February 26 to May 24, 2026

Temporary Exhibition Halls, Palace of Charles V

FREE ADMISSION

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday

26 February – 14 March: 10 am–6 pm

15 March – 24 May: 10 am –8 pm

The Alhambra and the Generalife shape a cultural landscape in which architecture, water and vegetation cannot be understood separately. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the history of their gardens and to discover how this site has gradually brought together, century after century, gardens from different periods—Nasrid, Renaissance, Romantic and 20th century—which today coexist and engage in dialogue within an exceptional ensemble.

Organized by the Board of Trustees of La Alhambra and Generalife and the Andalusian Public Foundation El legado andalusí, the exhibition coincides with the centenary of the joint management of both monumental complexes—the Alhambra and the Generalife—and offers a reflection on the garden as a living cultural creation, born from the dialogue between nature and human artistry.

It brings together a carefully curated selection of around 240 works from leading institutions and collections, including the Archive and Library of the Board of Trustees of the Alhambra and Generalife, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Manuel de Falla Archive, the Library of Andalusia, Granada Cathedral, the Alhambra Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Granada, the Archaeological Museum of Seville, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, as well as several private collections.

Together, these works form a collection of exceptional historical and artistic value, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore the richness and diversity of the Alhambra’s cultural landscape.

The journey begins with an introduction to the Alhambra landscape, presenting the Generalife as a Nasrid royal “Almunia”, an agricultural estate and a leisure retreat connected to the “Acequia Real”, a key hydraulic infrastructure that made life and cultivation possible on the hill. The Generalife is highlighted not only as a palatial space but also as a productive territory and continuous garden, whose presence and influence have endured throughout the centuries.
This section brings together a diverse selection of works, including a Nasrid wooden panel depicting two warriors before a landscape, considered the oldest known image of the Alhambra and attributed to the artistic circle of Muḥammad V, alongside other pieces such as the family tree and large-format paintings of the Campotéjar family, who served as governors of the Generalife until it passed into state ownership in 1921.

In the Palace of Charles V chapel, the evocative dimension of the Alhambra and its gardens is explored, showing how admiration for their beauty played a key role in their historical preservation. This section features a varied collection of works inspired by the dreamlike allure the Alhambra has inspired for centuries, ranging from highly refined artistic pieces to examples of popular culture. Among them, a standout is a folio from the 13th-century Andalusi manuscript Hadīṯ Bayāḍ wa-Riyāḍ, preserved in the Vatican Library, whose illuminated miniatures include depictions of gardens with layouts strikingly similar to the courtyards of the Alhambra.

The section devoted to the “immobile garden” explores the presence of the vegetal world within architecture: stucco work, paintings, ceramics and objects that transform walls into true sculpted orchards. In the Alhambra, the living and the inert intertwine, blurring the boundaries between them.

In the palace crypt, visitors can trace the historical evolution of these spaces, discovering how each period introduced new sensibilities and formal solutions—from Nasrid gardens to Romantic and contemporary interventions—shaping an exceptional ensemble in which layers of time overlap without erasing what came before.

The tour concludes in the Model Room, where a selection of scale models and plans illustrates the historical evolution of the Alhambra and the Generalife over time. These works provide a valuable overall perspective on the transformation of their spaces, the layout of gardens, orchards and buildings, as well as the various projects and interventions that have shaped the monumental landscape we know today.

Free Guided Tours: Dedicated guided tours of the exhibition are available. Participation requires prior booking through the official channels of the Board of Trustees of the Alhambra and Generalife. Places are limited. For further information, please visit: https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/disfrutar/jardines-del-generalife-y-de-la-alhambra-el-milagro-que-nacio-del-agua-exposicion-temporal