The Alhambra will open a new Information Point for Visitors, next to the Palace of Charles V, in January 2013

From next January 2013, the Alhambra will open a new Information Point for Visitors in the very heart of the Monument, in the Real Street, next to the Palace of Charles V. We refer to the Casa de la Estafeta (the Sub-Post Office) that has been undergoing restoration work carried out by the Conservation department of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, and will become a reference point and consultation for the millions of tourists who visit the Monumental Complex every year.
This morning the director-general of the Monument, María del Mar Villafranca, has inspected the research work in the Casa de la Estafeta, together with the technical team of the Alhambra and the town councillor for Tourism of the City Hall, Rocío Díaz.  This morning she has held a meeting in the Palace of Charles V on the subject of the Tourist Pass.  During her visit, María del Mar Villafranca has offered the Sub-Post Office as a local Information Point for tourists. This enterprise was welcomed by the local councillor.
The restoration work began last May. At present the possibility of re-establishing postal services here is being reviewed. In this way, not only would the historical use of the building be preserved, but also a solution would be provided for the thousands of national and international visitors who like to maintain the custom of sending postcards to their family and friends.
The Casa de la Estafeta, in the Plaza de los Carros (Square of the Carts), opposite the Palace of Charles V, was used as a residence for landscape painters up until 1928. After this date, the property was reappraised, on being situated in the front line of the newly created little square.  The present aspect probably comes from that year, when the last storey was replaced by the present-day lookout tower. 
Its use as a post office dates back to 1960, when the Commission of 23rd November communicated that it had granted the opening of the sub-post office, by means of the Order of the General Directorate of Post and Telecommunications issued in July. The building took its name from this use, although it has also housed other entities, such as the Red Cross in 1987 and the bookshop of the Patronato de la Alhambra from 1989 until 2010.
The historical value of the two letterboxes of the Alhambra Sub-Post Office must also be highlighted. They are two lion heads in green bronze, which were transferred here at the suggestion of the intellectual, Antonio Gallego Morell. They had previously been in the old Post Office building in Gran Via, and they will remain on display in the restored façade of the Sub-Post Office.