08 | Yes, at night |
| Dobla de Oro General (General + Albaicín monuments) | EUR 30.22 | Yes |
| Dobla de Oro at Night | EUR 22.86 | Yes, at night |
The official price order sets the General ticket at EUR 21, so the online price includes a management fee that the law allows for advance sales (Orden de 17 de julio de 2025). The Patronato's information pages show slightly higher figures (EUR 22.27 for General).
Reduced and free. Children under 12 are free but need their own ticket, booked with the adults'. Reduced tickets (EUR 14 base for General) are for EU citizens over 65, European Youth Card holders, people with a disability of 33% or more, members of large families and children aged 12 to 15. Proof is checked at the ticket office, and anyone without it pays the difference.
Opening hours. From 15 October to 31 March the complex is open daily 08:30–18:00; from 1 April to 14 October, 08:30–20:00. Night visits to the Nasrid Palaces run Friday and Saturday 20:00–21:30 in winter, and Tuesday to Saturday 22:00–23:30 in summer. The night garden visit runs Friday and Saturday until 14 November 2026, then returns from 1 April. The Alhambra is closed on 25 December and 1 January (Patronato). On 16 November, World Heritage Day, entry is free by invitation.
Recent change. The Alcazaba reopened on 23 September 2026 with a route adapted to safety and conservation work, and the ticket site says the route may change (official ticket site).
Sold out: the options, in order
- Granada Card. The city council's tourism site says some Alhambra tickets "are reserved to be sold with the Granada Card", so the card can still have tickets when the official site has none (turismo.granada.org). On 4 November 2026 the prices were EUR 60 (72h) and EUR 55 (48h), both with the General ticket; EUR 50 for the 24h card, which includes only the night visit to the Nasrid Palaces; and EUR 50 for the Gardens card, with no Nasrid Palaces (GranadaTur shop). You choose the Alhambra date and Nasrid slot when you buy, up to 3 calendar months ahead. The only official sellers are granadatur.com and its Clorian shop, or by phone on +34 858 880 990; there is no sales point in Granada (turismo.granada.org). It also covers city monuments and public transport.
- Check the official site the evening before. The same city page says some last-minute tickets may go on sale on the official site the day before, between 20:00 and 22:00 (Granada time).
- Switch ticket type. If day tickets are gone, the night Nasrid Palaces visit (EUR 12.62) or Alhambra Experiences (EUR 22.08) still gets you into the palaces. Night visits run only on Fridays and Saturdays until 31 March.
- Same-day ticket office. The city site calls same-day tickets "scarce" and does not recommend relying on them.
- Free areas. Without a ticket you can still walk the Alhambra woods and see the Gate of Justice, the Wine Gate, the Palace of Charles V and the Alhambra Museum, all free.
Tours that include the ticket: what they cost and include
Tour sellers offer entry, named to you, together with a guide or audio guide. On 4 November 2026, Tiqets' Alhambra page (opens Tiqets in a new tab) listed 16 options from USD 17.97, with none bookable for that day. Prices below are as shown on 4 November 2026 in USD; your currency may differ.
| Type | Product (as named on Tiqets) | From | Nasrid Palaces | Length / group | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry ticket | Alhambra: Skip The Line Ticket with Optional Nasrid Palace | USD 17.97 | Only as a paid option at checkout | Self-guided | Non-refundable |
| Entry + audio guide | Alhambra: Entry Ticket + Audio Guide with Optional Nasrid Palaces | USD 33.69 | Only as a paid option | Self-guided | Non-refundable |
| Guided tour | Alhambra & Nasrid Palaces: Guided Tour + Skip The Line Ticket | USD 73.01 | Included | 3 h, up to 20 | Non-refundable |
| Small group | Alhambra & Nasrid Palaces: Skip The Line Ticket + Small Group Guided Tour | USD 133.67 | Included | 3 h, up to 15 | Non-refundable |
| Night tour | Alhambra & Nasrid Palaces: Skip The Line Ticket + Night Tour | USD 111.20 | Included (night) | 1 h 30 min, up to 30, Spanish only | Free until 24 h before |
Things to know before you pay:
- The cheapest price excludes the palaces. The USD 17.97 "from" price is for the Alcazaba, Generalife, Partal and Charles V palace only, the same areas as the official EUR 12.62 Gardens ticket. On 4 November its first available date was 25 November.
