Granada - La Alhambra part I - the Acazaba and the Generalife Palace and Gardens

Our plan for Friday was to spend the whole day at the Alhambra, which is Spain's most visited tourist attraction. We had brekky at a local cafe, then walked to the closest entry point, the Justice Gate.

Not the Justice Gate. Seems to be the entrance to the gardens outside the Alhambra complex.

The walk up to the Justice Gate is quite steep. Note the angle of the seat.

A large fountain in the gardens

Here's the Justice Gate! From the outside......

......and from inside the complex.

Entry to the site is free, but there are certain parts where you need a ticket to get in. We had a morning ticket, which meant we could only access those areas before 2pm. Our ticket also had a 1.30pm entry time for the Nasrid Palaces, so we had about a 15 minute window for entry to this most celebrated part of the Alhambra.

The Carlos V Palace contains museums and art collections. It's a non-ticketed site.

This was a photoshoot, so not a real bride

La Alcazaba

It's definitely spring here!

It was about 10 o'clock, and we decided to go to the Alcazaba first. Most towns in southern Spain which have a Moorish history have an Alcazaba or Alcazar, which means fortress. They are generally built on the highest point in the city. This is one of the ticketed areas within the Alhambra.

Looking across to the Nasrid Palaces (left) and the Carlos V Palace (right). The crowd of people on the right are all lining up for their half-hour timeslot entry to the Nasrid Palaces.

The Alcazaba is mostly well-preserved ruins from the mid 13th century,  but the original was built in 889 on top of even older Roman ruins

From another angle

The greater ruins, with the rest of the Alhambra in the background.

The topmost point. Flags are: European Union, Andalucia, Spain and Portugal.

In the orange grove

Interesting things done with box hedges

Wisteria!

Views from the Alcazaba are outstanding. It's a 360 degree panorama. In the morning, the light is perfect for photos of the Albaicin, the old Arab Quarter.

El Albaicin seems to stretch forever.

Looking towards the Sierra Nevada. The interesting-looking building is just a hotel (I found this out afterwards).

The Cathedral in the city

The Generalife Palace and gardens, the second of the four ticketed areas, is at the far end of the complex, about 20 minutes away. We headed there next.

The irises are stunning

Water is a very important feature

Palacio del Generalife - Palace of the Garden of the Architect

Iglesia Santa Maria at left, and the Nasrid Palaces in front of the Alcazaba at right

Peonies and wisteria

There is even a water feature in this staircase

The paving was lovely. Darker stones are set on their sides

This took us up to around 12.30pm. We went and grabbed some lunch and waited for our entry time into the Palacios Nazaries, the Nasrid Palaces, but that will have to wait for the next installment.