Mirador de San Miguel Alto at sunset

Everyone knows the Mirador de San Nicolás; San Miguel Alto is the one two hundred metres higher, beside a small white hermitage on the ridge above the Albaicín. From up here the Alhambra is not the only thing in the frame — you also get the white roofs of the Albaicín falling away in the foreground, the cave houses of Sacromonte on the left and Sierra Nevada closing the back.

The geometry is the point. The viewpoint faces roughly east, so the sun goes down behind you and lands full on the Alhambra walls: the red glow people describe is real, and it lasts about fifteen minutes. Sunrise reverses it — the palace becomes a silhouette against a pale sky, which is a different and much quieter picture.

The climb is the price. It is a steep twenty-five to thirty minutes on foot from Plaza Larga, on broken paths with no shade, or a taxi ride most of the way up. There is nothing at the top: no water, no toilet, no railing on the drop side.

It fills up in summer with people who bring guitars and stay for the night; go in winter or on a weekday and you may have the wall to yourselves. Plan the descent — the path back down is unlit and unpleasant in the dark, so arrange a taxi or head down while there is still light.