The Palace of Carlos V is stunning. Construction on the Palace started in the 16th century, but wasn’t completed and stood roofless until 1967. It is a reminder of Italian Renaissance architecture. In the center is the grand patio which is the highlight of the building with 32 columns. I highly recommend coming here.

Charles V was the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella who captured the city from the Moors in 1492. His palace was a total contrast to the Moorish buildings; where they were graceful and delicate this building was a brutal dog, marking its territory on the Islamic Alhambra. The exterior was particularly ugly and the interior marginally better, with 2 levels of circular collonades. There was very little ornamentation so we actually spent around 5 minutes there. We did visit the archeology museum on the ground floor before leaving though and that was excellent, with information on the Visigothic and Muslim kingdoms of Spain and trade, money and culture. A lot of information was in English and there were some fabulous exhibits.

Part of the Alhambra complex, the Palace of Carlos V was an imposing building simply because of its size and location. The circular inner courtyard might have been spectacular in its time. However, as it stands today, it was just a large Renaissance-era structure. It was good to see that it was being used to house several museums.

The Palace of Charles V seems quite out of place among the equisite architecture in Alhambra. That's largely due to the desire of Charles V to jam the palace onto the site Alhambra site, amongst the fabulous Moorish structures, following the Christians successful reconquest of Granada from the Moslems. The palace construction was started in 1527, following a Renaissance or "Roman" style, and proceeded in fits for over a hundred years, before being abandoned in 1637. The palace was never really finished, although it has been called "completed" after restoration work in 1923. The exterior is rather austere (some would say ugly), but the interior courtyard with a 2-level colonnade has some appeal. That said, it strikes one more as an arena than a palace and, in fact, the "palace" has never served as anyone's home.