Alhambra and Generalife
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Must-Do Experience,
UNESCO Heritage Site,
Monument - Historical,
Palace,
Park / Garden
Alhambra and Generalife Reviews
We've found 54 Alhambra and Generalife reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Review by Katherine R, December 2011
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
The local guide we had for the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens was fantastic! Overall great experience.
Review by Robert Paul W, August 2011
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
Wonderful experience; for sure its money worth.
Good audio system to hear the guide talking about all the nice features of the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens. No problems with finding of the parking place (P1) and enough space when arriving in time. Recommend it to everybody!
Review by Karin F, August 2011
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
Alhambra and Generalife Gardens amazing and wonderful - so bit of a shame to have that as our 'second' activity and only for 2 hours, when we spent 3 hours just wandering around on our own in Granada. Should definitely have been the other way round!
Review by LC, Germany, August 2011
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
Definitely worth going with the tour. Our local guide at the Alhambra was very knowledgeable and friendly. There was ample time in the Generalife Gardens to take superb shots of the Alhambra as well as the beautiful garden landscape.
Review by Rebecca F, August 2011
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
The Alhambra and Generalife Gardens are one of the great sights of Europe. However, the tour guide we were assigned to was a terrible disappointment.
Although we were scheduled for an english-language tour, our guide's english was mediocre and not idiomatic, his pronunciation sometimes unintelligible, his self-repetition incessant. His delivery was monotonous...he never expressed a single bit of excitement about the site. The wireless mic he used was good to about 20 feet in a direct line-of-sight, but after that it began to break up. Nevertheless, he persisted in walking at his own speed through the grounds and, consequently, very few people actually heard much of his commentary. He gave very few insights into local legends or fascinating details, but gave us mostly dimensions, dates, and facts. Unfortunately, he was often unclear in his references...he spoke often about the destruction "Napoleon's troops" had wreaked on the grounds, but never mentioned that it was Joseph Napoleon to whom he was referring. Most of the people in our group thought that Napoleon Bonaparte had been waging war in Spain!
He neglected to gather the group around him for explanations and never once solicited questions. When we were able to catch him to ask a question, he answered, but never once broadcast that extra information to the general group.
I highly recommend visiting the Alhambra and Generalife, and I think a good tour guide would have added immensely to the experience. As it was, we gained as much from reading about the site in a tourist guide.
Review by Carmen V. P, USA, July 2011
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
Tour started very early in Seville due to the fact we were 3 hours away. Trip was uneventful with no commentary along the way. The Alhambra was everything it promised to be. I was disappointed with one feature of the tour however and that was we were not told the lions fountain had been disassembled and could not be seen (except in pictures). Apparently the lions were taken out a few years back in order to be cleaned and somehow cannot be placed back. I had visited the Alhambra 30 years ago and was looking forward to seeing this magnificent structure. I would still recommend this tour as the city of Granada is beautiful and the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens are worth seeing.
Review by Khalid F, November 2010
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
Excellent guide at the Alhambra/Generalife Gardens. Good travel arrangements. We wish there had been a bit more time after the Alhambra visit to experience the Albaicin. Instead the bus stopped quite far from the area and the bus guide steered everyone to a restaurant, which was not the point of going to Granada. We used the brief time to take a cab to/from the Albaicin but would have preferred more time.
Review by Anonymous, July 2010
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
This tour was the highlight of our European trip! The Alhambra and Generalife Gardens was beautiful. I felt transported back in time into a magical place. In Granada we stayed at a hotel located on pedestrian only street so the tour company couldn't pick us up there. They suggested that we went to a hotel near our hotel where their bus could pick us up. The hotel they suggested was within easy walking distance and we didn't find any problem finding it. They said they would pick us up at 9.30 am, but they turned up at around 10 am. We thought we weren't going to be picked up. So I called the tour company and they said the bus was on the way. About 5 minutes later it arrived. It would've been great if they could be a bit more on time. The guide that picked us up didn't say much about the tour, so we were a bit puzzled. But once we got to Alhambra and met another guide who guided us around the complex, it became enjoyable for us. The guide we got was charming, very knowledgeable and great for keeping our group together. Without her I don't think we would've understand a lot about Alhambra and Generalife Gardens. It was really an enjoyable experience. I recommend this tour if you're in Granada.
