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Andalusia guide: what to see, eat and do and where to stay in southern spain.

by Heena C in Culture & Lifestyle on 11th November, 2022

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Spain is our favourite holiday haunt as a young family. Before COVID lockdown we would go yearly as my eldest was under 3. This year we finally got away and as it was the first time with my youngest (being 6) and my eldest now 9 the Spanish experience was totally different. Our favourite spot to holiday is in Al-Andalus, an area in the south of Spain that was ruled by the Umayyads from 711CE till the early 11th Century. They left behind their architectural mark, flora and fauna, as well as their agricultural advances and techniques. The Andalusian part of Spain encompasses so much antiquity and culture that captures your imagination on how things once were and I’ve put together a guide that will hopefully entice you to visit and make your experience an unforgettable one!

Accommodation

Al-Andalus is a hot spot for holiday makers, so along the coast you can find an array of hotels, resorts and Airbnbs. We stayed in Torremolinos and rented a 2-bed, ground floor apartment through Airbnb that had a communal swimming pool and private courtyard with views of the mountains. 

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Getting Around Andalusia

Travelling between areas as well as within the same town is very accessible. There are taxi ranks at certain points that are not expensive and are happy to do 5 – 10-minute drops as well as trains that are easy to use and are air-conditioned, perfect for when travelling in the hotter months. They can take you from town to city within no time. However, be aware that not all stations are user-friendly and need updating though this is something that we noticed is being actively worked on from our visits. For longer journeys like our trip to Cordoba – you can become adventurous and hire a car for the day and take a drive up the mountains to cities further afield. Boats/small ferries are also a great form of transport. You can catch one from the port of Benalmadena that will take you to Fuengirola in an hour along the coast – a great additional experience. 

Where to Eat in Andalusia

When it comes to food, each area has its own traditional style and cuisine.

Torremolinos being a traditional fishing port has an abundance of seafood with restaurants along the beach that have their catch of the day and the largest prawns you will come across. Over the last few years there has been a rise in restaurants serving Halal dishes on the promenade giving more variety if you end up getting fed up with fish. 

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Malaga being a city has your finesse restaurants along the port however you also get those hidden café gems for churros and chocolate as well as your fast-food chains. Al-Turq is one of those fast-food chains you will find dotted around Al-Andalus – even though it may not look amazing from the outside they do one of the best shawarmas you will find. 

In Cordoba you will find a mix of restaurants within the tiny city streets. These picturesque restaurants are hidden in the courtyards and converted Andalusian homes. You can find a variety of Moroccan and Lebanese restaurants; two we would recommend would be Pasilli Oriental and Resturante Damasco. 

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Not forgetting the amazing gelato, you can get at every street corner wherever you go – Spain has a wonderful selection of gelato flavours you will not find elsewhere.

Shopping in Andalusia

If you want traditional handmade goods, then Spain is a lovely place to do it. You will of course find the typical tourist shops selling you nick-nacks, however there are some places off the beaten path that are well worth your time.

Torremolinos has a very old ceramics shop on the cliff top along the stairway leading from San Miguel and at the bottom hidden in the cliffside is a leather store that has everything from bags to wallets. 

When you head to Malaga you will again find your tourist shops for postcards and magnets but also magical bookshops like Mapas Y Compania. Malaga has high street fashion shops such as Mango or Stradivarius along the Alameda Principal. There are also confectionary shops like Vicens – Artisan Turron and Chocolate est. 1775, as well as a beautiful Berber store called Artista where the items come straight from Morocco and at a fantastic price. 

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Cordoba as you can imagine has dainty streets filled with shops. A few shops we entered felt like an Aladdin’s cave, filled floor-to-ceiling with beautiful handmade intricate items. Shop around as we found some beautiful pieces here.

If you are more of a designer shopper then there’s something here for you too – Plaza Mayor is a 10-minute drive from Torremolinos where you can shop at all the outlets whilst keeping the kids busy with the in-house entertainment and eating into the night with a variety of restaurants is a win for all. 

Places to Visit in Andalusia – Torremolinos, Malaga and Córdoba

With the stretch of the Al-Andalus being steeped in history you will find an abundance of places to visit wherever you go. 

Torremolinos

Even though Torremolinos is a tourist town it does have some lovely places to visit once you have done the Aquaparks and Crocodile sanctuary. 

  • Casa Los Navajas is a clifftop building from 1872. It was renovated a few years back where it was restored to its once beautiful self after years of disuse and negligence. It is now a museum and a place you can get married. 
  • Another place to spend an afternoon is in the Botanical Gardens – Molino de Inca. This used to be one of the oldest mills used to make flour and the grounds and garden now co-exist as an oasis and bird rescue shelter. 

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As Malaga is a city along the Andalus there are many different things to do there. Over the years we have visited a few and there is still so much to explore. 

  • The Catedral de la Encarnacion de Malaga which is a landmark in the centre of Malaga and can be seen from as far as the end of the Port. 

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  • Teatro Romano de Malaga otherwise known as the Roman Amphitheatre is situated behind the Cathedral at the foot of the Alcazaba hill. This theatre was formed as the basis of creating a social space for the Romans and was only rediscovered in 1951.
  • Gibrafaro is a castle situated on the other side of the Alcazaba. This was used as part of the defence during the reign of the Muslim empire and housed a Mosque, quarters and supply storage.  
  • Malaga Park is a nice surprise as you wonder through the city. An urban botanical garden that houses a variety of vegetation. This area has over time been improved with the addition of a play park for children as well as a small amphitheatre.
  • The Alcazaba is a fortress built during the Muslim-ruled era and is one of the best preserved Alcazabas in Spain. Sitting atop a tall mountainside capturing the most scenic of views across the horizon. 

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  • Interactive Music Museum is hidden away in the backstreets of Malaga, walking distance from the Plaza de la Constitucion. A full family experience, this museum takes you through the history of music and musical instruments with information zones and interactive ones.
  • Hammam Al Andalus is one of the best spas I have come across. Split over two floors and hidden in the streets behind the main plaza the moment you enter this building you are transported into the past – a riad of sorts with dedications of a palace. For approximately €50 for 45minutes you get a massage, mint tea and use of the various pools and heat rooms – a perfect break in your day. 
  • The Port of Malaga stretch takes you along the harbour all the way to the lighthouse. You can visit the many installations such as the Centre Pompidou Malaga as well as the stretch of shops – high street, designer and handmade stalls.

Cordoba is an important site for the Romans as well as a major Islamic city during the Middle Ages. This walled city encompasses many historical places you can visit. 

  • The Great Mosque – Cathedral of Cordoba is an architectural success. From the moment you walk into the vast courtyard you know you are stepping into an important part of the past. First built in 785CE, this building is a preserved part of Islamic history with the addition of the now Cathedral you get the mix of both religions and a sense of peace on how they have been merged into one structure. 

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  • The Roman Bridge is in the centre of Cordoba and stretches across the Guadalquivir River. It was first built in the early 1 st Century BC and later reconstructed by the Arabs in the 8 th Century. As you step across it you feel the sense of importance this bridge gives to the city.
  • Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs is the former primary residence of Isabella I and Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Built in 1328 on the site of previous fortresses this alcazar features magnificent gardens and courtyards taken from the inspiration of the Arabs. 

Al-Andalus is a wonderful stretch of land that was a primal piece in history and today’s civilizations. It’s a gem of the Mediterranean and its past proves exactly that. Today we can go and enjoy it as a family or as individuals whilst we relax on the beach or explore its hidden treasures from the past.

Heena C

If she isn't working on her online crafting business, then Heena is busy reading and reviewing or working on her writing; now drafting out her first book and poetry based on life. Heena is an advocate for women’s rights, and the rights of the oppressed. She helps to create awareness online and through teaching the next generation about what they can do to change the world and future. Her love is to travel the globe and immerse herself in different cultures, history and learn more about herself and Islam through architecture and lives lived before her. She has a keen interest in finding out about the past as well as her family history especially tracing back where her origins come from. IG: @heena.ck

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andalus travel

Andalucía is located south of the Iberian Peninsula. Access to Andalusia can be done by plane, by boat, by train or by road.

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Where to sleep

The accommodations of Andalucía satisfy the most demanding traveler, from a different environment to the most classic style. The are many options to choose from.

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What to eat

The Andalusian gastronomy is as wide and varied as its territory. Enjoy a whole repertoire of dishes and products whose excellence is celebrated all over the world.

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Learn about the possibilities offered by this region of the south of the Iberian Peninsula come to the time of year you come.

Almería

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Paddleboarding in Sierras de Cazorla

Paddleboarding in Sierras de Cazorla

Ven en Semana Santa a nuestro alojamiento en Vélez de Benaudalla

Ven en Semana Santa a nuestro alojamiento en Vélez de Benaudalla

Caminito del Rey desde Sevilla

Caminito del Rey desde Sevilla

Tour por Itálica desde Sevilla

Tour por Itálica desde Sevilla

Pueblos Blancos y Ronda desde Sevilla

Pueblos Blancos y Ronda desde Sevilla

Excursión a Jerez y Cádiz desde Sevilla

Excursión a Jerez y Cádiz desde Sevilla

Excursión a Córdoba desde Sevilla

Excursión a Córdoba desde Sevilla

Excursión a la Alhambra de Granada desde Sevilla

Excursión a la Alhambra de Granada desde Sevilla

Don't miss....

Jerez de la Frontera Easter Week

Jerez de la Frontera Easter Week

El Paso de Riogordo

El Paso de Riogordo

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"El Paso", a living representation of the passion

Easter Week in Antequera

Easter Week in Antequera

Easter Week in Almuñécar

Easter Week in Almuñécar

Feria de Abril

Feria de Abril

Gran Premio de España Moto GP

Gran Premio de España Moto GP

Fería Nacional de la Gamba, la Chirla y el Boquerón de Punta Umbria

Fería Nacional de la Gamba, la Chirla y el Boquerón de Punta Umbria

Horse Fair

Festival de los Patios de Córdoba

Romería del Rocío

Romería del Rocío

Vinoble Jerez

Vinoble Jerez

Proposals to enjoy andalusia.

La gruta de las maravillas grotto, an underground treasure

La gruta de las maravillas grotto, an underground treasure

5 reasons that will make you discover Lugares Colombinos in Huelva

5 reasons that will make you discover Lugares Colombinos in Huelva

Surf destinations in Cadiz where you'll enjoy good vibes

Surf destinations in Cadiz where you'll enjoy good vibes

Beyond the city: Discover the beautiful countryside of Cordoba

Beyond the city: Discover the beautiful countryside of Cordoba

A weekend discovering Autumn in the Sierra de Aracena mountains

A weekend discovering Autumn in the Sierra de Aracena mountains

Diego Velázquez of Seville

Diego Velázquez of Seville

Lola Flores, a Jerez woman forever

Lola Flores, a Jerez woman forever

Follow in the footsteps of Gerald Brenan around the Alpujarra

Follow in the footsteps of Gerald Brenan around the Alpujarra

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EXPLORE ANDALUSIA

  • Discover Andalusia
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PLACES TO VISIT

  • Almería
  • Cádiz
  • Córdoba
  • Jaén
  • Málaga

EXPERIENCES

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The popular image of Spain as a land of bullfights, flamenco, sherry and ruined castles derives from Andalucía (Andalusia), the southernmost territory and the most quintessentially Spanish part of the Iberian Peninsula. Above all, it’s the great Moorish monuments that compete for your attention here. The Moors, a mixed race of Berbers and Arabs who crossed into Spain from Morocco and North Africa, occupied al-Andalus for over seven centuries. Their first forces landed at Tarifa in 710 AD, and within four years they had conquered virtually the entire country; their last kingdom, Granada , fell to the Christian Reconquest in 1492. Between these dates, they developed the most sophisticated civilization of the Middle Ages, centred in turn on the three major cities of Córdoba , Seville and Granada .

Andalucia’s fiestas

Andalucía’s cuisine, garganta del chorro, antequera and around, parque natural de el torcal, the costa del sol resorts, towards cádiz and seville, the sierra morena, el puerto de santa maría, sanlúcar de barrameda, seville to córdoba, las alpujarras.

Book tickets and tours in Córdoba

Each one preserves extraordinarily brilliant and beautiful monuments, of which the most perfect is Granada’s Alhambra palace, arguably the most sensual building in all of Europe. Seville , not to be outdone, has a fabulously ornamented Alcázar and the grandest of all Gothic cathedrals. Today, Andalucía’s capital and seat of the region’s autonomous parliament is a vibrant contemporary metropolis that’s impossible to resist. Córdoba’s exquisite Mezquita, the grandest and most beautiful mosque constructed by the Moors, is a landmark building in world architecture and not to be missed.

Book things to do in Granada

These three cities have, of course, become major tourist destinations, but it’s also worth leaving the tourist trail and visiting some of the smaller inland towns of Andalucía. Renaissance towns such as Úbeda, Baeza and Osuna, Moorish Carmona and the stark white hill-towns around Ronda are all easily accessible by local buses. Travelling for some time here, you’ll get a feel for the landscape of Andalucía: occasionally spectacularly beautiful but more often impressive on a huge, unyielding scale.

The region also takes in mountains – including the Sierra Nevada , Spain’s highest range. You can often ski here in March, and then drive down to the coast to swim the same day. Perhaps more compelling, though, are the opportunities for walking in the lower slopes, Las Alpujarras. Alternatively, there’s good trekking among the gentler (and much less known) hills of the Sierra Morena, north of Seville .

Thinking about visiting Seville? Book tickets and tours

On the coast, it’s easy to despair. Extending to either side of Málaga is the Costa del Sol, Europe’s most heavily developed resort area, with its poor beaches hidden behind a remorseless density of concrete hotels and apartment complexes. However, the region offers two alternatives, much less developed and with some of the best beaches in all Spain. These are the villages between Tarifa and Cádiz on the Atlantic, and those around Almería on the southeast corner of the Mediterranean. The latter allow warm swimming in all but the winter months; those near Cádiz , more easily accessible, are fine from about June to September. Near Cádiz , too, is Parque Nacional Coto de Doñana, Spain’s largest and most important nature reserve, which is home to a spectacular range of flora and fauna.

Book tickets and tours in Cádiz

The realities of life in contemporary Andalucía can be stark. Unemployment in the region is the highest in Spain – over twenty percent in some areas – and a large proportion of the population still scrapes a living from seasonal agricultural work. The andaluz villages, bastions of anarchist and socialist groups before and during the Civil War, saw little economic aid or change during the Franco years, and although much government spending has been channelled into improving infrastructure such as hospitals and road and rail links, the lack of employment opportunities away from the coastal tourist zones persists. For all its poverty, however, Andalucía is also Spain at its most exuberant – those wild and extravagant clichés of the Spanish south really do exist and can be absorbed at one of the hundreds of annual fiestas, ferias and romerías.

Find things to do in Málaga

Tailor-made travel itineraries for Spain, created by local experts

Andalucía Explored

9 days  / from 2491 USD

Andalucía Explored

Discover the best of Andalucía's breathtaking palaces, churches, museums, vineyards, and more, as you travel through spectacular scenery dotted with pueblos blancos and bordered by rugged mountains and coast en route to Granada, Seville, Ronda and Jerez de la Frontera.

A culinary experience in Seville

4 days  / from 649 USD

A culinary experience in Seville

Explore the cuisine and surroundings of Seville in Andalucia. From Iberian ham over sherry wines to the production and secrets of olive oil, this tour is an ideal weekend getaway. Decide yourself if you prefer a rental car or a chauffeur-driven car to explore the beauty of Andalucia.

Spanish Honeymoon

10 days  / from 3826 USD

Spanish Honeymoon

Discover Andalusia, starting with the cultural city of Seville, then on to Córdoba and Granada, home of the stunning Alhambra Palace. Next you'll visit Granada and the Albayzin Arab quarter, then enjoy a stunning hot-air balloon ride, before ending your trip with a luxury boat trip from Marbella!

Made for Madrid

5 days  / from 1493 USD

Made for Madrid

Take to the Spanish capital for art, culture and a taste of life in the city, Madrileño-style. Explore age-old churches and pretty plazas, stroll through the lovely Buen Retiro Park and visit captivating Toledo. Then, come sundown, discover the city's vibrant barrios and lively nightlife.

A Madrid getaway

4 days  / from 1412 USD

A Madrid getaway

Spend four days discovering the wonders of Spain's capital Madrid: from fascinating museums like El Prado and Reina Sofia over exploring unknown corners with your private guide to a day trip to the surroundings, this itinerary packs the best of Madrid.

Hidden Spain - From Barcelona to Basque Country

18 days  / from 4633 USD

Hidden Spain - From Barcelona to Basque Country

Do you want to explore highlights in Spain while staying in nature at the same time? Look no further. Start your Spanish adventure in Barcelona before heading off to the mountains - drive your rental car to Andorra and further on to Basque Country. Decide between driving yourself or guided tours.

Andalucía by Car

8 days  / from 2382 USD

Andalucía by Car

Enjoy this road trip through Spain’s exuberant Andalucía, which will take you through the charming cities of Malaga, Seville, Granada and various 'white villages', including Ronda, with its vertiginous views across the sweeping Andalucían countryside.

The Lands of Wine from Madrid

5 days  / from 1733 USD

The Lands of Wine from Madrid

Spain is well known for its amazing wines and this itinerary allows you to explore two famous regions: Ribera del Duero and La Rioja. Four different wineries, from traditional to modern, and many restaurants on the way await your visit.

The Cities, Mountains and Beaches of Northern Spain

9 days  / from 1504 USD

The Cities, Mountains and Beaches of Northern Spain

Southern Spain has been a busy tourist destination for many years. This self-drive trip avoids the touristy area along the southern Spanish coast, instead opting to take in the culture of the north and its natural beauty and the rugged beaches and coast.

Simply Seville

4 days  / from 910 USD

Simply Seville

Make the most of a city break in one of Spain's most atmospheric cities. The home of flamenco, Seville is a veritable feast for all the senses. Come here for the tantalising cuisine and fragrant orange trees, awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral, pretty plazas and many excellent museums and galleries.

Cultural Cities of Spain

13 days  / from 6633 USD

Cultural Cities of Spain

From Barcelona down to Granada in the deep South, see the best of Spain on this multi-city tour that takes in Madrid, Córdoba and Seville, too. Get to grips with Gaudí, see historic Toledo, wander through the Prado, see the Alhambra, and more on this cultural extravaganza of Spain's finest cities.

The tale of two cities: Madrid and Barcelona

7 days  / from 2725 USD

The tale of two cities: Madrid and Barcelona

Explore the capital of Spain Madrid with a unique city tour before heading about an hour outside of the city, to visit Europe's longest zip-line in historic Toledo. Afterwards, board a train to explore the second-largest city of Spain, Barcelona.

A weekend getaway to Malaga

4 days  / from 1553 USD

A weekend getaway to Malaga

Malaga is a coastal city in Andalusia, right on the famous 'Costa del Sol'. This weekend getaway allows you to explore the city, as well as the well-known surrounding cities of Ronda and Marbella. Yellow sand beaches, fascinating museums and a delicious cuisine await to be discovered.

City break Valencia

4 days  / from 1597 USD

City break Valencia

Spain's third largest city offers a beautiful old city quarter, plentiful history and a vibrant culture to be discovered. Palaces, museums and a rich cuisine make Valencia an attractive weekend getaway destination, as does the nearby wine region of Requena.

Iconic Cities of Spain: Madrid, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona

12 days  / from 4049 USD

Iconic Cities of Spain: Madrid, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona

Spend a wonderful 12 days exploring the best that Spain has to offer on a trip including city tours of historical Madrid, Granada, Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona. Enjoy palatial-style boutique accommodation throughout the holiday, and savour delicious cuisine and regional wine. Be inspired!

From the South to the North - a Spanish Immersion

29 days  / from 9330 USD

From the South to the North - a Spanish Immersion

The ultimate trip for Spain lovers - explore the country at a leisurely pace from the South to the North. Start in Seville and make your way to Madrid via Granada and Cordoba. From Madrid, continue to the North - the Camino de Santiago, Basque Country and mountains await.

Gems in Southern Spain

16 days  / from 2562 USD

Gems in Southern Spain

Discover the gems of Southern Spain at a leisurely pace. Start and end is in Seville. From there, you will venture out to visit Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, Nerja, Malaga and the Costa del Sol, and much more on the way. Transportation and accommodation options are diverse and yours to choose.

Spanish Discovery - Barcelona, Seville & Madrid

10 days  / from 4633 USD

Spanish Discovery - Barcelona, Seville & Madrid

This unique trip is ideal for everyone wanting to get a real taste of Spain. Private guides or small group tours await to show you Barcelona, Figueres, Seville, Cordoba, Toledo, and Madrid. Stay in luxurious Boutique Hotels conveniently located so you can explore the cities on your own as well.

Iberian Blend - Porto and Galicia

7 days  / from 3090 USD

Iberian Blend - Porto and Galicia

Neighbour countries - Portugal and Spain, different and similar at the same time, will surprise you with hospitality and loveliness. This itinerary includes the route of the Northwest part of Iberian Peninsula and offers you to meet beautiful Porto and stunning Vigo in Galicia/Spain.

Camino de Santiago & Portugal Deluxe

15 days  / from 5968 USD

Camino de Santiago & Portugal Deluxe

Hike the 'Way of Saint James', more precisely - the Portuguese Route, a World Heritage Site. After 5 days of beautiful hikes, it's time to say goodbye to Spain and hop on a plane to Portugal. Lisbon and Porto await before exploring the wineries of Douro Valley. A truly exceptional trip.

A Luxury Journey through the Vineyards of La Rioja

4 days  / from 2562 USD

A Luxury Journey through the Vineyards of La Rioja

Visit La Rioja, Spain's most renowned wine-producing region, and discover the secrets of Spanish wine making. By the time this unique trip is over, you'll have sampled a wide range of fine Spanish wines, and you're sure to be going home as an expert.

Self Drive in Northern Spain

18 days  / from 6017 USD

Self Drive in Northern Spain

This tour is perfect for the independent traveller, with a sense of adventure and a love for food. Start in Santiago and discover among others Galicia and Asturia, all the way to Basque Country. On the way, Michelin starred restaurants and beautiful vineyards await. Finish your trip in Barcelona.

Castilian Castles: A Luxury Spanish Road Trip

8 days  / from 2502 USD

Castilian Castles: A Luxury Spanish Road Trip

Welcome to the driving trip of a lifetime through the Castile region, a picturesque land full of regenerated medieval castles and farmed plains. Explore places like Rioja Alavesa, a privileged microclimate for vine cultivation, and the majestic locations of Albarracin and Alarcón, at your own pace.

Unique Spain - Cultural Getaway

9 days  / from 5990 USD

Unique Spain - Cultural Getaway

A trip filled with history, amazing landscapes and cultural attractions. Starting with walking tours around the cities hearts, to exploring the gastronomy, the arts and the folklore. Your trip begins in Barcelona before proceeding to Madrid and finishing in Seville - Andalusia's capital.

1: San Cecilio Fiesta in Granada’s traditionally gypsy quarter of Sacromonte.

Week before Lent: Carnaval An extravagant week-long event in all the Andalucian cities. Cádiz , above all, celebrates, with uproarious street parades, fancy dress and satirical music competitions.

March/April

Easter: Semana Santa (Holy Week) You’ll find memorable processions of floats and penitents at Seville , Málaga , Granada and Córdoba , and to a lesser extent in smaller towns such as Jerez, Arcos, Baeza and Úbeda. All culminate with dramatic candlelight processions at dawn on Good Friday, with Easter Day itself more of a family occasion.

Last week of April: Feria de Abril Week-long fair at Seville : the largest fair in Spain.

First week: Cruces de Mayo Celebrated in Córdoba and includes a “prettiest patio” competition in a town full of prize examples.

Early May (week after Feria de Abril): Feria del Caballo A somewhat aristocratic horse fair is held at Jerez de la Frontera .

Pentecost: Romería del Rocío Horse-drawn carriages and processions converge from all over the south on El Rocío ( Huelva ).

Last week: Feria de la Manzanilla Prolonged binge in Sanlúcar de Barrameda to celebrate the town’s major product, with flamenco and sporting events on the river beach.

13: San Antonio Fiesta at Trevélez (Las Alpujarras) with mock battles between Moors and Christians.

Third week The Algeciras Feria Real is another major event of the south.

End June/early July: International Festival of Music and Dance Major dance/flamenco groups and chamber orchestras perform in Granada’s Alhambra palace, Generalife and Carlos V palace.

Early July: International Guitar Festival Brings together top international acts from classical, flamenco and Latin American music in Córdoba .

End of month: Virgen del Mar Almería’s major annual shindig, with parades, horseriding events, concerts and lots of drinking.

First week The first cycle of horse races along Sanlúcar de Barrameda’s beach, with heavy official and unofficial betting; the second tournament takes place two weeks later.

5: Trevélez observes a midnight romería to Mulhacén.

13–21: Feria de Málaga One of Andalucía’s most enjoyable fiestas for visitors, who are heartily welcomed by the ebullient malagueños.

15: Ascension of the Virgin Fair With casetas (dance tents) at Vejer and elsewhere.

Noche del Vino Riotous wine festival at Competa ( Málaga ).

23–25: Guadalquivir festival Bullfights and an important flamenco competition, at Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

September & October

First two weeks Sept: Feria de Ronda Ronda’s annual feria, with flamenco contests and Corrida Goyesca – bullfights in eighteenth-century dress.

First/second week Sept: Vendimia Celebrating the vintage at Jerez.

27–Oct 1: Feria de San Miguel In Órgiva (Las Alpujarras) featuring traditional dancing and a huge paella cook-up.

The most striking feature of Andalucía’s cuisine is its debt to the Moors. In their long period of hegemony over the region the North Africans introduced oranges and lemons as well as spices such as cumin and saffron and refined techniques for growing olives and almonds. Their chilled soups such as ajo blanco (made with ground almonds) and gazpacho are still a welcome refresher in high summer temperatures. Of course, gazpacho is today made with tomatoes and green peppers, both brought back from the Americas by Columbus, who sailed from Andalucía.

The region is also the birthplace of tapas, the classic tidbits that Spaniards love to tuck into as they drink. Between 6 and 9pm most evenings city bars are humming with conversations of tapeadores (as aficionados are termed). One of Andalucía’s favourite tapas is jamón serrano, mountain-cured ham from prime producing zones in the Sierra de Aracena and the Alpujarras. The most prized ham of all is jamón ibérico from black Iberian pigs, and in the curing village of Jabugo this is graded into five levels of quality with the very best accorded five jotas or “j’s” (for Jabugo). If you can afford it, the taste is mouthwateringly delicious and far superior to the standard white-pig jamón sold in supermarkets.

Andalucía is also known in Spain as the zona de los fritos (fried food zone) and fried fish is a regional speciality. Chanquetes (whitebait), sardines, calamares and boquerones (anchovies) are all andaluz favourites and the seafood chiringuitos (beach restaurants) of Málaga are famous for their fritura malagueña (assorted fried fish).

Inland, Andalucía is a mountainous region and the specialities here are carnes de caza (game). Jabalí (wild boar), venado (venison), cabrito (kid) and perdiz (partridge) all make memorable meals in the hands of a competent chef.

The wine par excellence of Andalucía – particularly to accompany tapas – is fino (dry sherry) from Jerez de la Frontera , although nearby Sanlúcar de Barrameda’s manzanilla and montilla (produced in Córdoba ) are similar and display their own prized characteristics.

Fifty kilometres northwest of Málaga lies the deep, rugged canyon of the Río Guadalhorce, known as the Garganta del Chorro. It’s an amazing place – an immense five-kilometre-long cleft in a vast limestone massif, which has become Andalucía’s major centre for rock-climbers. The gorge’s most stunning feature, however, is a concrete catwalk, El Camino del Rey, which threads the length of the gorge, hanging precipitously halfway up its side. Built in the 1920s as part of a hydroelectric scheme, it was one of the wonders of Spain, but it has fallen into disrepair, and access to the catwalk has finally been cut at each end of the gorge, making it impossible to reach without a guide and climbing gear. It’s still possible to explore the rest of the gorge, however, and get a view of the camino by doing the walk described in The walk from El Chorro. A glimpse of both gorge and camino can also be had from any of the trains going north from Málaga – the line, slipping in and out of tunnels, follows the river for a considerable distance along the gorge, before plunging into a last long tunnel just before its head.

Antequera, some 55km north of Málaga on the main rail line to Granada , is an undistinguished, modern town, but it does have peripheral attractions in a number of fine churches, a group of prehistoric dolmen caves among the most important on the Spanish peninsula, and a fine old Plaza de Toros.

