Made it into the Alhambra by the skin of my teeth. It meant getting up at 7am, trekking through the still dark streets and plodding my way up to the complex just as the sun was rising. I was a bit horrified when I saw the queue that had already formed snaking round the car park and even more worried when they announced there were only 300 tickets available for today. There were at least 500 in the queue. But then I found the self service ticket machines, which had a much shorter queue, so managed to get one of the last 50 tickets.

I was certainly worth it. The fortress o top of the hill has a stunning position dominating the city. There are several different parts of the complex with fragrant gardens and refreshing water features. The view from the watch tower is over the whole plain on which Granada is set and to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada beyond.

In the city I visited the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel, which contains the simple lead coffins of Ferdinand and Isabella.