Review by Anonymous, June 2010
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
Best way to see the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens, I would recommend staying on if you are able, to do the towers, which are not included in the tour, amazing views.
Review by VLAD ALEXANDRU D, Canada, January 2010
Doing what: Granada - The Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens
The Granada trip was 10 hours, with about 3.5 at Alhambra, 2 if lunch is not included, and 1 unguided in Granada during siesta time. The Moorish Alhambra is amazing! Reasonably short trip Torremolinos is at the short end of the pickup and drop-off list of this trip. The guide not bad, but used sexually-oriented humor. The Alhambra tour started with the palace and ended with the Generalife gardens. As the tour doesn't include lunch, we had more than 1 hour to spend there by ourselves, but the visiting ticket allows only one entry in each section, so we had to spend it in the gardens. The palace would have been more interesting. The guide was totally unresponsive to bus seating issues. I'm 6'6" and just don't fit in most of the seats in the bus. Being left for less than 1 hour by ourselves during siesta time, in a distant corner of the historical area of Granada, is counter-touristic at best. We grabbed something to go to one of the cathedrals to see its exterior, but we had to run to be able to get back in time.
Review by Jose E, USA, June 2009
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
The visit to the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens is a must on your visit to Granada. This place is not only beautiful and breathtaking, but it has a lot of history. The directions to meet the tour guides could have been a little more specific, but other than that it was a great tour.
Review by Clare K, Ireland, November 2007
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
My husband and I really enjoyed our morning at the Alhambra. Our English-speaking guide was excellent, very witty and a fount of very interesting information. October probably isn't the best time of year to visit Generalife because many of the flowers and shrubs are no longer in bloom or faded, but overall, we had a lovely visit and would highly recommend it.
Review by Uwe H, South Africa, September 2007
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
My wife and I really enjoyed the visit to the Alhambra and Generalife. The knowledge and enthusiasm of our guide made the experience remarkable. It's a pity one has to share this trip with so many people.
Review by thegnometravels, USA, August 2011
Doing what: Skip the Line: Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Tour
I would have given this another star except for the fact that I wanted to take pictures and this tour didn't allow time to do that. Granted, I took over 100 photo's while there but felt rushed and didn't get all the shots I wanted. If you're serious about photography or just want to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, take the longer tour or just go on your own. It is very close to the city with regular buses going to and from. Also - for people needing to use wheelchairs or walkers, or have a tough time with stairs and uneven ground, don't take this tour. It is possible, though not easy to do but will take much longer to navigate the hills, steps and slopes than the tour will give you time for. I 100% recommend seeing the Alhambra and Generalife, in fact, if ever in Spain again, will plan to spend a whole day there next time! It is an amazing thing to see truly.
Review by David T. H, January 2011
Doing what: Granada Day Trip including Alhambra and Generalife Gardens from Seville
This was generally a good trip. The bus was old and a bit rough, but the driver was good. Alicia, the representative on the bus, was not at all warm or welcoming. Two of the people on the tour had physical difficulties; not only did the description of the tour not mention how challenging it was, in terms of distance and steepness of the walking, but the bus (which Alicia could have called as we finished the tour so that it could have met us at the Alhambra exit) instead was parked at least a mile away across the river. Alicia rather vaguely described where the bus was, gave us a map, and left us on own own to find it. The Alhambra and the Generalife, of course, are absolutely wonderful and not to be missed by anyone who visits southern Spain. The really positive aspect of the tour, aside from the interest and beauty of the buildings and gardens, was that the local guide, Cristina, was absolutely exceptional; her English was excellent, all of her facts were correct, her presentations were clear, polished without being mechanical, and very easy to understand, and she even had some great jokes. She really was wonderful and made up for most of the other dificiencies.