- A guided tour costs about three times official entry. USD 73.01 was about EUR 65 at the ECB rate on 4 November 2026 (EUR 1 = USD 1.1267), against EUR 22.08 for the official General ticket. The night tour, about EUR 99, compares with EUR 12.62 for the official night ticket.
- Most are non-refundable. Only the night tour allowed free cancellation. The 3-hour guided tour says the company may cancel if a minimum is not met by the day before.
- "Skip the line" does not skip the Nasrid slot. Your entry time is fixed on the ticket, and you still have to be at the palace entrance on time.
- Names and ID still apply. The guided tour asks for your passport number at checkout and says "You will need your physical passport with you to enter the venue".
- Check the tour type. Granada's city tourism site warns that some sellers offer tours they cannot fill when official tickets are sold out and then cancel them, and that a "Gardens" tour does not include the Nasrid Palaces. Look for "Access to the Nasrid Palaces" in the inclusions before paying.
On the day
ID. Bring the original ID card or passport whose number is on your ticket. The ticket site says this is "mandatory", and checks can happen anywhere in the complex.
The Nasrid Palaces slot. Entry runs in 30-minute batches of up to 300 people. If you are not at the entrance at the time on your ticket, "you won't be allowed to visit them" (FAQ). The rest of the ticket is valid all day; each area can be entered once. Allow about three hours. If you collect tickets at the office or a machine, do it at least an hour before your palace time.
Bags and photos. Bags must be smaller than 40×40 cm; free lockers are available while they last. Pushchairs cannot enter the buildings, and food and drink are not allowed. Photos without flash are fine, but tripods, selfie sticks and flash are banned in the Nasrid Palaces (Patronato).
Getting there. It is a steep walk up Cuesta Gomérez from Plaza Nueva. City buses C30 (from Plaza Isabel la Católica), C32 (from the Albaicín) and C35 stop at the Alhambra. If you are coming from Seville, see our Real Alcázar tickets guide and the Seville city guide. For data on the road, see our Spain eSIM guide.
Quick answers
Does the General ticket include everything? It covers the Nasrid Palaces, Partal, Alcazaba and Generalife. The Palace of Charles V and the Alhambra Museum are free for everyone.
Does the Alhambra offer official guided tours? No. The Patronato says it "does not offer guide services" and offers an audio guide instead. Licensed guides lead groups, and groups of more than six must use headsets.
Can I buy at the door? Sometimes, but the ticket office only sells what is left for the day. Do not plan on it.
Is a resale site "official"? No. The only official sellers are the Alhambra's ticket site and, for the Granada Card, granadatur.com and its Clorian shop. Tour sellers, including Tiqets, are not official channels; they sell tickets bought in your name, often with a guide.
Sources
Checked on 4 November 2026.
- Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, Opening hours and prices: https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/visit/opening-hours-and-prices
- Patronato, FAQ: https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/visit/faq
- Patronato, Types of visit and visit pages: https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/visit/types-of-visit
- Patronato, Time of the visit: https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/visit/organize-your-visit/time-of-the-visit
- Official ticket site (home, Alhambra General, purchase policy, helpful tips): https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/
- Orden de 29 de mayo de 2023, Normativa de Visita (BOJA 121, 27 June 2023): https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BOJA-no-121-de-27-de-junio-de-2023.pdf
- Orden de 17 de julio de 2025, public prices (BOJA 142, 25 July 2025): https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ORDEN-PRECIOS-PUBLICOS-ALHAMBRA-BOJA25-142-00007-10352-01_00323950.pdf
- Ayuntamiento de Granada, "What to do if there are no Alhambra tickets in the official website": https://turismo.granada.org/en/what-do-if-there-are-no-alhambra-tickets-official-website
- Ayuntamiento de Granada, Granada Card and how to purchase it: https://turismo.granada.org/en/node/3241 and https://turismo.granada.org/en/how-purchase-granada-card-0
- GranadaTur, Granada Card shop: https://granadatur.clorian.com/en
- European Central Bank, euro reference rates (4 November 2026): https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml
- Tiqets, Alhambra: tiqets.com/en/alhambra-tickets-l145851/
- Tiqets product pages: p1128386, p1111480, p1057154, p1002395, p1068743 (tiqets.com)