Approaching Antequera along the old road from Málaga (MA424) via Almogía and Villenueva de la Concepción, you pass the entrance to the popular natural park famed for its haunting rock sculptures. Parque Natural de El Torcal, 13km south of Antequera, is one of the most geologically arresting of Spain’s natural parks. A massive high plateau of glaciated limestone tempered by a lush growth of hawthorn, ivy and wild rose, it can be painlessly explored using the three walking routes that radiate from the centre of the park, outlined in a leaflet available from the Centro de Visitantes.

The eastern section of the Costa del Sol ribbons east of the city of Málaga as far as Almería , and is generally uninspiring. Inland there are plenty of attractive sierras to explore but, though far less developed than its twin coastal strip to the west of Málaga , there’s little to tempt you to stop before you reach the twin resorts of Nerja and Almuñécar – which are its saving feature. First, some 40km out of Málaga , comes NERJA, nestling in the foothills of the Almijara range. This was a village before it was a resort, so it has some intrinsic character, and villa development has been shaped around it.

The focus of the whitewashed old quarter is the Bálcon de Europa, a striking palm-fringed belvedere overlooking the sea. The beaches flanking this are also reasonably attractive, with a series of quieter coves within walking distance. There are plenty of other great walks around Nerja, too, well documented in the turismo’s own leaflets; or, at Smiffs Bookshop, c/Almirante Ferrandiz 10, you can buy individual leaflets detailing walks in the area by local resident and hiker Elma Thompson.

Book a Nerja and Frigiliana Tour Day Tour

The lively resort of Almuñécar is marred by a number of towering holiday apartments, and the rocky grey-sand beaches are rather cramped, but the esplanade behind them, with palm-roofed bars (many serving free tapas with each drink) and restaurants, is fun, and the old quarter – clustered around a sixteenth-century castle – attractive. The two main beaches, the Playa San Cristóbal and the Playa Puerta del Mar are separated by the towering headland of the Peñon del Santo.

West of Málaga – or more correctly, west of Málaga airport – the real Costa del Sol gets going, and if you’ve never seen this level of tourist development, it’s quite a shock. These are certainly not the kind of resorts you could envisage anywhere else in Europe. The 1960s and 1970s hotel and apartment tower-blocks were followed by a second wave of property development in the 1980s and 1990s, this time villa homes and leisure complexes, funded by massive international investment. It’s estimated that 300,000 foreigners now live on and around the Costa del Sol, the majority of them British and other Northern Europeans, though marina developments such as Puerto Banús have also attracted Arab and Russian money.

Approached in the right kind of spirit, it is possible to have fun in resorts like Torremolinos, Fuengirola and, at a price, in Marbella. But if you’ve come to Spain to be in Spain, put on the shades and keep going at least until you reach Estepona.

Book tickets and tours in the Costa del Sol

Algeciras occupies the far side of the bay from Gibraltar , spewing out smoke and pollution in the direction of the Rock. The last town of the Spanish Mediterranean, it must once have been an elegant resort; today, it’s unabashedly a port and industrial centre, its suburbs extending on all sides. When Franco closed the border with Gibraltar at La Línea it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers formerly employed in the British naval dockyards, thus breaking the area’s dependence on the Rock.

Most travellers are scathing about the city’s ugliness, and unless you’re waiting for a bus or train, or heading for Morocco, there’s admittedly little reason to stop. Yet some touch of colour is added by the groups of Moroccans in transit, dressed in flowing jallabahs and slippers, and lugging unbelievable amounts of possessions. Algeciras has a real port atmosphere, and even passing through it’s hard to resist the urge to get on a boat south, if only for a couple of days in Tangier. Once you start to explore, you’ll also discover that the old town has some very attractive corners that seem barely to have changed in fifty years, especially around Plaza Alta.

Ronda has good transport connections in most directions. Almost any route to the north or west is rewarding, taking you past a whole series of White Towns, many of them fortified since the days of the Reconquest from the Moors – hence the mass of “de la Frontera” suffixes.

Perhaps the best of all the routes, though a roundabout one, and tricky without your own transport, is to Cádiz via Grazalema, Ubrique and Medina Sidonia. This passes through the spectacular Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema before skirting the nature reserve of Cortes de la Frontera (which you can drive through by following the road beyond Benaoján) and, towards Alcalá de los Gazules, running through the northern fringe of Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, which derives its name from the forests of cork oaks, one of its main attractions and the largest of its kind in Europe.

The longest of Spain’s mountain ranges, the Sierra Morena extends almost the whole way across Andalucía – from Rosal on the Portuguese frontier to the dramatic pass of Despeñaperros, north of Linares. Its hill towns marked the northern boundary of the old Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba , and in many ways the region still signals a break, with a shift from the climate and mentality of the south to the bleak plains and villages of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha. The range is not widely known – with its highest point a mere 1110m, it’s not a dramatic sierra – and even Andalucians can have trouble placing it.

Aracena and around

Some 90km northwest of Seville , Aracena is the highest town in the Sierra Morena with sharp, clear air, all the more noticeable after the heat of the city. A substantial but pretty place, it rambles partly up the side of a hill topped by the Iglesia del Castillo, a Gothic-Mudéjar church built by the Knights Templar around the remains of a Moorish castle. The town is flanked to the south and west by a small offshoot of the Sierra Morena – the Sierra de Aracena – a wonderfully verdant corner of Andalucía with wooded hills and villages with cobbled streets.

Gruta de las Maravillas

Although the church is certainly worth the climb, Aracena’s principal attraction is the Gruta de las Maravillas, the largest and arguably the most impressive cave in Spain. Supposedly discovered by a local boy in search of a lost pig, the cave is now illuminated and there are guided tours as soon as a couple of dozen or so people have assembled; to protect the cave there’s now a strict limit of 35 persons per visit. At weekends and holiday periods, try to visit before noon – coach parties with advance bookings tend to fill up the afternoon allocation. On Sunday, there’s a constant procession, but usually plenty of time to gaze and wonder. The cave is astonishingly beautiful, and funny, too – the last chamber of the tour is known as the Sala de los Culos (Room of the Buttocks), its walls and ceiling an outrageous, naturally sculpted exhibition, tinged in a pinkish-orange light.

The king of hams

Surrounding Aracena is a scattering of attractive but economically depressed villages, most of them dependent on the jamón industry and its curing factory at Jabugo. Jamón serrano (mountain ham) is a tapa or bocadillo standard throughout Spain, and some of the best, jamón de bellota (acorn-fed ham), comes from the Sierra de Aracena, where herds of sleek black pigs grazing beneath oak trees are a constant feature. In October, the acorns drop and the pigs, waiting patiently below, gorge themselves, become fat and are promptly whisked off to be slaughtered then cured in the dry mountain air. The meat of these black pigs is exceptionally fatty when eaten as pork but the same fat that marbles the meat adds to the tenderness during the curing process. This entails first of all covering the hams in coarse rock or sea salt to “sweat”, after which they are removed to cool cellars to mature for up to two years. Jamón serrano from mass-produced white pigs is matured for only a few weeks, hence the incomparable difference in taste. At Jabugo the best of the best is then further graded from one to five jotas (the letter “J” for Jabugo) depending on its quality. A whole leg of cinco jotas jamón will set you back anything from €250 to €350. The turismo can provide details of where to sample and buy.

The Costa de la Luz

Stumbling on the villages along the Costa de la Luz, between Algeciras and Cádiz , is like entering a new land after the dreadfulness of the Costa del Sol. The journey west from Algeciras seems in itself a relief, the road climbing almost immediately into rolling green hills, offering fantastic views down to Gibraltar and across the Strait to the just-discernible white houses and tapering minarets of Moroccan villages.

Beyond, the Rif mountains hover mysteriously in the background, and on a clear day, as you approach Tarifa, you can distinguish Tangier on the edge of its crescent-shaped bay. Beyond Tarifa lies a string of excellent golden-sand beaches washed by Atlantic breakers and backed by a clutch of low-key resorts such as Conil. Inland, the haunting Moorish hill town of Vejer de la Frontera beckons, while set back from the sea at Bolonia is the ancient Roman settlement of Baelo Claudia.

Things to do in Costa de la Luz

As opposed to many other Costas in Spain, Costa de la Luz sees high-rise hotel buildings replaced with sand dunes and pine trees. The beaches are almost unspoiled with golden sands, hidden coves and clear waters. There is plenty to do in the area, whatever your desire.

National Parks

For nature lovers, head to Sierra de Grazalema, famed as the best national park in the Andalucia area for its limestone landscape and exceptional wildlife, including a variety of birds. Estrecho National Park and Bahia de Cadiz are just as impressive, with features such as natural monuments i.e. Tombolo de Trafalgar.

Costa de la Luz translates quite literally to "Coast of Light", so what better way to enjoy the sunshine than on the beach! The coast is divided into two sections from the mouth of the Guadalquivar River to Tarifa and the Southernmost point in Europe. On the South side, kite and windsurfing is major - something to bare in mind if you love watersports.

El Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz offer historic old towns to explore in between relaxing on the sands and Conil de la Frontera offers toned down tourism a beach stretching for several kilometres. Tarifa is in the east, along with Baelo Claudia and Atlanterra.

Spain in general is a haven for the retired wishing to live out their days in the sunshine, this, added with the area being a popular holiday destination, has seen the construction of more than 20 golf courses in the area. Alcaidesa Heathland, La Estancia and Villaneuva, to name a few, are any golfers dream.

Whale- and dolphin-watching trips

Tarifa is home to whale-and dolphin-watching excursions in the Strait of Gibraltar , which leave daily from the harbour.

Just 10 km across the bay, EL PUERTO DE SANTA MARÍA is the obvious choice for a day-trip from Cádiz, a traditional family resort for both gaditanos and sevillanos – many of whom have built villas and chalets along the fine Playa Puntillo. This strand is a little way out from town (10–15 minute walk or local bus ride), a pleasant place to while away an afternoon; there are friendly beach bars where for ridiculously little you can nurse a litre of sangría while munching mariscos.

Things to do in El Puerto de Santa Maria

Exploring the cobblestone streets of the old town, surronded by orange trees is a charming way to get to know El Puerto de Maria. The coastal town boasts glorious seafood, with the cuisine offered at almost all restaurants in the area. For a dose of Andaluz history, head to Castillo San Marcos, the famed castle built on the remains of a Moorish moque in 1264. Wine in this region of Spain is particularly tasty, thanks to the ideal climate. The wine route, or Ruta de los Sentidos as the Spainish call it, is exactly what you would expect - a walking route to several wineries that offer tastings and opportunities to learn about the wines as well as Flamenco music and dancing.

If you are seeking-fun as a means to entertain the family, head to Aqualand Bania de Cadiz nearby, the waterpark has rapids, whirlpools and a range of water rides along with a food court - making a great day out.

Beaches in El Puerto de Santa Maria

Playa de Valdelagrana sits between the Guadalete River and Levante Beach, so you can only imagine how beautiful of a destination it is. There is a promenade with restaurants, bars and hotels as well as watersport activities such as kitesurfing and windsurfing. Nearby is Los Torunos Natural Park, ideal for a little mid-afternoon stroll on the boardwalks taking in the wildlife. Nearby beaches include Fuentebravia and Santa Catalina.

Like its neighbour El Puerto, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 15km to the northwest, also has its sherry connections. Nine kilometres east of Chipiona and set at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, it’s the main depot for manzanilla wine, a pale, dry variety much in evidence in the bars, which you can also sample during visits to the town’s bodegas. Sanlúcar is also the setting for some exciting horse races along the beach in the first and third weeks of August, a great time to be here.

Parque Nacional Coto de Doñana

One of the best things about Sanlúcar is its shell-encrusted river beach and warm waters, just a short walk from the town centre. This is flanked, on the opposite shore, by the beginnings of the Parque Nacional Coto de Doñana, whose vast marshy expanses (strictly regulated access) signal the end of the coast road to the west. The park boasts exceptional flora and fuana, known for its great ecological wealth and population of migrating birds.

Visiting Parque Nacional Coto de Doñana

Access to the park is limited to ensure the wildlife is protected, however, there are boardwalks nearby visitor centres that allow sufficient exploring. Centres with designated walking areas include El Acebuche, La Rocina, Palacio de Acebron and Jose Antonio Valverde.

Cruises at Parque Nacional Coto de Doñana

Visits to the park from Sanlúcar are possible with a boat cruise, which, while it doesn’t allow for serious exploration, is nevertheless a wonderful introduction to this remarkable area. The trip lasts approximately four hours and allows two short, guided walks inside the park to spot wildlife. The Real Fernando – which has a cafetería on board – leaves daily from the Bajo de Guía quay (Mon–Sat June–Sept 10am & 5pm; March, April, May & Oct daily 10am & 4pm; Nov–Feb daily 10am; €16.35, under-12s half-price; booking essential on t956 363 813, w www.visitasdonana.com ).Tickets should be collected (at least 30min before sailing) from the Fábrica de Hielo, Bajo de Guía s/n, the national park’s exhibition centre (daily 9am–8pm) opposite the Real Fernando’s jetty. Also note that binoculars are pretty essential, and, while they can be hired on board, having your own is a distinct advantage.

The direct route from Seville to Córdoba , 135km along the valley of Guadalquivir, followed by the train and some of the buses, is a flat and rather unexciting journey. There’s far more to see following the route just to the south of this, via Carmona and Écija, both interesting towns, and more still if you detour further south to take in Osuna as well. There are plenty of buses along these roads, making travel between the villages easy. Overnighting, too, is possible, with plenty of places to stay – although Carmona is an easy day-trip from Seville .

Osuna (like Carmona and Écija) is one of those small Andalucian towns that are great to explore in the early evening: slow in pace and quietly enjoyable, with elegant streets of tiled, whitewashed houses interspersed with fine Renaissance mansions. The best of these are off the main street, c/Carrera, which runs down from the central Plaza Mayor, and in particular on c/San Pedro, which intersects it; at no.16, the Cilla del Cabildo has a superb geometric relief round a carving of the Giralda, and, farther along, the eighteenth-century Palacio de El Marqués de la Gomera – now a hotel and restaurant – is a stunning Baroque extravaganza. There’s also a marvellous casino on Plaza Mayor, with 1920s Mudéjar-style decor and a grandly bizarre ceiling, which is open to all visitors and makes an ideal place for a cool drink.

Set on a low hill overlooking a fertile plain, CARMONA is a small, picturesque town made recognizable by the fifteenth-century tower of the Iglesia de San Pedro, built in imitation of the Giralda. The tower is the first thing you catch sight of and it sets the tone for the place – an appropriate one, since the town shares a similar history to Seville , less than 30km distant. It was an important Roman city (from which era it preserves a fascinating subterranean necropolis), and under the Moors was often governed by a brother of the Sevillan ruler. Later, Pedro the Cruel built a palace within its castle, which he used as a “provincial” royal residence.

Beyond the mountains, farther south from Granada , lie the great valleys of the Alpujarras, first settled in the twelfth century by Berber refugees from Seville , and later the Moors’ last stronghold in Spain.

The valleys are bounded to the north by the Sierra Nevada , and to the south by the lesser sierras of Lujar, La Contraviesa and Gador. The eternal snows of the high sierras keep the valleys and their seventy or so villages well watered all summer long. Rivers have cut deep gorges in the soft mica and shale of the upper mountains, and over the centuries have deposited silt and fertile soil on the lower hills and in the valleys; here the villages have grown, for the soil is rich and easily worked. The intricate terracing that today preserves these deposits was begun as long as two thousand years ago by Visigoths or Ibero-Celts, whose remains have been found at Capileira.

The Moors and after

When they came to occupy the Alpujarras, the Moors set about improving agricultural techniques and modified the terracing and irrigation in their inimitable way. They transformed the Alpujarras into an earthly paradise, and here they retired to bewail the loss of their beloved lands in al-Andalus, resisting a series of royal edicts demanding their forced conversion to Christianity. In 1568, they rose up in a final, short-lived revolt, which led to the expulsion of all Spanish Moors. Even then, however, two Moorish families were required to stay in each village to show the new Christian peasants, who had been marched down from Galicia and Asturias to repopulate the valleys, how to operate the intricate irrigation systems.

Through the following centuries, the land fell into the hands of a few wealthy families, and the general population became impoverished labourers. The Civil War passed lightly over the Alpujarras: the occasional truckload of Nationalist youth trundled in from Granada , rounded up a few bewildered locals and shot them for “crimes” of which they were wholly ignorant; Republican youths came up in their trucks from Almería and did the same thing. Under Franco, the stranglehold of the landlords increased and there was real hardship and suffering. Today, the population has one of the lowest per capita incomes in Andalucía, with – as a recent report put it – “a level of literacy bordering on that of the Third World, alarming problems of desertification, poor communications and a high degree of underemployment”.

Ironically, the land itself is still very fertile – oranges, chestnuts, bananas, apples and avocados grow here – while the recent influx of tourism is bringing limited wealth to the region. The so-called “High” Alpujarras have become popular with Spanish tourists and also with migrants from northern Europe who have purchased property here; Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira, all within half an hour’s drive from Lanjarón, have been scrubbed and whitewashed. Though a little over-prettified, they’re far from spoilt, and have acquired shops, lively bars, good, unpretentious restaurants and small, family-run pensiones. Other villages, less picturesque or less accessible, have little employment, and are sustained only by farming.

Top image © Takashi Images/Shutterstock

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Al-Andalus is a term used for Iberia when it was partly or fully ruled by the Moors during the Middle Ages . The Moors were Muslims from North Africa who brought with them a culture that has been preserved in Spain, notably through architecture.

Understand [ edit ]

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Al-Andalus began when Tariq ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad commander, led a large army across the Strait of Gibraltar (In Arabic Jabal Ṭāriq , "mountain of Tariq") into what was then Visigothic Hispania in 711.

It ended with the Reconquista ("reconquest") in 1492, when Granada, the last Islamic stronghold in Iberia, fell to the Christian kingdoms of northern Iberia. Consequently, the remaining Muslim and Jewish populations were either forced to convert to Christianity, killed, or were expelled, Muslims chiefly to North Africa and Jews mostly to Italy or the Ottoman -held Eastern Mediterranean

As a result of this history of Muslim rule, the Spanish language contains many loan words from Arabic , and Spanish cuisine also exhibits substantial Arabic influences.

The modern Spanish region of Andalusia derives its name from this polity.

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  • Portuguese Empire
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Cultural Tourism Eleven must-see treasures of Al-Andalus in Spain

a close up of a church

THE GREAT MOSQUE (CÓRDOBA)

During the 8th Century up to 1492, present day Spain was a vast medieval territory ruled by Muslim emirs .  Throughout the Iberian Peninsula, Al-Andalus was brimming with a culture and architecture vastly different than what we see today such as this mosque. Prince Abd al-Rahman I escaped from his native Damascus to Córdoba, bearing orange trees and a new era of Islamic rule to the Iberian Peninsula. He rebuilt the Great Mosque of Córdoba to rival the grandeur of Baghdad and Mecca , using recycled Roman marble, jasper and onyx to make the 856 columns with patterns that were inspired by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem . The famous gilded Mihrab prayer room faces Mecca , and remains a masterpiece of architectural art. 

MEDINA AZAHARA (CÓRDOBA)

Serving as the capital of Al-Andalus , this medieval palace complex at the foot of the Sierra Morena mountains was a bustling government office, reception hall and mint, surrounded by baths and gardens . It was a city full of treasures, built as an ideological symbol of the power of the Caliphates.  Legend says that the pond at the High Garden contained mercury, which lit up the waters with flashing lights . Literally meaning “bright city,” the Medina Azahara stands as one of the most well-preserved monuments to Hispano-Muslim architecture.

ALCAZABA (ANTEQUERA)

Standing high on the hill overlooking a beautiful Andalusian village, the Alcazaba of Antequera is a remnant of the waning days of Moorish rule in Al-Andalus .  Built in the 14 th century as a protection from the encroaching Christian advance from the north, the monument is a unique mix of Christian and Muslim cultures . The Torre del Homenaje , one of the largest keeps in Moorish Spain , is now topped with a Catholic bell tower, and holds a 6-meter-deep well which was used to pack in large amounts of prisoners.

ALHAMBRA (GRANADA)

Built by the Emir of Granada in the 13 th centuries, the Alhambra palace is the most-visited tourist destination in Spain , and for good reason.  Designated by UNESCO as one of the most significant examples of Muslim art and emblematic of the glory days of Al-Andalus, “The Red One” is a time capsule from a bygone epoch. Inhabited by both monarchs and emirs, its halls are filled with elaborate Arabic inscriptions and numerous fountains and courtyards, as well as tile mosaics drawn in complex mathematical patterns called “lacería,” all placed in a picturesque fortress at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  

GENERALIFE (GRANADA)

One of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens , this summer palace connected to the Alhambra was meant for the enjoyment of the Emirate of Granada . The clever mix of elaborate decoration and practical use of water is on full display in the typical Hispano-Muslim style, as the Water Garden Courtyard is flanked by arcaded walls and a long pool surrounded by fountains and curated flowerbeds .  The constantly flowing water against marble and stone offer an ancient method of natural air conditioning under the oppressive Andalusian sun.

ALCAZABA (MÁLAGA)

Of all the Moorish citadels in Spain , the Alcazaba in Málaga is the best-preserved .  A testimonial monument to past Muslim military might, the thick walls rise high at the center of the city, its quarters decorated by extravagant fountains and gardens . Alongside the structure still stands an ancient Roman amphitheater. In the 1487 Siege of Málaga , which lasted four months, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella flew their flag high atop the Torre del Homenaje in one of the most epic moments of the Reconquista .

ALCÁZAR (JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA)

A quintessential Islamic fortress, Alcázar de Jerez de la Frontera is an astounding conglomeration of walls, towers and gates that now symbolize a center of political and military power in the era of Al-Andalus.  The fortress is a rare example of architecture from the Almohad caliphate and once housed 16,000 inhabitants. The highlights include the horseshoe-arched Gate of the City, the mosque, Arab baths and, like Great Mosque of Córdoba, the mihrab which faces the direction of Mecca .  The rare minaret, where calls to Muslim prayer would emanate long ago, is now topped with a Catholic bell tower and Christian cross.

THE MONDRAGÓN PALACE (RHONDA)

This small, delightful palace garden , set in the beautiful Andalusian village of Rhonda, was the residence of Moorish king Abd al Malik. Here, visitors find fine examples of Mudéjar architecture, tile mosaics and pebble work , but there is also a vibrant mix of late Gothic and Renaissance styles. The centerpiece is the lavish water garden, which is perched at the cliff´s edge overlooking the vast El Tajo Gorge.

THE GIRALDA TOWER (SEVILLA)

Another extravagant minaret in the era of Al-Andalus, the Giralda Tower in Seville was built by Muslim astronomer and mathematician Geber and later topped with a Renaissance bell tower by Spanish conquistadors.  A UNESCO World Heritage site at 342 feet high , it is a compelling symbol of Seville.  It was inspired by the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh, and now displays an inscription in the form of a rebus puzzle which translates to “Seville has not abandoned me.” To get to the top, there is a series of ramps, originally constructed so the muezzin could ride a horse to the top for the call to prayer.

THE ALCÁZAR (SEVILLA)

One of the most outstanding examples of Mudéjar architectural styles in the world, the Alcázar in Sevilla is also the oldest palace still in official use in Europe .  Dense with fragrant flowers and orchards, curated gardens, carved figures, ornate fountains and ponds, in later years aspects of Baroque and Renaissance were added.  The powerful Umayyads of Al-Andalus first constructed it as a Moorish fortress, but it was later converted into an elaborate garden palace. The walled complex was used to film the fictional Water Gardens of Dorne in the TV series Game of Thrones .

ARAB BATHS (PALMA DE MALLORCA)

The most important remnant of Muslim rule of the Balearic Islands , when “Madinah Mayurca” was an important city in Al-Andalus, the Banys Arabe are in surprisingly fine condition despite little renovation.  Built around the 10 th and 11 th century, the Arab bath house is hidden in the center of Palma, covered by a dome with several columns, each of different styles , probably a result of the recycling of old Roman materials.  At the top of the dome, beams of light shine though, just as at the time when Muslim noblemen would hold meetings in the sauna . Here and throughout Palma de Majorca , Arab engineers built a complex system of hydraulics to water the surrounding gardens.

SHAWN MOKSVOLD I 13/12/2017

Photography by Cordon Press and Javier Zori del Amo

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Santiago De Compostela ● Ourense ● León ● Ávila ● Toledo ● Córdoba ● Seville

6 Nights From Euro 5,600 per person

Málaga ● Granada ● Úbeda ● Baeza ● Córdoba ● Ronda ● Jerez De La Frontera ● Cádiz ● Seville

Seville ● Cádiz ● Jerez De La Frontera ● Ronda ● Córdoba ● Baeza ● Úbeda ● Granada ● Málaga

Al Andalús Luxury Train Cabin Classes

Al Andalus rooms are designed to provide privacy and rest for customers. They also have all the amenities that first-class accommodation has. All suites have independent air conditioning. The cabin can be used as a living room during the day before being converted to your bedroom by the attendants in the evening.

Deluxe Class Cabins – Al Andalús Luxury Train

Spacious and elegant suite laid out over a bedroom and private bathroom which combines the comforts of the 21st century with the original appearance of this historic train. Perfectly suited for rest, privacy as well as daytime and evening relaxation. It features a two-meter-long double bed which can be turned into a sofa during the day. Possibility of adding an extra small bed for kids. A safe, minibar, closet, luggage rack and climate control. Comfortable and spacious private bathroom with a shower, hairdryer and varied set of welcome and bath items with unique fragrance and toilet bag. All suites are air-conditioned with independent adjustment. During the day the room is a comfortable living room with a sofa, while at night the beds are folded to become an impeccable bedroom.

Deluxe cabin size is (8,5 m²) with a Queen bed (150 x 200 cm)

Al Andalus deluxe class cabin new 2

Gran Class Cabins – Al Andalús Luxury Train

A cozy room with a private bathroom which preserves the size and the charm of the original compartments. It features two single beds which can be turned into arm chairs during the day. Minibar, safe, wardrobe, luggage rack and climate control. A functional private bathroom with maximum use of its space, equipped with shower, hairdryer and a varied set of welcome and bath items with unique fragrance and toilet bag. All suites are air-conditioned with independent adjustment. During the day the room is a comfortable living room with a sofa, while at night the beds are folded to become an impeccable bedroom.

Gran Clase cabin size is (6,5 m²) with 2 Twin bed (80 x 185 cm)

Al Andalus gran class cabin new 2

Al Ándalus Luxury train Gallery

A selection of photos below give a flavour of life on board the Al Ándalus Luxury Train.

Al Andalus Gallery 6

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How can we help, which al andalus trip are you interested in, how did you hear about us, experience the breathtaking andalusian region of spain on board the incredible luxury train.

Andalusia is blessed with a strong cultural identity and is considered a very romantic region; it is, after all, the home of flamenco. It is also the home of incredible natural beauty, spanning Europe’s second-highest mountain range, ancient oak forests, tidal marshes, and the continent’s only desert. A journey onboard the Al Andalus luxury train will give you the perfect observation point for exceptionally panoramic views, making a Tren Al Andalus holiday the ideal option for the discerning traveller looking for variety.

This luxury Spanish train delivers views on views as it passes through the incredible Andalusian countryside en route to the region’s most endearing destinations. Representing the height of luxury train travel, Spain offers you the majestic cities of Jerez, Sevilla, Cordoba, Baeza, Ronda, and Granada. This truly is the benchmark for luxury rail travel, and with the region and train itself having so much to offer, a Tren Al Andalus tour is the perfect way to get away and receive a unique experience.

Explore the Al Andalus Train Route With Beautifully Curated Itineraries

The Al Andalus train in Spain offers passionate travellers a choice of two itineraries. The first option is a seven-day, six-night journey from Sevilla to Malaga, and the second is the return journey departing Malaga and heading to Sevilla. The Sevilla to Malaga Al Andalus Train route begins by checking in at the Hotel Alfonso XIII before taking a brief tour of the city while your luggage is loaded. After lunch at the hotel, you’ll enjoy a scenic tour before boarding the luxury Spanish train.

Your Al Andalus Train tour will see you visit Cadiz, the oldest city in the West, for a tour and some free time to explore. Then, it’s off to see the equestrian ballet and visit a sherry bodega before travelling to Cordoba for a city tour. Then Úbeda and Baeza are next up, both stunningly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Cities, before heading into Granada for a tour of the Alhambra. The final leg of the Train Al Andalus tour is a coach journey into Malaga to end the trip in the Club Lounge of the Málaga-María Zambrano train station.

Set About an Unforgettable Al Andalus Train Tour Taking In Astonishing Landscapes and Historical Landmarks

The region of Andalusia is an out-and-out jewel in the crown of Europe. It delivers a host of exceptional world-famous wonders for passengers enjoying luxury train travel. Spain is renowned for having some genuinely remarkable structures, and an Al Andalus train tour will deliver plentiful opportunities to indulge in throughout the journey. Andalusia is breathtaking, from winding through the stunning mountains to the region’s olive groves.

As well as the journey between destinations offering something unique, the cities along the Al Andalus train route never fail to deliver. From the mighty Sevilla Cathedral and Plaza de España to the white village of Ronda and the Mosque of Cordoba, you will be inspired and humbled. With its incredible landscapes and countless historical landmarks, Al Andalus Train trips allow you to discover the region, its history, and its wonderful people.

Enjoy Luxury Train Travel in Spain and Witness the Southern Region’s Most Architecturally Beautiful Cities

Tren Al Andalus holidays provide a fabulous insight into Andalusia’s most outstanding architectural marvels, where every destination holds moments of elegance and charm. These luxury train trips in Spain will visit some of the country’s most architecturally significant sites. A treasure trove of historical architectural wonders, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the region’s crown jewels. Sevilla enchants with its majestic Alcazar Palace, awe-inspiring Cathedral, and Plaza de España.

Granada beckons with its iconic Alhambra, a true testament to Moorish splendour. Cordoba has its mesmerising Mesquita, a meld of Islamic and Christian architecture that will no doubt leave you spellbound. The Al Andalus Train in Spain provides spectacular historical city adventures. If you’re a connoisseur of travelling in luxury and appreciate jaw-dropping architecture and city destinations, Spain’s Southern region and the Al Andalus luxury train will deliver them in abundance.

Experience an Exquisite Regional Cusine When You Embark on Your Tren Al Andalus Tour.

If you’re contemplating booking your Train Al Andalusia tickets and exploring this beautiful part of Spain, the allure of incredible landscapes and culinary delights should be enough to convince you that it’ll be the trip of a lifetime. This luxury Spanish train will take you on a voyage through the heart of Andalusian culture, transcend mere travel and deliver a sensory overload. Each meal is a culinary masterpiece from the moment you settle into your plush suite.

Depending on the travel schedule, you’ll enjoy an onboard breakfast during these luxury train trips in Spain, with lunches and dinners served in the dining car or at a local restaurant. Wherever you eat in Andalusia, every meal is guaranteed to deliver a symphony of fresh flavours, a testament to the region’s rich heritage. Al Andalus Train prices include all meals and a selection of stunning wines, liquors, tea, and coffee.

Spend Your Tren Al Andalus Holiday in the Height of Luxury Staying in the Most Sumptuous Onboard Accommodations

The Al Andalus train prices reflect the levels of luxury, where the opulent accommodations and onboard facilities redefine the meaning of premium comfort. Tren Al Andalus tours are highly decadent, partly thanks to its magnificent choice of suites. The train is the longest on Spanish track at some 450 metres and includes 14 wagons. The English monarchy travelled in these beautifully renovated carriages back in the 1920s, and they now house twenty deluxe suites and twelve Grand Class Room Suites. 

Suites come with air-conditioning private bathroom facilities, and you’ll always have a steward on hand. Your suite will transform from a very cosy bedroom into a day suite, giving you plenty of room to relax and rejuvenate between destinations on your Tren Al Andalus holiday. Al Andalus Train trips provide breathing space to surrender to the allure of absolute luxury as you embark on a voyage through the heart of this magical region.

Booking Your Luxury Train Travel in Spain Couldn’t be Easier. Please Speak With our Experts Today!

If taking a laid-back journey through Andalusia, absorbing the mountain scenery and the endless greenery of the region’s olive groves, dining on magnificent local delicacies, and travelling in a luxurious onboard suite fit for royalty sounds like a trip that ticks all the right boxes, you need to treat yourself to a stay on the Al Andalus Train in Spain. To learn more about itineraries, departure dates, and the Al Andalus Train price point, call us and speak with our expert advisors, who will gladly assist you in booking your trip on this luxury Spanish train.

THE MOST POPULAR QUESTIONS

Train al andalus faqs, what is included when i book my train al andalus tickets.

According to the travel schedule, your Tren Al Andalus costs include your gourmet meals, both onboard and at local restaurants. You’ll also have access to fantastic wines, liquors, teas, and coffee, guided tours to the region’s most spectacular historical sites, and onboard entertainment. For the price of your Train Al Andalus tickets, you get your opulent onboard suite, personalised service, and access to iconic destinations that promise an unforgettable adventure of Spanish culture and landscapes.

Why are the Tren Al Andalus train trips so popular?

A place on a Tren Al Andalus tour is highly sought after due to the luxurious vintage carriages, fabulous onboard gourmet cuisine, breathtaking scenic route, and the selection of destinations visited during the journey. The Andalusian region is renowned for its diverse landscapes, and passengers relish the magnificent blend of history and comfort while enjoying cultural off-train excursions to some incredibly iconic landmarks along the way.

Are Tren Al Andalus holidays available year-round, or are they seasonal?

The Al Andalus luxury train typically operates seasonally from springtime to autumn, offering luxurious journeys through southern Spain’s’ most scenic landscapes. The schedule and the Al Andalus Train price vary annually, ensuring passengers receive an optimal travel experience during favourable weather conditions and cultural events.

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Explore Our Range of Luxury Rail Tours Across the Globe. Learn About The Different Luxury Trains We Can Offer. View Our Tours by Region & Destinations. View our train departure Calendar.

Andalusia Road Trip: The Ultimate 2-Week Itinerary

Andalusia Road Trip: The Ultimate 2-Week Itinerary

Andalusia: one of the most heart-stoppingly beautiful regions in all of Spain . There’s nothing better than driving along the meandering mountain roads between hilltop castles and stopping at beautiful white villages for mouthwatering tapas along the way. The landscapes are iconic; sweeping olive groves cross the open valleys, dotted with orange trees that overlook white sandy beaches in the distance. From charming pueblos to historic cities, discover the best places with this ultimate 2-week Andalusia road trip!

Andalusia Road Trip Itinerary

Andalusia is one of the greatest places to road trip. The drives are beautiful, crossing a diverse range of landscapes—between canyons, under viaducts, and on coastal roads. Two weeks is the ideal amount of time to see all the charming white villages of Andalusia that sit among the hilltops, as well as the most famous cities and beaches in Spain.

andalusia road trip granada spain door

Whether it’s action or relaxation, there’s something for every type of traveler on this 2-week road trip itinerary (best done by car for ultimate freedom). 

We recommend to rent a car in Spain through Sunny Cars with free cancellation and insurance included. Book your rental car here .

andalusia road trip granada spain Albaicín

Day 1 – 2: Seville

On day 1 of your Andalusia road trip, begin in one of the most stunning cities in Spain: Seville. This city is famous for the Alcazar, an incredible Moorish palace with the most intricate details and beautiful gardens.

google maps phone

This is your first glimpse of the Moorish history in Spain, an Islamic reign that lasted hundreds of years from the 8th until the 15th century before the country was reconquered by the Christians. This part of history lives on in the architecture seen all around Spanish cities, particularly in the southern region of Andalusia. 

Here are all your hotel options in Seville.

andalusia spain road trip

You’ll also notice this architecture at Seville Cathedral, which still looks more like a mosque than a church. It’s also possible to climb the bell tower (minaret) for the most beautiful panoramic views over the city. 

Read: 14 Best Things to do in Seville

andalusia road trip spain Setas de Sevilla

Aside from learning about the rich history of Seville, it’s a beautiful city to wander and explore. Everywhere you go, you’ll smell the strong scent of Sevillan oranges among the trees, hear the sound of flamenco dancing, and see the traditional Andalusian courtyards with their gorgeous tilework and fountains.  

Tip: Seville is well-connected to other major cities in Spain, like Barcelona or Madrid , so you can arrive in the city by train if traveling from an international airport.

andalusia road trip Plaza de Espana seville spain

Where to Stay in Seville

If you’re visiting in the summer, we recommend booking a hotel with a rooftop pool and aircon to escape the heat in the afternoons when temperatures can reach upwards of 40°C (104°F). The more modern hotels with these amenities are just outside of the center.

Hotels in Seville 😴

Hotel Gravina 51

If a pool isn’t essential for you, look for a traditional boutique hotel in the historic center of Seville, which normally have the traditional inner courtyards and Moorish architectural details.

andalusia road trip Cathedral of Seville

Day 3: Cordoba  

Wonderful Cordoba: the city of flowers! This city might be small, but it’s perfect as a stopover on your Andalusia road trip. One day is the ideal amount of time to wander the beautiful streets, admiring the many patios (courtyards) filled with vibrant-colored flowers and blue ceramic pots.

Here are all your hotel options in Cordoba.

andalusia road trip spain cordoba Calleja de las Flores

If you’re visiting in May, watch the city come alive during the Festival de los Patios, a competition for the best florally-decorated courtyard in the city! In fact, this festival is so important that it’s been classified as an ‘intangible heritage’ by UNESCO .

Read: Best Things to do in Cordoba (The City of Flowers)

andalusia road trip Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs cordoba spain

There are many beautiful buildings to see in Cordoba , but the most famous is the Mezquita (the cathedral of Cordoba). This is one of the most incredible cathedrals we’ve ever seen! What was once a mosque during Moorish times is now a cathedral.

Andalusia Road Trip: The Ultimate 2-Week Itinerary

However, barely any changes have been made, and it’s home to some of the most magnificent Islamic architecture you’ll find in Spain. The interior is fantastic, with perfect archways decorated in red and white candy-cane stripes. 

cordoba spain Mosque-Cathedral Mezquita andalusia road trip

Where to Stay in Cordoba 

Cordoba is home to lots of beautiful boutique hotels, which can be found in the historic center. Make sure to book well in advance if you’re planning on traveling to the city during May, as the festival means that accommodation gets booked up fast and is far more expensive than usual.

Hotels in Cordoba 😴

H10 Palacio Cordoba

Another good time to visit is April, when the patios will nearly be ready for the fiesta, but it won’t be as busy.

andalus travel

Day 4 + 5: Granada (Must-do on your Andalusia Road Trip)

Arrive on day 4 in Granada, the most magical city in Spain. Not many cities can boast this kind of scenery; the ancient city is surrounded by snow-topped mountains and has a beautiful river that trickles down into the town.

andalusia road trip things to do granada spain

In the background, sitting on top of the cliffside, and shadowed by the mountains, is the majestic Alhambra Palace (one of the most famous sites in all of Spain).

Here are all your hotel options in Granada.

andalusia road trip granada spain alhambra palace

This colossal fortress complex was once the home of the ruler of the Nasrid dynasty (during the Moorish period in Spain ), and every detail is spectacular. You need a half-day alone just to walk among its opulent buildings and gardens filled with roses and orange trees. 

granada spain alhambra palace andalusia road trip

After your time sightseeing, get lost in the maze-like streets of the old town, paddle in the river off the hillside Albaicin neighborhood, or eat free tapas (in Granada, you get a free plate of tapas with every drink you purchase). 

Read: Ultimate Granada Travel Guide

granada andalusia spain

Where to Stay in Granada

Stay in the historical center close to the cathedral to easily access the city’s shops, restaurants, and most ancient buildings.

Hotels in Granada 😴

Casa de la Catedral

Albaicin is also a lovely neighborhood to stay in, particularly as it has excellent views of the city below and across the river to Alhambra. 

Potential Day Trips from Granada: Iznajar + Montefrio

Iznajar and Montefrio are two of the most beautiful white villages in Andalusia and must-sees on your Andalusia road trip itinerary! Both lie close to Granada and can be visited as half-day trips. We recommend Iznajar as a top priority and Montefrio at sunset if you have time.

Iznajar has one of the most picturesque locations, sitting high up on a hilltop overlooking an open valley and lake below. It’s most famous for its beautiful streets and patios, which are decorated with hundreds of flowerpots and brightly colored geraniums.

iznajar andalusia spain road trip

This tiny village is mainly home to elderly local people, so the pace of life is slow (it’s the perfect place to wander for a few hours and soak up the atmosphere of Spanish life!). Best of all, Iznajar is just over 1-hour drive from Granada, so it is the ideal half-day trip from the city.

Click here to read all about the things to do in Iznajar .

Patio de las Comedias iznajar spain andalusia

Montefrio is a hilltop town home to the ruins of an ancient Moorish castle. The views from here are unparalleled, so much so that National Geographic voted Montefrio as one of the top 10 views in the world! Visit the fortress to reach the highest point of the village, followed by a walk to the National Geographic viewpoint, where you can see a direct view of Montefrio sprawled across the hillside. It’s truly one of the most beautiful villages in Spain and the perfect place to visit at sunset.

We stayed in this lovely hotel looking onto the castle .

andalusia spain montefrio

Day 6 + 7: Frigiliana + Nerja

It’s time to head for the beach! This strip of coastline is named ‘Costa del Sol’, meaning sunshine coast, and it lives up to its name. This area has many beautiful resorts and villages, but Frigiliana and Nerja are some of the loveliest.

Frigiliana spain

Nerja sits on a clifftop overlooking the sea, with fantastic views of the coves and coastline below. It’s the perfect place to stay for the night, with many lovely hotels, restaurants, and shops. 

Here are all your hotel options in Nerja.

andalusia road trip spain nerja beach

From Nerja, you can drive to Frigiliana in under 15 minutes. This beautiful whitewashed mountain town is one of the most photogenic spots on your Andalusia 2-week road trip. Cobbled streets worm uphill, bordered by white houses with painted doorways and flower pots.

andalusia road trip Frigiliana spain

You could spend a few hours just getting lost in the streets, taking photos of each beautiful entranceway, and shopping in all the cute ceramic shops. We recommend booking dinner here one evening as many restaurants have terraces where you can sit and enjoy fantastic views of the valley below. 

Here are all your hotel options in Frigiliana.

andulusia spain road trip Frigiliana

Where to Stay

There are more accommodation options in Nerja, and you can easily access the beaches if you’d like to swim or sunbathe. If you want to stay in a villa, Frigiliana has many pool options, but you’ll need to book ahead as it’s very popular. 

Hotels in Nerja 😴

Apartamentos NUEVA 22

Hotels in Frigiliana 😴

Bed & Breakfast Villa Corte Azul

Day 8 – 9: Malaga (Half-Way on Your Andalusia Road Trip)

Welcome to dynamic Malaga, a beachside city with a picture-perfect old town. You can find almost everything in Malaga , whether it’s castles, museums, galleries (Malaga was the birthplace of Picasso), or street art. It’s also home to some of the best restaurants and cafes in Andalusia! 

Here are all your hotel options in Malaga.

malaga andalusia road trip

Exploring the sights of the old town is a must-do on your 2-week Andalusia road trip, for example, the Alcazaba and the Castillo de Gibralfaro, which are both historical monuments with beautiful views of the city. If you have time, we also recommend taking a half-day trip to the Caminito del Rey , one of Spain’s most thrilling hikes.

Read: Best Things To Do in Malaga

things to do malaga spain boulevard

Where to Stay in Malaga

Stay in the old town to be near some of Malaga’s most historic and beautiful buildings.

Hotels in Malaga 😴

iloftmalaga

Alternatively, if you want more of a beach break, there are plenty of great hotels next to the sea, which are still within walking distance of the city center. 

malaga city spain andalusia

Day 10 – 11: Ronda

Beautiful Ronda is a place famous throughout Spain for its iconic bridge that hangs over the canyon. The town itself almost looks as if it is balancing precariously on top of the gorge, providing some of the most incredible views out over the Andalusian landscapes.

ronda spain andalusia road trip

There are several viewpoints to see the bridge (Puente Neuvo) at its finest: either from below, the lovely Jardines de Cuenca, or the Mirador de Aldehuela. Grab your camera and take some incredible photos from these locations. 

Here are all your hotel options in Ronda.

andalusia road trip spain ronda

In the late afternoon/evening, take some time to explore the town of Ronda, whether it’s the main street with its boutique shops or the pretty churches and ancient Arab baths. Ronda is magical and will steal your heart! 

Read: 11 Best Things to do in Ronda, Spain

andalusia road trip things to do ronda Puente Nuevo

Where to Stay in Ronda

The main draw to Ronda is the incredible views from the top of the Tajo Gorge. For this reason, many hotels sit on top of the gorge looking out over the valley, so you’ll be spoilt for choice regarding accommodation. 

Hotels in Ronda 😴

Apartamentos Circulo De Artistas

Day 12: Setenil de las Bodegas

Setenil de las Bodegas is one of the most unusual white villages of Andalusia and is a fascinating stop on your Andalusia road trip. This pretty town has houses wedged between and under the gorge rock, looking as if they’re almost growing out of the stone itself.

Here are all your hotel options in Setenil.

andalus travel

It’s a popular visit for those who want to visit Calle Cuevas del Sol, a street filled with cave bars and restaurants—one of the most unique experiences on your Spain trip! 

Read: Setenil de las Bodegas (The Cave Village of Spain)

andalusia road trip spain Setenil de las Bodega village

Tip: Combine Setenil with Olvera (another white village) for one of the most beautiful drives along meandering roads and through sweeping valleys of olive groves and fields of sunflowers. 

andalusia road trip white villages Cadiz spain olvera

Where to Stay in Setenil

Setenil is small, but there are some great accommodation options, particularly the cave houses, which have been turned into apartments or hotels.

Hotels in Setenil 😴

Casa Rural El Tajo

Alternatively, stay in any of the white villages of Andalusia and visit Setenil de las Bodegas on a day trip.

andalus travel

Day 13: Villaluenga del Rosario or Zahara de la Sierra

Villaluenga del Rosario and Zahara de la Sierra are another 2 of the white villages of Andalusia . This is a group of 19 whitewashed pueblos (small towns) in the region that are known for their charm and beauty. 

andalusia road trip route Zahara de la Sierra

Villaluenga del Rosario

Villaluenga del Rosario, meaning ‘town of the rosary,’ is unusual in that it hugs the side of the mountain and doesn’t have any hilltop viewpoints, unlike some of the other white villages in the area. However, it’s actually the highest, sitting at 900 meters above sea level! Many great hiking trails lead up into the mountains from here, and there are some beautiful, ancient sites within the town itself, from the old bull ring to the cemetery (one of the most picturesque we’ve ever seen).

Here are all your hotel options in Villaluenga del Rosario.

Zahara de la Sierra

If you have some time, drive to Zahara de la Sierra for some of the most spectacular views you’ll find on your Andalusia road trip itinerary. Discover one of the most important fortresses in the area that sits high up on the mountaintop, providing incredible views over the bright blue lake below. If you want, you can also take a boat trip across the lake to see the town from a different angle.

Here are all your hotel options in Zahara de la Sierra.

Zahara de la Sierra Beautiful White Villages of Cadiz

Stay in a rustic bed and breakfast or hotel in the countryside to enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature. There are also a few accommodation options within the towns themselves but book ahead to avoid disappointment. 

Hotels in Villaluenga del Rosario 😴

Casa de los Cuadros

Hotels in Zahara de la Sierra 😴

Cuesta la Ermita

Day 14 + 15: Cadiz

Cadiz has really different energy compared to many other places in Spain. Not only is it one of the oldest cities in all of Europe , but its southernmost nature makes it feel very raw, wild, and rugged.

Cadiz spain Ubrique

The coastline has long sandy beaches, with plenty of wind for watersports, backed by the city’s ancient maze of streets and beautiful historic buildings. It’s also a port town, so you’ll see plenty of fishing boats bobbing on the water, giving it a village atmosphere even though it’s a reasonably sized city.

Here are all your hotel options in Cadiz.

most beautiful white villages Cadiz

As it’s so far away from many of the bigger cities in Spain, like Barcelona or Madrid , it still has a very traditional Spanish feel (most restaurants only serve the traditional tapas menu and drinks). Two days is a great amount of time to explore the old city, climb the cathedral tower (incredible views), enjoy the nearby beaches, and shop in the local food markets. 

tapas spain

Where to Stay in Cadiz

Stay in the historical center closest to the oldest sites in the city and enjoy the evening atmosphere when everyone congregates at the little bars among the narrow streets.

Hotels in Cadiz 😴

Boutique Hotel Casa Cánovas

Day 16: Seville (End of your Andalusia Road Trip)

Day 16 is the final day of your Andalusia road trip itinerary, and what a trip it’s been! From charming white villages nestled among the hilltops to beautiful coastal towns and Moorish cities, you’ve seen some of the most beautiful places in Spain . Drive back to Seville (1 hour 20 minutes) to drop your hire car and head home. You might even have time to squeeze in one last Spanish meal before your train or flight!

Tip: Seville has an airport with flights leaving to major cities in Spain, as well as France and beyond. If you’re looking to travel further afield, take a train from Seville back to major cities like Barcelona , Madrid , or Malaga, where you’ll find international airports with more flights.

things to do seville spain Torre del Oro

How to visit Andalusia in 2 weeks

Andalusia is a massive region in southern Spain, with countless beautiful villages, hikes, and cities to explore. You could easily spend a month or more slowly working your way around the region. However, 2 weeks is the ideal amount of time to see the majority of Andalusia’s highlights. This Andalusia road trip itinerary (2 weeks) is designed to be done by car, although it is possible to use public transport (with a bit more planning). 

andalusia road trip  spain Catedral de granada

Getting to Andalusia

There are a few airports in Andalusia. However, Malaga is the biggest, with flights arriving from all over Europe as well as internal flights from other bigger cities in Spain.

If you’re flying into Barcelona or Madrid, consider taking the train to Andalusia. There are many high-speed, direct options that will get you to Malaga, Granada , or Seville in a matter of hours.

Getting Around Andalusia on your 2-week Road Trip

The best way to experience Andalusia is by car. The region is vast and very remote, meaning you’ll have greater freedom to reach the small villages and rural nature if you can drive. 

rent a car spain road trip

It is possible to travel by bus in Andalusia, but not all the destinations on this itinerary have public transport connections. You might have to make changes or take taxis to reach the more remote parts of Andalusia.

Buses move between the major cities and towns in Andalusia and are usually very cheap and comfortable. Make sure to do your research in advance as to whether you need to pre-book or can pay by cash on arrival. 

Trains link major cities in Andalusia, as well as some towns. For example, Seville , Malaga, Granada , and Cordoba. However, you won’t be able to reach any of the white villages by train. 

flower streets granada spain

Our Favorite Accommodation in Andalusia

There are many beautiful accommodation options in Andalusia, whether it’s a charming old town hotel tucked down a narrow street in Seville , a cave apartment in Setenil , or a bed and breakfast overlooking the Alhambra in Granada . Below are some of our favorites for a 2-week itinerary in Andalusia.

  • Seville: Hotel Gravina 51 , Lukanda Hospec , Hotel Dona Maria , Oboe Sevilla Catedral
  • Cordoba: H10 Palacio Cordoba , Hotel Boutique Suite Generis , La Ermita Suites , Hotel Boutique Patio del Posadero
  • Granada: Casa de la Catedral , Casa Bombo , BiBo Real Chancilleria , Häxaris Casa Boutique
  • Nerja: Apartamentos NUEVA 22 , Casa Eva
  • Frigiliana: Bed and Breakfast Villa Corte Azul , Casa Calle Real 87
  • Malaga: Be Mate Hotel , Vincci Larios Diez , iloftmalaga , ICON Malabar
  • Ronda: Apartamentos Circulo De Artistas , Salvatierra Guest House , La Escondida , Romántica Lofts
  • Setenil: Casa Cueva un Rincon , Apartamentos Cantareria Jazmin , Casa Rural El Tajo , Casa Cueva Las Calcetas
  • Villaluenga del Rosario: Casa de los Cuadros , Conjunto Rural Casa Victoria
  • Zahara de la Sierra: Cuesta la Ermita , Alojamiento Rural El Pinsapo
  • Cadiz: Boutique Hotel Casa Cánovas , Candelaria10 , El Armador Casa Palacio , La Casa del Consul

granada spain things to do

How Much Do 2-Weeks in Andalusia Cost?

Andalusia is one of the cheapest regions in Spain. Eating out is very reasonable, and in some cities, tapas is even free! What’s more, book ahead, and you can find beautiful hotels for a fraction of the price you’d find in bigger cities like Madrid or Valencia .

Expenses for a 2-Week Andalusia Road Trip

A 2-week road trip in Andalusia will cost you anything between 2000-3000 USD. This includes accommodation for every night of your stay, food, entrance fees, the price of your rental car, and fuel. 

Costs of Traveling in Andalusia

Travel on a budget in Andalusia, from $180 − $380 USD weekly per person, mid-range $460 − $1590 USD, and high-end from $1590 − $2480 USD. However, costs depend on factors like accommodation, transportation, and activities. We did not include flights. Check flight prices here

  • Hotels: $30 − $150 USD Check available hotels
  • Hostels: $10 − $35 USD Check available hostels
  • Transport: $5 − $10 USD Book public transport
  • Car Rental: $50 − $150 USD Book a rental car
  • Food: $5 − $15 USD
  • Activities: $2 − $30 USD See tickets & tours
  • Sim: $1 − $3 USD Get an eSIM or SIM here
  • Travel Insurance: $2 − $6 USD Get Travel Insurance

best restaurant cordoba spain

Best Time to Visit Andalusia

The most popular time to visit Andalusia is during the summer when you can make the most of the beautiful beaches and warm Mediterranean Sea. However, be aware that the summer months are very busy and can be more expensive (particularly in August when the Spanish take their holidays). These are also the hottest months when temperatures in places like Cadiz and Seville can exceed 40°C (104°F). Because of this, it’s not the best time for city sightseeing. 

Instead, we recommend visiting in the shoulder seasons of late spring or early autumn. You’ll still get warm temperatures and beautiful sunny days, but it’ll be much more comfortable for sightseeing and road-tripping. Temperatures can be in the high 20s as late as the end of October! 

things to do cordoba spain Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs

Travel Insurance for your Andalusia Road Trip

It’s always a good idea to purchase single-trip travel insurance, even if you’re only traveling for 2 weeks in Andalusia. This covers the potential for any accidents or loss, for example, theft of baggage, canceled flights, or a road accident.

We use Heymondo for all our trips, as they have very responsive customer service and a 24-hour online chat where you can speak with medical professionals.

Travel Insurance Don't forget a travel insurance for your Spain trip! Heymondo covers medical emergencies, theft, delays, cancellations, lost luggage, and more, with 24/7 worldwide assistance and medical chat. As a Salt in our Hair reader, we've got you 5% off! Check Heymondo here

Things to Know About Andalusia

There are a few things you can learn about Andalusia that will make your trip run a little more smoothly:

  • Tap water is safe to drink in Andalusia. It is quite chlorinated, which can make it taste a little different from what you’re used to. However, drinking is safe, so bring your reusable water bottle and travel plastic-free ! 
  • Siesta time. During the summer, all shops and restaurants close for siesta (typically somewhere between 4 PM – 8 PM). On Sundays, most conveniences are also shut.
  • Public holidays. Spain is a country with some of the highest number of public holidays in the world! This means there is always a fiesta somewhere, so make sure to check ahead for shop, restaurant, and road closures.
  • Hot summer temperatures . In August, temperatures can exceed 40°C (104°F). Make sure to plan your sightseeing in the early mornings or evenings to avoid being in the sun (the hottest time of day is usually around 4 PM). Make sure to wear a hat and sunscreen and drink plenty of water.
  • Always carry cash , especially in small villages where sometimes card is not accepted.
  • Bring extra layers if you’re traveling in the mountains, as it can get cooler in the evenings. 

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Iznajar: Southern Spain’s Hidden Gem (Best Things to do)

6 most beautiful white villages of andalusia, spain, renting a car in spain in 2024: all you need to know.

Looking for more travel information? Plan a chat with us for personalised travel advice or get an answer from the Salt in our Hair Travel Community on Facebook.

Hello, Do you feel like this would be a safe trip to do a solo female? (A solo female who does not speak Spanish at that.) Thanks!

Hi Meghan! Spain in general is a safe country to travel to, with low crime rates. As long as you’re aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your belongings in crowded areas (pick pocketing does happen) traveling should be a breeze. Though we recommend learning some Spanish words, people in Andalusia are very welcoming and kind, and see a lot of other travelers. You can always download Spanish offline on Google Translate for those moments English (and hand gestures) don’t seem to work. Though we don’t think many of those moments will occur :) The region also has good public transport that’s easy to navigate, making getting around very straightforward, even if you’re not familiar with Spanish. Hope that helps a bit!

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7 Days in Andalusia itinerary

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cordoba andalucia spain

Are you planning your Andalusia itinerary and wondering how to make the most of your stay without missing the most important attractions?

This southern region in Spain is one of the most popular areas to travel to within Europe. And with its sweltering summers, stunning architecture, and beautiful beaches, it’s easy to see why.

As you may already know, Spain is famous for Andalusia and the Costa del Sol , not only for its sought after lifestyle and culture but its incredible and diverse past which is another big pull for tourism to the region.

Table of Contents

Andalusia itinerary

In this guide, we’ll explore the sunny region of Andalusia, talk about some of the main reasons to visit, and the best things to see and do.

We’ll also look at how to get around and our best tips, which include how long to stay for and the best time to visit.

Where is Andalusia?

The Andalusia region is the southernmost region of Spain. Its west side borders Portugal and the east side with Murcia, and the northern part borders the regions of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha.

Andalusia’s coastline is bathed by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This Spanish region is divided into 17 provinces.

Some these provinces are popular touristic destinations:

Did you know? Andalusia is the most populous region of Spain and the second-largest autonomous community in the country.

What is Andalusia known for?

The list of things that Andalusia is known for is quite long. Without any doubt, it’s a go-to destination for its spectacular beaches.

From the Costa del Sol to the 100 km stretch of astonishing beaches of Almería, if you’re chasing ‘sol y playa’, here you’ll feel spoiled by choice!

The artistic and architectural heritage inherited from Arab culture is another reason why Andalusia attracts thousands of visitors.

The Alhambra of Granada, the Alcazaba of Málaga and the Mezquita of Córdoba are only a few incredible Muslim monuments you can explore during your stay in this part of Spain.

Finally, this part of the country is famous for its traditional cuisine, religious festivals, flamenco and the ‘corrida’.

Is Andalusia worth visiting?

Andalusia is known as one of the best summer break destinations in Europe, with the region having consistent and hot weather.

Later in this guide, we’ll look at the climate in more detail.

Throughout the region, you’ll also find some really impressive beaches to relax on, which can be strongly argued to be some of the best in Europe.

nerja beach andalucia

There are both popular city beaches with all amenities a stone’s throw away, as well as wild and secluded beaches for those who like a more private experience. You really can’t go wrong here.

The region is also home to many impressive destinations, as well as a large Moorish influence which can be seen all over the region.

UNESCO sites such as the Alhambra Palace in Granada and the Mezquita Cathedral in Córdoba are some of the region’s best attractions.

The stunning architecture seen in cities such as Seville and Granada is also a pull for those coming to the region, where pebble courtyards, painted tiles, and giant stone walls dominate the urban landscapes.

sevilla streets

Just walk through any city or town in the region and you’ll see examples in hidden streets you pass by and on random buildings your eye catches.

Andalusia is also well-known for its food, with Gazpacho soup the absolute must-try here. Then of course there’s the tapas, with Tortillitas de Camarones and Croquetas as some of the best to start your appetite.

What is the best month to visit Andalusia?

In our opinion, the best month to visit Andalusia would be April or May.

September and October are also very favorable, especially because the average temperatures usually hover between 20 and 30 C°.

The reason why we don’t suggest visiting Andalusia during the summer months is that temperatures can be extremely hot (40 C°) and most tourists travel between July and August.

To avoid crowds, then choosing shoulder seasons is the best way to go to fully enjoy your time at the beach and when visiting the historical landmarks and historical centers.

How to get in and around Andalusia?

Andalusia is located in southern Spain, and you can easily arrive from other major cities in the country such as Madrid and Valencia. You can also arrive from Portugal, and also by ferry from Morocco in the south.

If elsewhere in Europe, then you’ll need to fly in (unless you don’t mind a very long drive or multiple buses).

sevilla

Malaga is the hub of Andalusia, and flights into the city are some of the cheapest in the region. There’s also an airport in Seville which has lots of good connections.

Andalusia is also a very easy region to get around once in. Even if you don’t have the budget to rent a car , there’s a train that runs through the major cities and towns, and the rest is well connected by bus.

How Many Days to Spend in Andalusia?

We’d say a minimum of 6 days is enough to see the best of Andalusia.

More would be better, but this amount of time would allow you to get a good feel for the Spanish region.

Here you would start by arriving in Malaga and spending a day exploring Gibralfaro Castle and also lounging on the beach.

granada spain

The next 2 days will be spent exploring Granada, its amazing cobblestone streets, and the impressive Alhambra Palace.

From here you would then spend 1 day in Cordoba to see the legendary Mestique Church.

Your last two days will be spent in Seville, where you can see the Plaza de Toro , the Plaza de España as well as sitting back to take in Andalusian life.

Places to visit in Andalusia

Below, we have outlined the places to visit in this Andalusia itinerary.

If you have already taken the time to read our guide to 3 days in Madrid you can be sure to trust us to have more travel gems lined up for you.

malaga spain

Let’s start with the popular beachside hub of Malaga. Drawing a large number of tourists from all over the world, Malaga is well-known for its position along the Costa del Sol and its incredible stretch of beaches.

One of the best things to do in Malaga is to hike up to Gibralfaro Castle. From here you’ll learn about the ancient fortress, its importance for the city as well as get some stunning views over the city and bay of Malaga.

Another great thing to do here is to visit the historic center where you can see many important landmarks and sights including the Alcazaba, doing a tour of Teatro Romano and the Cathedral of Malaga.

The Alcazaba is one of the most popular to visit, with the ancient fortress being built during the 11th century, and is a great place for travel photos.

Malaga is usually the starting point of any trip to Andalusia with its well-connected airport.

Here there are plenty of accommodation options for all budgets (even some top-notch hostels if you’re on a modest budget) and travelers.

There are also lots of quirky restaurants and bars. The best places to stay are near Malagueta Beach and also the historic center.

This cobblestone-laden city is one of Spain’s most scenic places to visit

moorish castle spain

Known for its university and student life, Granada is also home to some stunning natural scenery since it’s located next to the Sierra Nevada.

The best thing to see here is the legendary Alhambra Palace. Built in 1238, this palace is situated on top of a hill and overlooks Granada. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Spain’s most visited landmarks.

Here you can marvel at its impressive towers, picturesque fountains, and courtyards, as well as Arabic patterns and inscriptions.

Another must-visit is the Puerta del Elvira . The giant door towers over the nearby streets and was once the main gateway into Granada.

As mentioned earlier, Andalusia has a strong Moorish history which is reflected in its architecture, and Granada is one of the best places to marvel at these incredible designs and heritage.

One way to experience this unique culture is by going to a Hamman Spa where you can relax for the day. We recommend heading to Hamman Al Ándalus , which is located next to the Iglesia de San Gil y Santa Ana.

albaicin neighborhood granada

One of the best areas to stay is the Albaicin neighborhood, which is the oldest district and one of the most picturesque. Check out places Shine Albayzín for a typical Granadan stay.

Here you’ll find lively streets filled with tapas bars and markets. Also, the area around the Plaza de Santa Ana is a good place to base yourself.

Córdoba is another beautiful city located in Andalusia. Its best known for the Mezquita Cathedral, which used to be a mosque, however, has since been transformed into a Roman Catholic Church.

mezquita cathedral

This gem is one of the region’s most popular sights, with its impressive painted columns and half-moon arches that fill the entire complex.

One of the best things to witness here is the glowing effect when the sun shines through the windows into the main hall.

There are also lots more impressive architectural delights to see in this city, which include the Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos and its beautiful gardens and fountains.

This royal complex is also home to the largest library in Western Europe.

cordoba spain

As well as this, the Jewish Historic Quarter is great to wander around with its narrow, mazing streets once thriving as the largest ghetto area of the city.

If you are looking for a place to rest your head, check out La Trinidad Córdoba for a sustainable stay which includes a traditonal breakfast.

Another must-see is the Calahorra Tower which once guarded the city from as early as the 13th century. It also later became a prison and even an all girl’s school, making for an interesting visit when in Córdoba.

The best area to stay in Córdoba has to be Juderia. The Jewish Quarter is great for those who want an authentic feel, and to be surrounded by lots of history, striking architecture, and lively streets.

The capital of the autonomous region of Andalusia, Seville definitely does not disappoint. Known for its searing summer heats and passionate flamenco dancers, this city is a must-visit on any trip to the region.

sevilla spain

Here there are many top sights to visit. The Cathedral of Seville (along with the Giralda Tower) is one of the top highlights, and with 80 chapels, is the largest cathedral in the World.

It also houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and rightfully so is a UNESCO world heritage site. Plaza de España is another must-visit when here, with the massive monument built in 1929.

The curved palace is shaped like a half-moon, and is filled with beautiful azulejos (which are painted tiles native to the region). Check out this guided tour to get a closer look at all these detials.

With its public bicycles and smart city initiatives, Seville is perfect for exploring, with the Guadalquivir river and many plazas great for a stroll.

This is also the best place for seeing a live flamenco show, where spontaneous dances can happen pretty much anywhere at any time.

You can also go to designated venues to watch the dances, which are known as Tablaos .

When in Seville, the best area to base yourself is El Centro , which has most of the popular destinations located nearby. For cheap dorm rooms Black swan hostel is a popular place to stay for budget travelers.

Barrio Santa Cruz is another great area that’s worth visiting and home to Catedral de Santa María de la Sede – the world’s 3rd largest church.

Known as the white city of Spain, Cadiz is an ancient port city located in the south of Spain that is also home to the Spanish Navy.

cadiz beach spain

As well as the vast sea of white buildings, this city is known for its equally important architecture. A quick city bike tour reveals all the best facades.

The Torre Tavira is a tower that can be climbed for the best vantage point over the city. Other impressive sights include the cathedral of Cadiz as well as the Castillo de Santa Catalina .

For those who love beach time, then be sure to head to La Caleta (which is the best beach in the city) as well as Las Playas de Caños de Meca .

For those who love fresh seafood and other foods, be sure to head to the Mercado Central where you can try everything from fresh fish and meats to vegetables supplied by local farmers and typical Spanish baked treats.

Cadiz also has many lively plazas and dozens of watchtowers that line the coast, which gives the city a unique presence in Spain and makes it feel very similar to coastal cities in South America such as Cartagena.

When heading to Cadiz, be sure to stay in the Old Town. Not only is it home to the must-visit Torre Tavira; there are also many quaint plazas here such as Plaza San Antonio and Plaza de Mina .

Andalusia Travel Tips

cordoba spain

See our list of travel tips to take with you:

  • We first recommend taking advantage of public transportation. You can use the train to get between major destinations, running from Malaga in the east to Seville in the west. You can then also use public buses to get to the further afar and smaller towns.
  • Secondly, consider visiting during some of Andalusia’s festivals. This region is known for some extraordinary events such as the Cruces de Mayo (held in early May) and the Feria de Seville (in April).
  • If you decide to rent a car in Andalusia you’ll find it easier to travel outside of these bigger cities and more frequented tourist areas.
  • A visit during these times promises a rich cultural experience and a better look into the values and heritage of the Andalusian people.
  • The cities suggested and landmarks we have suggested above are designed for you to see some of the regions most popular places!
  • Remember to get your FREE travel insurance quote from SafetyWing to receive fully comprehensive support when it comes to unforeseen travel complications.
  • If you are traveling alone, be sure to ‘always’ carry your cell phone along with you, if you have one that is. Even if you are just popping out of your hotel to go to the shops.
  • Try to carry cash and items of value with you at all time in a front or inside pocket, you’ll find Pacsafe make some great bags/backpacks for traveling around with valuables.

Best Time to Visit Andalusia

Andalusia is known for its hot summers, where temps can often become unbearable at times. During the summer, it’s not unusual for daytime temps to exceed 104°F, especially in the cities of Granada and Seville.

beach in cadiz

As mentioned earlier, the best time to visit for warm temperatures and a stable climate is the shoulder months of April-May / September-October.

For example in Seville, these months have average daily temps of between 64-75°F. The nights are cool and bearable compared to the hot nights during the summer.

During the summer, average temps in Seville range from 84-90°F. Whilst this sounds nice and warm, due to the city being located far inland, temperatures often feel hotter than they show.

If going in the height of the summer season, be prepared that temps can and do often rise above 104°F. So make sure you take lots of sunscreens and avoid heading out in the sun during midday.

The winter months are also popular with those traveling during the Christmas break, although a lot less visited than during the summer.

Average temps in Seville range from 52-59°F, which is a lot cooler and even sometimes chilly.

7 days in Andalusia Itinerary

As well as things to do you should have an idea of which places are integral to include in your Andalusia itinerary.

Is this all you can do in the region? Absolutely not!

There’s much more to see in the region and we guarantee that Andalusia will surprise you and make you want to revisit time and time again.

Andalusia is full of hidden gems, with everything from quaint mountain top villages, palaces, castles, and rustic shops to cafès and beaches.

Get lost exploring and get acquainted with the Andalusian culture.

Also, be sure to follow some of our sustainable travel tips to ensure that your trip has a positive impact on the local environment.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase or sign up for a program, we may earn a commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

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Al Andalus Train

Travel through the South of Spain with maximum comfort aboard the luxurious train Al Andalus. You will visit the most beautiful cities of Andalusia, enjoying unique landscapes and the most select of Spanish gastronomy.

Al-Andalus Train Map

The Al Andalus train takes a tour of 7 days and 6 nights, visiting cities such as Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz, Ronda and Granada. A very special opportunity to get to know Andalusia with exclusive attention, maximum comfort and surrounded by the glamour of the Belle Epoque.

In this luxurious hotel on wheels, you will stay in glamorous first-class rooms that recall the elegance of the 20s. They are modernized with all comfort, have full bathroom, WIFI and panoramic views to contemplate the amazing landscapes.

Restaurante Tren Al Andalus

Tours and excursions

Feel like in the Thousand and One Nights strolling through the arches of the Mosque of Cordoba. Relive the past of the Arab sultans who inhabited the Alhambra in Granada. From Seville to Cadiz, incredible World Heritage cities await you to show you the best of Andalusia.

