Córdoba

Begun in the late eighth century and enlarged several times, the great mosque is famous for its double arches striped in red brick and white stone, stretching away in every direction. The mihrab, the prayer niche, glitters with gold mosaics made with the help of Byzantine craftsmen. In the sixteenth century a Renaissance cathedral was built into the centre of the prayer hall, and the building is still an active Catholic cathedral. The courtyard of orange trees, the Patio de los Naranjos, is open to walk through without a ticket. Above it, the bell tower wraps the old minaret in a Renaissance and baroque shell and gives the best view over the Mezquita's roofs and the old town. Climbs have their own ticket and run in timed slots through the day, so book online in advance; large backpacks and bulky bags aren't allowed on the stairs.

TipFrom Monday to Saturday, entry is free between 8:30 and 9:30 for individual visitors (no groups), with the last entry at 9:20, except on days of special celebrations. Opening hours are shorter on Sunday mornings because of mass, so check the official opening-times tool for your date.

A tiny lane just north of the Mezquita, its white walls hung with flowerpots, ending in a small square where the bell tower is framed between the houses. It's the most photographed corner of the city, so it's best early in the morning.

The old Jewish quarter is a maze of narrow streets west and north of the Mezquita, where the philosopher Maimonides was born in the twelfth century. On Calle Judíos, the Synagogue, built in 1314 and 1315, is the only medieval synagogue left in the city. Its small prayer hall is covered in Mudéjar plasterwork with Hebrew inscriptions from the Psalms. Entry is free; it's open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 15:00 and closed on most Mondays.

A fortress-palace of the Christian kings, where Ferdinand and Isabella lived for years during their war against Granada and are said to have first received Columbus. Its terraced gardens, with long pools, fountains, orange trees and cypresses, are the highlight. The gardens reopened in June 2026 after conservation work, with morning-only hours; parts of the palace interior may still be closed, so check what's open before you go.

The excavated remains of the bathhouse of the caliphs' palace, beside the Alcázar on the Campo Santo de los Mártires. Its vaulted rooms, lit by star-shaped skylights, show how the cold, warm and hot rooms of an Andalusi bath worked.

The bridge has crossed the Guadalquivir since Roman times, though most of what you see was rebuilt over the centuries. It's now a pedestrian walkway, linking the Puerta del Puente, a Renaissance gateway, with the south bank. The views back to the Mezquita are at their best at sunset.

A fortified gate tower guarding the southern end of the bridge, now home to a museum on the cultures of al-Andalus. Its rooftop is a good place to look back over the river and the old town.

A small square named after the colt on its sixteenth-century fountain, with the old Posada del Potro inn, mentioned by Cervantes in Don Quixote. Facing it are the city's Fine Arts Museum and the museum of the painter Julio Romero de Torres.

A large rectangular square enclosed by arcaded houses, rebuilt in the seventeenth century in the Castilian style and once used for bullfights and markets. Today its terraces fill with locals at lunchtime, and the covered market at one corner is a good place for a morning coffee.

Tall fluted columns rise from the remains of a first-century temple beside the town hall on Calle Claudio Marcelo. You see it from the street, and it's a reminder that Córdoba, Corduba, was the capital of the Roman province of Baetica.

After Ferdinand III took Córdoba in 1236, a ring of parish churches was built in the new Christian districts, often on the sites of mosques. Known as the Fernandine churches, they mix sturdy Gothic stonework with Mudéjar details. Santa Marina, with its fortress-like façade, and San Lorenzo, with its rose window, are fine examples in the northern quarters, and San Pablo is close to the Corredera. Opening hours vary and some open only around services.

A noble mansion in the Santa Marina quarter with a dozen courtyards, each in a different style, from formal gardens with box hedges to a patio of orange trees. It's the best place to see the city's patio tradition at any time of year, and the furnished rooms can be visited on a guided tour.

The ruins of Madinat al-Zahra, the palace city founded by the caliph Abd al-Rahman III in the tenth century and destroyed in civil war within a century, lie on a hillside about eight kilometres west of the centre. Terraces of palaces, gardens and a mosque have been excavated, and the site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018. A modern museum at the entrance explains the history; from there a shuttle bus climbs to the ruins. Entry is free for EU citizens and inexpensive for others. It's closed on Mondays, except before public holidays.

TipFrom late June to late September, the site closes in the afternoon heat and reopens in the evening. A tourist bus runs from the city centre on most days except Monday; book it in advance, as private cars must park at the museum.