The Nasrid Palace

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Los Palacios Nazaríes

The Nasrid Palace immediately strikes us a being very different. Its structural skeleton --brick and wood-- is covered by stucco ornamentation and tile. It impresses us with its sense of intimacy, weightlessness, airiness, important features of Islamic architecture. It isn’t a single building (some writers prefer the plural Nasrid Palaces) and doesn’t look big, although in fact its area is quite large.
Its layout is labyrinthine and lacks the order and symmetry we associate with the great European palaces, and see in Charles`s Palace. The Nasrid Palace is broken up into several units centred around two principal courtyards, the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes or Mirtos) and the Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones).
The main rooms are off these, but there are also baths, hidden alcoves, narrow passageways, secluded corners, dead-ends, and gardens, fountains and pools.

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The first room we enter is the Mexuar, where the kings of Granada received their subjects. What strikes us about the Mexuar, however, is not regal omnipotence, but a sense of intimacy underlined by the very modest dimensions of the room and the low ceiling.
From the Mexuar, we pass via the enclosed Court of the Golden Room (Cuarto Dorado, another very intimate space, with a tiny fountain), through a narrow passage before emerging at the Court of the Myrtles. It is from here that we enter the two-storied Hall of the Ambassadors or Throne Room, the largest room in the complex.

The Comares Hall (Palacio de Comares) was the official residence of the king and it comprises several rooms that surrounded the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes).
The rooms have galleries with porticoes at the ends. Some examples are the Hall of the Boat (Sala de la Barca) to the north and the Hall of the Ambassadors (Salón de los Embajadores) inside the Comares Tower (Torre de Comares), from which a view over the valley of the river Darro may be enjoyed.

The Court of the Lions is part of the Palace of the Lions built by Muhammad V between 1362 and 1391. The Nasrid Sultanate was at its prime during this period and Court of the Lions was an example of the rich Moorish artistic styles that developed during this period. The Lion Court is lined with arcades which are supported by 124 slender marble columns.
When visiting the Lion Court, don’t forget to stop and admire the exquisite filigree-like carvings on the wall and arches.

Alhambra Tour Packages

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Regular tour Alhambra

Join a group to visit the Alhambra and Generalife every day in the morning, for only €45 the regular guided tour includes: entrances + an Official Guides , members of AGIP (Local Association of Professional Guides).

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Private Tour Alhambra

Book an official private guide for you and/or a group of family, friends or partners, and to know in a more comfortable and more direct way the Alhambra.
As this is a private tour, you pay for the service itself not per person, so thirty people would pay like one.

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Night Tour Alhambra

The other Alhambra, "the illuminated one", is the one that you will be able to enjoy, if you hire this other visit modality where new sensations will be perceived.
As this is a private tour, you pay for the service itself not per person, so thirty people would pay like one.

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Flamenco Show

Enjoy for only € 25, of a Gypsy Zambra in one of the Caves of the Sacromote, with a drink during the flamenco show and a walk for San Nicolás.


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