Where is the Alhambra?

The Alhambra sits on the Sabika hill overlooking the city of Granada in Andalusia, with the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains behind it. Its name comes from Arabic and means “the red one”, after the reddish colour of its walls. Most of the palaces were built by the Nasrid dynasty, the last Muslim rulers in Spain, in the 13th and 14th centuries. When Granada surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella on 2 January 1492, the Alhambra became a Christian royal court. Famous for its intricate stucco, tilework and courtyards such as the Court of the Lions, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.