The Alhambra opens its most intimate spaces with guided tours on Charles V and Isabella of Portugal

The Alhambra proposes a journey five centuries back in time to learn how Charles V and Isabella of Portugal lived during their stay in Granada in 1526. The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, attached to the Consejería de Cultura, Patrimonio Histórico y Deporte, has organized two guided tour programs led by specialists that cover the settings linked to the lives of the emperors and explain what the monumental complex was like when it became the residence of the imperial court.

The first option, Visita Carolina a la Casa Real de la Alhambra, enters spaces such as the Sala del Mexuar, the Patio del Harén or the Peinador de la Reina. The route brings visitors closer to the couple's daily life and the difficulties they encountered in adapting the old palaces to the needs of a court accustomed to greater comforts and ceremonies. It is held on October 24 and 31; November 4, 21 and 28; December 12 and 19; and January 9, 2027. The second, Visita Carolina y Poliorcética de la Alcazaba de la Alhambra, focuses on the military and defensive dimension of the enclosure. Participants learn about the puerta vieja de la Alcazaba, the baluarte de la Mezquita de cabe Darro or the Caballerizas, and discover how the fortifications evolved to respond to the new defense needs of the modern era. This route is held on October 25; November 15 and 22; December 13 and 20; and January 10, 2027.

According to the Patronato, the stay of Charles V and Isabella of Portugal in Granada was much more than a long honeymoon. During those months of 1526 the city became the temporary seat of the court and the setting for important political decisions of an empire that extended across much of Europe and other territories. The couple found an Alhambra marked by the legacy of the Reyes Católicos, who had used its palaces as a residence. The accommodation and representational needs of the new monarchs were different, and that coexistence between the inherited architecture and the demands of the imperial court brought about changes in the palatine spaces. The accommodation difficulties even led Isabella of Portugal to move her residence to the newly built monastery of San Jerónimo, whose rooms better suited the comforts she had known in Lisbon. The itineraries also address the evolution of the Alhambra as a residence of the Spanish monarchs of the houses of Austria and Bourbon, and the successive transformations of palaces, gardens and defensive structures up to its conversion into a national monument in the 19th century. Both visits are led by Juan Antonio Vilar Sánchez, doctor in Modern and Contemporary History from the universities of Nimega (Países Bajos) and Granada, a specialist in the figure of Charles V and author of publications and research on this period.

The visits cost 12.73 euros, commission included. Tickets are available from Wednesday, October 21 at 12.00 hours on the official ticket sales website of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife.