Córdova

Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with warm days and cool evenings. Summers are very hot and dry, and days above 40 °C are common. Winters are mild.

May is the busiest month. The courtyard festival (Los Patios) fills the first two weeks of May, when private patios open to visitors. The city fair follows later in May. Book a room well ahead for May.

• Mosque–Cathedral of Cordoba is the city's main sight. Building began in 785 and the prayer hall grew over the next two centuries. A cathedral was built inside it in the 16th century. Free visits run Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30, but check the official site for changes.
• Ruinas de Medina Azahara are the ruins of a palace city founded in 936 by Abd al-Rahman III. It was destroyed in a civil war in the early 11th century. It is a UNESCO site about 6 km west of the city.
• Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos is a fortress that Alfonso XI began in 1328. It has gardens and Roman mosaics. The Catholic Monarchs used it as a base.
• Roman Bridge of Córdoba crosses the Guadalquivir River beside the old town. It is a good place to walk at sunset.
• Torre de la Calahorra - Museo Vivo de Al-Ándalus is a fortified gate at the far end of the bridge. It now holds a museum about Al-Andalus.
• Judería de Córdoba is the old Jewish quarter, with narrow lanes and whitewashed walls.
• La Sinagoga is a small synagogue built in 1315 in Mudéjar style. It is one of the few medieval synagogues left in Spain.
• Palacio de los Marqueses de Viana is a 15th-century noble palace, now a museum, with twelve patios.

Trains and cars both work for these trips. Closer places are in Córdoba province.

• Almodóvar del Río: a hill town with a large castle, close to Córdoba. The name means "the round one", after the hill.
• Montilla: about 50 km south. The centre of the Montilla-Moriles wine area. It is known for sweet Pedro Ximénez wines and sherry-style wines.
• Seville: about 45 minutes by high-speed train. Seville is the regional capital.
• Malaga: under 1 hour by high-speed train. A coastal city on the Mediterranean.
• Zuheros: 76 km south-east. A village with a castle built into the rock, near the Bats' Cave.
• Priego de Córdoba: about 100 km south-east. A town with many Baroque churches.

Combine Córdoba with these destinations in Andalusia:

• Seville and Malaga are both easy to reach by train.
• Granada is a larger city to the east.
• Carmona and Antequera are smaller towns for a slower trip.
• Baeza is a small historic town in Jaén province.
• Sierra de Córdoba are the hills just north of the city.

• By air: Córdoba has a small airport about 6 km from the city, with limited, mostly seasonal flights. Most visitors fly to Seville or Málaga and continue by train.
• By train: Córdoba Central is the main station, about 1.5 km north-west of the Mosque–Cathedral. High-speed AVE trains run from Madrid in about 1 hour 45 minutes. AVE trains also run to Malaga in under an hour, and to Seville in about 45 minutes. Book on Renfe.

• On foot: the old town and most sights are within a short walk of each other. Streets in the Judería are narrow and uneven.
• Taxi: useful for the station, hotels outside the centre and the trip to Medina Azahara.
• Cycling: possible along the river, but the old town lanes are better on foot.

• Is a car worth it?: not for the city. It helps only for villages and wine towns in the province.

Try salmorejo, a thick cold tomato soup topped with ham and egg. Flamenquín is another local dish: ham rolled in pork loin, then breaded and fried. Wines from the nearby Montilla-Moriles area are a local choice.

Good eating is spread through the old town. Look in the lanes around the Judería and the squares near the Mosque–Cathedral.

Córdoba is generally safe for visitors. Take normal care with bags in crowded places.

Summer heat is the main risk. Visit sights early or late, carry water and rest in the afternoon. In an emergency, call 112.

Romans founded a settlement here in 169 BC, and Corduba became a Roman colony around 45 BC. Muslims took the city in 711 or 712. Abd al-Rahman I founded the emirate in 756 and ordered the mosque in 785. In 929 Abd al-Rahman III declared himself caliph. He founded Ruinas de Medina Azahara in 936.

King Ferdinand III entered the city on 29 June 1236, and the mosque became a cathedral. Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos was begun in 1328. La Sinagoga dates from 1315, when a Jewish community lived in the quarter around it. UNESCO listed the mosque in 1984 and the whole historic centre in 1994.

Quick practical facts for Spain at a glance: