Palace of Charles V in Alhambra, Granada
After you tour the beautiful summer palace in Generalife and walk towards the Nasrid Palace, this building kind of distracts you. It is the Palace of Charles V Alhambra. I won’t say it is ugly, but it IS different. I almost skipped entering it but then changed my mind.
Charles V Palace Alhambra Granada Spain
Who was Charles V?
Charles V, (1500-1558) was King of Spain (Carlos I) and Holy Roman Emperor (Charles V). He held titles like – Archduke of Austria, Duke of Milan and Duke of Swabia, Count of Flanders, King Naples and Sicily (1516-1555), prince of the Netherlands and many more during his life time.
Carlos I, as a young administrator, promoted several social improvements in Flanders and Spain. Later he retired and stayed, adjacent to the wall of the monastery of Yuste di San Jeronimo in a place called Vera of Plasencia. The monks welcomed him in procession, singing the Te Deum.
Why was Palace of Charles V made in Alhambra?
Here is a bit about history of Charles V Palace in Alhambra. The Palace of Charles V, also known as Palacio de Carlos in Spanish, was built in 1526.
Charles V, a traveling monarch in the 16th century fell for the beauty of this beautiful place Alhambra. Though a part of the then existing complex was demolished to build this gigantic structure, remaining old structures were left untouched. And that is why this monstrous building looks out of place among the beautifully manicured Arab structures.
Charles V Palace Alhambra Granada Spain
Charles V wanted a royal residence in the beautiful settings, probably with the intention of symbolizing the victory of Christianity over Islam, which he successfully did. Granada was the last city to fall into Catholic hands.
Tour of the Palace
The embellished sandstone facade, the bronze rings at the right height on the exterior walls (meant to tether horses when visiting) all made interesting subjects for photography and held my attention.
It wasn’t a closed structure as I expected it to be. The square-ish exteriors gave way to an open central courtyard. The round patio inside is large and elegant. It is a hollow building.
Charles V Palace Interesting Facts
- The Palace of Charles V was commissioned by Charles V in 1526 after his marriage to Isabel of Portugal.
- The palace is square, but inside, the patio is round, like a pizza box.
- The main facade is 17 meters high
- Located near the Alcazaba and entry to the Nasrid palaces
- Houses the Alhambra Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts
- Today the palace hosts exhibitions and performances
Hot Tip – See first maybe because after visiting the splendor Nasrid Palaces, this style seems a bit bland
Bronze rings at the right height on the exterior walls meant to tether horses when visiting.
The palace hardly had any traffic of tourists. It was a wonderful experience standing at the center of the courtyard. The old curved staircases lead you up from where the view of the circular courtyard is good.
Tour time is hardly 20 minutes unless you decide to hang around in the 2 museums inside for a while. Sadly due to time crunch I couldn’t visit either. Generalife took more than the planned 2 hours and then the tour of Alcazaba was yet to be done.
Tickets for Charles V Palace Granada
Alhambra General Tickets are for daytime visits. There are 2 time slots: 8.30hrs to 14.00hrs and 14.00hrs to 20.00hrs. You need to plan out your tour to the various sites within the complex. There is no special ticket for this palace.
My timing for Nasrid Palaces was 7PM. So I had some time to tour this palace too.
Interiors of Charles V Palace Alhambra Granada Spain
Things to do at Palace of Charles V
- Visit the Alhambra Museum
- Visit the Museo de Bellas Artes on the top floor
- Last but not the least it is important to keep your ticket always handy as the guards in various parts of the Alhambra complex make you show them.
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Magnificent palace, great details!
Such interesting to see in detailed.
Thanks for sharing it.
Unique,looks like eagles are holding the ring
A fascinating, beautiful place…so unusual. It has such an interesting history! Love the shot with the "gargoyle" and the sky.
Magnificent the view, capture and the place…
I like the old-world charm in of the courtyard.
Majestic looks… wonderful captures, Indrani..:-)
I'm glad you decided to check this building out! The details are quite photogenic.
It may not be opulent, yet facade has a charm of its own Indrani.
Wow! Amazing captures with lovely narration. Liked your comment: "probably with the intention of symbolizing the victory of Christianity over Islam, which he successfully did."
Hello Indrani, the Palace is beautiful! I love the closeups of the rings, very cool. Great series, thanks for sharing your visit. Have a happy weekend!
Nicely captured the essence. Thanks for sharing
what beautiful captures Indrani … specially the one for the skywatch Friday. Strange fact that it is a hollow building !!
that rings is something cool 🙂
Beautifully written!!!
WHat a gorgeous curved balcony!
Beautiful captures!!
Stupendous structure.Great Shots.
Very well written. All the pictures are breathtaking.
The palace looks so regal.. 🙂 Very well depicted!
never seen rings on walls 🙂
Awesome photos
It's impressive.
A beautiful castle and terrific captures for the day as always, Indrani!! I really like the bronze rings — having been a serious horse rider in my earlier days, it was always great to find a place that had them! And all of that against beautiful skies!! Hope you have a lovely weekend!! Enjoy!!
Nice pics. The wall structure looks like dairy milk silk 🙂