Generalife

About this place

This estate served as a summer retreat for Granada's Nasrid rulers outside the Alhambra's walls. Its palace and cultivated landscape show the importance of water and gardens in royal life. Notice how the terraces frame views of the surrounding hills and palace city. Its location east of and above the main palace complex gave the rulers a distinct setting away from the formal court. The estate combined a residence with productive land, so the landscape had practical as well as aesthetic value. Seeing it alongside the Alhambra helps explain the different settings of Nasrid royal life.