Partal Palace

The Partal Palace is the oldest surviving palace within the Alhambra — built by Muhammad III between 1302 and 1309, predating the Nasrid Palaces by several decades. Its centrepiece is the Torre de las Damas (Ladies’ Tower) and its reflecting pool — a porticoed arcade mirrored in a large rectangular basin. The Partal is the quietest and most atmospheric area of the ticketed complex, often described as the Alhambra’s hidden gem. Allow 20–30 minutes.

The Partal Palace occupies a northeast corner of the Alhambra complex between the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife Gardens — and it is consistently the most underappreciated area of the ticketed site. While the Court of the Lions draws hundreds of people at any given moment, the Partal’s reflecting pool and its graceful porticoed tower are often almost empty. This is partly a function of visitor flow — the Partal comes after the Nasrid Palaces, when many visitors are beginning to feel the weight of 2 hours of sightseeing — but it is a great shame, because the Partal is genuinely beautiful and offers some of the best quiet photography in the Alhambra.

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Quick Facts — Partal Palace

History of the Partal Palace

The Partal Palace was commissioned by Muhammad III (r. 1302–1309) as the first in a series of palaces that would be built along the northern perimeter of the Alhambra complex over the following century. Its name derives from the Arabic al-Burtal, meaning ‘the portico’ — a reference to its defining architectural feature, the arcaded gallery facing the reflecting pool.

Unlike the Comares Palace and the Palace of the Lions, which remained royal property after the Christian conquest of 1492, the Partal passed into private ownership. Over the following centuries, it was modified, partially demolished, and significantly altered. In 1891 the Spanish government reacquired the property, and in the early 20th century it was incorporated into the Alhambra heritage site and subjected to systematic restoration work by Leopoldo Torres Balbás and Francisco Prieto Moreno.

The restoration involved significant reconstruction — the Sebka stucco above the portico arches was reconstituted, and the original brick pillars of the portico were replaced with Nasrid-style marble columns. Original marble lions that had stood here were moved to the Museum of the Alhambra for preservation, replaced by replicas in situ.

What to See at the Partal Palace

Palacio del Pórtico & Torre de las Damas (Ladies’ Tower)

The central structure of the Partal Palace is the Palacio del Pórtico — a porticoed arcade of five arches supported by slender marble columns, opening onto the reflecting pool. The arches are decorated with intricate stucco panels carved with geometric and vegetal patterns, including poems by court poet Ibn al-Jayyab. Above the central arch rises the Torre de las Damas — the Ladies’ Tower — which projects above the palace as a mirador (lookout chamber) with views across the Partal pool and over the Darro valley toward the Albaicín.

The tower’s name originates from the private living quarters it once contained, used by the women of the royal household. Its interior — a square hall accessed by a staircase — retains original Nasrid plasterwork and offers an excellent panoramic viewpoint. The only surviving original arch of the original five-arched portico is the central one; the others are 20th-century reconstructions.

Partal Courtyard (Patio del Partal) & Reflecting Pool

The Partal Courtyard centres on a large rectangular reflecting pool that mirrors the Torre de las Damas and its porticoed façade in almost perfect symmetry — a reflection composition that recalls the Court of the Myrtles in the Nasrid Palaces but in a more intimate, unadorned setting. The pool measures approximately 32 × 8 metres and is surrounded by a low stone edge. Early morning, when the surface is still and the portico’s carved stonework is reflected clearly, this is one of the most beautiful spaces in the Alhambra.

Partal Oratory (Oratorio del Partal)

To the east of the Torre de las Damas, accessed through a small arched doorway, is the Partal Oratory — a tiny private prayer room (musalla) built during the reign of Muhammad III and completed by Yusuf I. Constructed over an older defensive tower, it is one of the smallest but most perfectly preserved Nasrid religious spaces. Its rectangular interior is crowned by a muqarnas cupola over the mihrab (prayer niche indicating the direction of Mecca), and the timber ceiling above the nave is decorated with eight-pointed star motifs. Double-arched windows offer views south across the city of Granada. The oratory was restored between 2013 and 2017.

Arab Houses — Unique Figurative Paintings

To the left of the Torre de las Damas are three small attached Arab houses — later additions to the Partal complex — that contain something genuinely unusual for the Alhambra: 16th-century paintings of hunting scenes, people, and animals on their interior walls. These are among the only surviving examples of figurative Nasrid-period wall painting from the Muslim period in Spain. They were discovered during 20th-century restoration work and are remarkable both for their survival and for their artistic content, which sits in unusual tension with the general Islamic prohibition on figurative representation.

Partal Gardens (Jardines del Partal)

The Partal Gardens extend south of the palace, designed in the early 20th century to create an aesthetically coherent setting for the archaeological remains discovered during restoration work. The gardens do not follow a Nasrid-era design — they are a modern landscaping intervention — but they provide a pleasant green setting and allow visitors to see the excavated foundations of Nasrid-period houses and the ruins of the Upper Partal Palace (Palacio del Partal Alto), which was a second, more elaborately decorated palace on the upper terrace that has not survived above foundation level.

Why the Partal Is Worth Slowing Down For

The Partal Palace consistently receives less attention than it deserves, for a simple reason: it comes after the Nasrid Palaces in the standard visit order, when many visitors are experiencing some degree of sensory overload and are beginning to move toward the exit. This is a mistake worth consciously resisting.

The Partal offers three things that the busier parts of the Alhambra cannot: silence, space, and a different quality of beauty. The reflecting pool is one of the finest in the complex. The Partal Oratory is among the most intimate Nasrid spaces accessible to visitors. And the Arab houses with their figurative paintings are genuinely unique — there is nothing quite like them elsewhere in the Alhambra.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

• Nasrid Palaces — The Jewel of the Alhambra
• Generalife Gardens — Alhambra’s Royal Summer Palace
• Comares Palace — Hall of the Ambassadors & Court of the Myrtles
• Alhambra Map — Complete Guide to the Complex Layout
• Skip-the-Line Alhambra Entry Tickets