The Court of the Water Channel
A long walk with facing jets arcing over a central channel — the gardens' famous scene.
Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Berthold Werner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jebulon — CC0 · Jebulon — CC0
The Generalife was the summer garden of Granada's rulers, on the hill facing the Alhambra and reached by a short walk. It was built in the fourteenth century as a retreat from the formality of the palace, with orchards and farmland around it that supplied the court. The whole idea rests on water. Channels, fountains and pools everywhere, water running constantly and heard before it is seen. Its best-known part is the Court of the Water Channel: a long walk with facing jets arcing over a central channel, framed by roses and myrtle. Entry is included in the Alhambra ticket. From here there is an excellent view back to the palaces and across to the old Albaicín quarter.
A long walk with facing jets arcing over a central channel — the gardens' famous scene.
A stair with water running down its stone handrails — a seven-century-old idea still working.
The whole Alhambra seen from opposite — the best place to grasp the scale of the complex.
Planted terraces below the gardens, a reminder that this was a working farm for the court, not only ornament.
Alhambra complex, 18009 Granada
AlhambraThe Alhambra is the most famous thing Muslims built in Spain, standing on a hill3 minutes walk4.9
Palacio de los CórdovaA Renaissance palace below the Alhambra hill in Granada, surrounded by gardens o4 minutes walk4.4
Palace of Charles VThe Palace of Charles V is a Renaissance building standing inside the Alhambra, 5 minutes walk4.7
Nasrid PalacesThe Nasrid Palaces are the heart of the Alhambra and its greatest treasure. Thre5 minutes walk4.8
Casa del ChapizTwo adjoining sixteenth-century Morisco houses on the Albaicín slope, today a si7 minutes walk4.1No, it is included in the full Alhambra ticket. There is sometimes a cheaper gardens-only ticket without the Nasrid Palaces, a reasonable fallback if no palace slot is available — though the Alhambra without the palaces is an incomplete experience.
Jannat al-Arif in Arabic — the garden of the architect or overseer. The Spanish "Generalife" is a corruption of that Arabic phrase, as with many place names in Andalusia.
An hour covers the main gardens and the water channel court. Add half an hour to walk the lower terraces and sit for the view. Fit it in before or after your Nasrid Palaces slot.