When visiting the Alhambra you may choose among several means of transport. You must always take into account that it is located on top of a hill. The different ways to get to the Alhambra will be now explained, but we strongly recommend going by foot and enjoying the natural and artistic aspects of the surroundings, which many not be seen when taking other means of transport.

By foot

There exist basically two different paths to get to the Alhambra by foot from the city centre. The most beautiful and historically interesting of them is the one taken from Plaza Nueva into the street Cuesta de Gomérez. The Gate of the Pomegranates (Puerta de las Granadas) is the first monument that you will see and it marks the beginning of the tree-lined avenues of the Alhambra. Pedro Machuca built this gate under the orders of Charles V around the year 1536 on the «Bib al-Buxar» or «gate of the glad tidings», a defensive tower that was one of the gates of the city. This gate leads to the tree-lined avenues of the Alhambra and to the area within the ramparts.

Cuesta de Gomérez

Once on the other side of this gate, you will be walking along the tree-lined avenues of the Alhambra, which was a poplar grove during the Christian period and which has modified its appearance with time. The tree-lined avenues you may see nowadays are the result of the redesign carried out in the 19^th century.

Further up, to the left and next to the esplanade of the Justice Gate (Puerta de la Justicia), entrance to the complex of the Alhambra, you will find Charles V Pillar. It is a three-spout fountain that Pedro Machuca built in the 16^th century under the orders of the Count of Tendilla and which was restored in the 17^th century by the local architect Alonso de Mena.

It is also possible to get to the Alhambra by foot via the street Cuesta del Rey Chico, which means the Little King's Slope, so called in honour of the last Nasrid king, Boabdil «el Chico», that is «the Little King». This street is popularly known as the Cuesta de los Chinos, or Pebble Slope, because of its paving.

The street starts from the left bank of the river Darro, at the end of the Paseo del Padre Manjón, popularly called the «Paseo de los Tristes», which means Sad People's Avenue, because it was part of the road that the funeral processions took to the old cemetery. The slope goes along the ramparts and comes to an end at the Mimbre, next to Fuentepeña, (Generalife's esplanade).

This second path is less interesting from the historical and artistic points of view, but it is instead a very romantic walk, a lot more pleasant when going down back to the city after visiting the Alhambra, between the walls of the citadel and the hill's vegetation.

Using public transport

Two bus routes reach the Alhambra, routes 30 and 32, which start their route at Plaza Nueva and drive up the Cuesta de Gomérez. If you wish to see these buses' itinerary, click to see the bus map (in spanish).

Taxis may also drive to the Alhambra with no restrictions, which means that you may use accesses that may not be used by private transport, like the street Cuesta de Gomérez.

By car

If you would rather drive your own car to the Alhambra, we recommend taking the Ronda Sur (the city's ring road), following the direction of Sierra Nevada. You may leave your car under surveillance at one of the two car parks in the Generalife while visiting the Alhambra.