Traveling to La Alhambra has been on my bucket list since I watched the K-drama "Memories of the Alhambra".
"Memories of the Alhambra" is a series of mysterious incidents surrounding a new and intricate augmented reality game inspired by the stories of Alhambra Palace.
The drama is starring by Hyun Bin and Park Shin-hye, which is also one of my favourite K-dramas in 2018.
I remember in 2018, I also traveled to Ljubljana, Slovenia after watching the K-drama "Black Knight" starring by Kim Rae-won and Shin Se-kyung.
I wrote about Ljubljana in Slovenia at HERE, do check out the post if you are interested to read it.
Well, I'm so glad that I able to make it to La Alhambra in Granada for the first time in my life in 2019!
That's sooooo exciting!!!
La Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Andalusia city of Granada.
The Alhambra holds special significance in the region as it is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.
I heard from our local tour guide said that this is the top tourist destination in the whole of Spain, the halls and the gardens are full with thousands of people each and everyday.
It's better to book the tickets online in advance before your visit otherwise I heard the queue time can be very long.
We took high speed train from Madrid to Cordoba, and drove 2 hours plus from Cordoba to La Alhambra after half day visiting the city of Cordoba.
We stayed a night in La Alhambra as we need to get up early in the next morning to visit the grand palace.
The La Alhambra Palace was built in the ninth century with a simple fortress which became one of the greatest masterpieces of Arab art in the world, the fortress then transformed into a palace during Nazari dynasty.
The palace has so much to offer that consists of sumptuous rooms, courtyards, forts, gardens, pavilions, barracks, fountains etc.
It's not a single building but more like a complex of buildings for you to wander around; from the Nasrid Palaces which is the residence of Sultans of Granada at different times, the Alcazaba is the oldest part of the Alhambra that offers spectacular views of Granada, and the Generalife is the country estate with beautiful gardens that used by the Sultans of Granada as a place of rest and summer residence.
There are really so much to see yet with limited times allowed.
We were there for about 3 hours plus, nearly 4 hours to slowly walk through the rooms, the courtyards, the hallways.....
Before entering to the main palace, this is the Medina, a residential, administrative and religious area of high officials, employees and servants.
However, the buildings, the walls, the towers were in ruins as a result of the War of Independence.
The Palace of Charles V (Patio of the Palace of Charles V), a smaller Renaissance building that used by the emperor and his family as their summer residence.
Popped into the courtyard of the Palace of Charles V.
People mountain people see everywhere inside the palace, it's not easy to get a good picture without any photo bombs...I've really tried my best. :p
This is the Patio of the Gilded Room (Patio y Cuarto Dorado) with a beautiful pond flanked by two rows of hedges.
The trip at the Nasrid Palaces was amazing.
I really admire the structure, the buildings of the Moore period that represented a gem of Islamic architecture were so jaw-dropping.
It's so hard to show how amazing with the right angle on the camera, yet if you take a closer look at the pillars, columns, walls and ceilings, everything were so in details and finely carved.
The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) featuring the beautiful reflection pool with a mirror image of the Comares tower above.
This is one of the main picture stops at the Nasrid Palaces. :)
My favourite site at the palace is the Palace of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) where the royal family used to live here.
Here's the courtyard that has a fountain at the center which surrounded by 12 lions that made of marble.
If you watched the "Memories of the Alhambra" this column spot surely looks familiar to you. :)
Huray! I've got a destination sign on my traveler passport right in front of the La Alhambra!
If you were with me on my travel stories, you shall know that I always brought this travel passport with me.
This small little book has been with me so many years and I've been using it as my travel guidance to make my travel dream comes true. #lol
The Alcazaba is the oldest part of the Alhambra.
In the olden days, it has several towers that created for getting news from other fortress if there were any enemies around and also this is where the soldiers used to live.
These towers now are to provide stunning views over the city streets and buildings.
After leaving the fortress, we ended up at the Generalife, a leisure place for the kings when they wanted to escape the pressures of palace life and also a summer residence for them to rest.
The country estate is big with beautiful gardens that full of trees and flowers, it somehow makes me feel like in Alice in Wonderland.
I'm glad that I went to see La Alhambra during my trip, it's really an amazing palace rich in history and beauty.
Every corners inside the palace has its own charm and character and they all are beautifully preserved and kept well.
Definitely worth seeing, and this should be on your bucket list if you are in this part of Spain!
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