Suite Deluxe del Tren Al Andalus

Iberian ham from Jabugo, olive oil and typical dishes of the famous Andalusian cuisine, paired with the best sherry wines, liqueurs and teas, will not miss at the table of the elegant restaurant of the Al Andalus train. This is a trip to eat it!

Excursiones desde el Tren Al Andalus

What our customers say

We show you the al andalus train reviews from real guests who have booked with us.

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“Fabulous food and exquisite service”

"The trip itself was spectacular, with special mention to the divine Andalusian gastronomy and the excellent wines ."

“Wonderful experience”

"The South of Spain is really impressive. It has the perfect mix for an amazing journey: culture, enviable gastronomy and extraordinary people ."

“Unforgettable places”

"My congratulations to the staff both outside and inside the Al Andalus Train. We enjoyed the stay and the food very much. The places we visit are definitely unforgettable ."

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Al-Andalus train External detail of the carriage

The Al-Andalus train, a palace on wheels

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Andalusian itinerary

Charm, local colour, high spirits, culture and art are just a few of the terms used to describe the cities along this seven-day route in two directions (Seville to Malaga and vice versa). Passengers can also explore these places on specially arranged guided tours. One example of a typical stage, on the route from Seville to Malaga, the train departs Seville  (known for its Giralda, Cathedral or Alcázar) towards Jerez  (make sure not to miss its wine and its traditional horse shows). The third, fourth and fifth days include stops in Ronda  (boasting its spectacular views), Córdoba (with its Mosque-Cathedral and its impressive old town), Úbeda  and  Baeza  (World Heritage Cities) and as well as Granada  (with its impressive Alhambra and the opportunity to witness flamenco dancing first hand). After a sixth day spent entirely getting to know Granada, the seventh day ends in Malaga, capital of the famous Costa del Sol boasting an outstanding old quarter and lively port. The plan when departing Malaga for Seville is very similar but in reverse.

The Al Andalus train in the Andalusian countryside

THINGS TO REMEMBER

The Al Andalus train runs regularly during the months of April, May, June, September and October, with some trips also scheduled in March and November. You will find more detailed information about travel dates and bookings on the web page of Renfe Tourist Trains .

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T’s Travel Issue

In Search of a Lost Spain

In the southern part of the country, churches and streets hold the remnants of eight centuries of Islamic rule.

The ceiling of the Hall of Ambassadors in the Alcazar in Seville, Spain. Built by Peter I of Castile (1334-69), the structure is an example of the Mudéjar style of architecture, in which Islamic ornamentation and building techniques were overlaid with Christian meaning. Credit... Richard Mosse

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By Aatish Taseer

Photographs by Richard Mosse

  • Published Nov. 3, 2022 Updated Nov. 8, 2022

ON A MORNING of haunting heat in Seville, I sought out the tomb of Ferdinand III. There, in the Gothic cool, older Spaniards came and went, dropping to one knee and crossing themselves before the sepulcher of the Castilian monarch. There were men in staid tucked-in shirts, gray checked with yellow, and women with short-cropped hair and knee-length dresses, slim belts around their waists. They sat in pews under a coffered ceiling, dourly communing with El Santo, the patron saint of what would come to be called La Reconquista — the man under whom five and a half centuries of Muslim rule had in 1248 come to an end in this town: Seville, or Ishbiliya, as it was known then.

On a banner above the altar, silver letters against a crimson ground read, “Per Me Reges Regnant” (“By Me, Kings Reign”). The Virgin of Kings, dressed in orchid pink, gazed down at this scene of historical piety. Black-haired putti, prying and vaguely deviant, swarmed around her. The organ played. Latin chants filled the ribbed recesses of the largest Gothic church in Christendom, which retained as its belfry the fabled minaret (La Giralda, or “weather vane”) of the 12th-century mosque on whose bones it had been built.

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T’s Winter Travel Issue

Three writers go searching for echoes of a vanished culture — or a resurrected one..

- Spain : In the country’s churches and streets, the remnants of eight centuries of Islamic rule are hiding in plain sight.

- Singapore : Cuisine is one of the few ways to define Peranakan culture, a hard-to-pin-down blend of ethnic and racial identities.

- Tajikistan : While the nation’s history is being hidden behind glimmering new facades, its artisans hold on to tradition with quiet determination.

It was not merely to escape the murderous heat of that June day — we were in the midst of an ola de calor in Andalusia, with temperatures reaching 115 degrees Fahrenheit — that I entered the tomb of Ferdinand III; it was because I wanted to begin my journey through the ghost lands of Muslim Spain by seeing with my own eyes an inscription I had heard about. I looked for it on the sarcophagus of the sainted king, which was partially concealed by the gold of an altar rail. Standing up among the worshipers, I caught a glimpse of what was no less wondrous now in real life than it had been in my reading. There were four plaques in the four languages of medieval Spain — Hebrew, Arabic, Latin and Castilian — the last of these commemorating the victory of “the great king Don Ferdinand, Lord of Castile, Toledo, León, Galicia, Seville, Cordoba, Murcia and Jaén” over a land that was soon to become toda España to the conquering Christians, Sefarad to the Jews and Al-Andalus to the defeated Muslims.

The plaques marked a Christian victory, but it was not (yet) one that came at the detriment of a plural Spain. The conquering king’s son — Alfonso X, El Sabio, or “the Wise” — had grown up steeped in the Arabic culture of Al-Andalus. It was only natural that he should feel at home in its different liturgical languages. The plaques used the Hebrew calendar (the 22nd day of Sivan 5012), the Islamic Hijri (the 20th day of First Rabia 550) and the Gregorian (May 31, 1252, although history marks his death as the day before) interchangeably, as well as Quranic phrases, such as radi Allahu anhu , “may God be pleased with him,” to celebrate Ferdinand. But if there was something a little heartbreaking about this familiarity, this ease, this effortless switching between religious cultures as if between selves, it was because this Spain of three natures was on the eve of destruction. “Remarkable — and poignant,” write the authors of “ The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture ” (2008), Jerrilynn D. Dodds, María Rosa Menocal and Abigail Krasner Balbale, “given that later historical perspective from which we now read them, knowing that Jews and Muslims would be expelled from Spain and from the memory of what had ever constituted the Castilian community — is the use of the place names Sefarad and Andalus to mean Spain.” But how does a place so steeped in diversity come unstuck? What makes a society succumb to that primal cry for a limpieza de sangre , a “purity of blood”?

andalus travel

Stepping out into the garish day, I stood for a moment at the base of La Giralda — it rose, a broad pitiless mass, some 350 feet into the blue, its summit covered in an enthralling, ever-repeating expanse of sebka , a pattern of interlacing multifoil arches ( shabka means “net” or “ring” in Arabic) in which the play of light and shadow is reduced to a game of inches — considering the history of Islam in Spain.

There are, I want to say, three societies in the world — Spain, the Balkans and India — that have known this particular kind of history, namely centuries of Muslim rule among large swaths of an unconverted population. Each of these places has experienced periodic cycles of religious violence and ethnic cleansing, whether it was the Balkans in the 1990s or the bitter partition of India in 1947 that left more than a million dead and caused the largest peacetime migration in the history of humanity. What makes Spain unique is that here the aims of ethnic cleansing were fully realized. There are still Muslims in the Balkans. There are, despite partition, which saw the creation of a predominantly Muslim Pakistan, still 200 million Muslims in India. Spain alone achieved pure erasure. Yet everywhere in this part of Spain, in tangible and intangible ways, we were surrounded by the remains of the Moorish past. They were there in the honey-drenched and cinnamon-dusted pastries (pestiños) that the Andalusians ate during Holy Week; there in the Spanish use of fulano to mean “so-and-so” (from fulan ), a version of which we had in India, too; they were there in grand monuments, such as La Giralda or the Mezquita of Cordoba, and the Alhambra in Granada. But they were also there in quiet, unspoken ways, such as in the Alcazar (from al-qasr , or “castle”) of Carmona (Qarmuna), 20 miles away from Seville. The old Moorish castle sits in the midst of the classic Spanish white town at the crest of a hill of burned yellow grass, a brooding presence with its horseshoe-arch entrance and its shattered crenelations. “Shards” is the word historians have used to describe these vestiges, and they exist everywhere — consider how almost one-third of English’s vocabulary can be traced to the Norman Conquest of 1066 — but what makes them radioactive in Spain is that the heirs to that past were systematically expelled. The silence one feels then, standing in the patio of the church of El Salvador in Seville, where the arches of the old mosque, with their characteristic capitals of Roman spolia , are still visible amid mashed oranges lying at the feet of trees laden with fruit, is not natural. It is an enforced silence.

SEVILLE IS A city of shadows,” writes V.S. Pritchett in “The Spanish Temper” (1954), “which tunnel under a dense foliage that is dead still, and pleasure seems to walk with one like a person, when one is alone. There is never too much light.” On that first day, walking through narrow streets decked with shadow curtains — cortinas de sombra — clinging to an ever-shrinking margin of shade, I was simply dazed by the Saharan heat. I’d spent many summers in the hills above Seville, but I had never known it to be so hot so early in June. In bars, into whose awnings sprinklers had been fitted that released timed bursts of cooling mist, I could make out through their permanent air of afternoon wainscotings of azulejo — literally “little stones” in Arabic, glazed tiles cut in geometric patterns.

I was in a European town of white buildings picked out in browns, ocher and burnt umber, trying to imagine its Muslim past, aware that to even think of these categories as mutually exclusive was itself a distortion of history. Spain, like India (where I grew up), had been part of that original Arab expansion when, within a century of the Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, the armies of a new conquering faith reached as far west into Christian Europe as Poitiers in France, where they were defeated by Charles Martel, Charlemagne’s grandfather, and as far east as Hindu Sindh and Multan, in what is today Pakistan. “A hymn to the virtues of exile” is how Menocal describes the history of Al-Andalus in her 2002 book, “ The Ornament of the World .” It opens with the tale of an exiled Omayyad prince, Abd al-Rahman I, escaping a massacre in Syria, from which he fled to North Africa as his family’s sole surviving heir, and founding the Emirate of Cordoba in 756. The Omayyads, who traced their origin to the Mecca of the Prophet Muhammad, were Islam’s first dynasty. They had conquered great stretches of the classical world, from Sassanid Persia to Coptic Egypt and the Byzantine Levant. In 711, within a year of the conquest of the western reaches of India, Tariq ibn Ziyad had led a Berber, Syrian and Yemeni army across the Strait of Gibraltar (also known as Jabal Tariq, Tariq’s Mountain), defeating the Visigothic king Roderic. The Visigoths (western Goths) were one of many Germanic tribes who had taken up the mantle of Rome, ruling Spain since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.

Abd al-Rahman I, also known as al-Dakhil, or the Entrant, gave the Omayyads a second lease on life in Spain, even as their power was being smashed throughout the rest of the Islamic world. A new dynasty was on the rise. The Abbasids (of Harun al-Rashid and “Arabian Nights” fame) would go on to replace the Omayyads as caliphs — from khalifa in Arabic, “successor” (to Muhammad) — turning Baghdad into the capital of the now-vast Islamic empire. But what makes the history of Islam in Spain read, as W. Somerset Maugham writes in “ The Land of the Blessed Virgin: Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia ” (1905), “far more like romance than like sober fact,” is that it opens with the unlikely establishment of Abd al-Rahman’s emirate, which at its apogee in the 10th century would comprise the entirety of Spain, save for the Atlantic north. Al-Andalus is the term we give to all of Muslim Spain, its borders expanding and shrinking over the course of eight centuries, political configurations changing, emirates rising and falling. (Andalusia, the province, derives its name from the same word, for it was here in the south that the Islamic presence lasted longest.) The demise of Al-Andalus came in 1492, the year Christopher Columbus sailed to America, with Boabdil, the last Muslim ruler of Spain, handing over the keys of Granada to the Catholic monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. “Don’t cry like a woman for what you could not defend like a man,” Boabdil’s ball breaker of a mother is said to have told him (no doubt apocryphally), as he cast a teary glance back at the city he would never see again, emitting what my guide at the Alhambra described as el suspiro del moro : “the sigh of the Moor.”

Spain is a land of churches upon mosques upon churches. This was not new in itself. I had spent months in Damascus, where the Omayyad mosque had been built on the remains of an old Byzantine church that in turn sat on the Temple of Jupiter. In India, I had seen mosques reuse the columns of old temples that filled the imprints of Buddhist viharas . There is nothing more natural (not to mention practical), when conquest is swift and building materials scarce, than to repurpose the sacred to fit the demands of a new time. What was unnerving was the silence of the people who might have been heirs to these ruins. As evening fell and the dome of heat lifted, I found myself at an opening at the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, an old monastery turned into a ceramics factory that had been converted into a museum. Talking to the vivacious Margot Molina, a former journalist at El País, I expressed my interest in the role of Al-Andalus in the Muslim imagination. Her reply reinstated the silence that had been stalking me all day. “But you cannot ask them,” she said, “because they’re not here.”

THE NEXT MORNING, before the heat robbed the day of every trace of freshness, I went to the Alcazar of Seville, built by Peter I (Peter the Cruel) of Castile (1334-69). The great-great-grandson of El Sabio had created what is among the finest examples of an art particular to Spain. Mudéjar — drawn from the Arabic mudajjan , “permitted to remain” — refers in the first instance to Muslim populations who chose to stay in cities under Christian rule after La Reconquista. It refers, as well, to an architectural style, one of the glories of this syncretic culture, in which Christian rulers, like Peter I, commissioned Muslim craftsmen to imbue the building techniques and ornamentation of Al-Andalus with Christian meaning.

The spirit of those early days of La Reconquista had been assimilative rather than destructive. Alfonso X had styled himself King of the Three Religions, and ran a massive translation enterprise out of his capital, Toledo (Tulaytula), transmitting classical Arabic texts on botany, philosophy, law and medicine across a Europe awakening to renaissance. Well versed in the literary culture of Arabic himself, he would have regarded men such as the Aristotelian theorist Ibn Rushd (born in Cordoba and known to Christendom as Averroes), or the Jewish philosopher Maimonides (another Cordovan) and even the great historian Ibn Khaldun, who wrote of civilizational decay, and whose family were from Seville, not as foreigners but merely his countrymen. Translation, absorption, reconsecration, getting old stones to say new things — this had been the special genius of medieval Spain, and it was in this tradition that Peter I, who had been in an alliance with the sultan of Granada, built his Alcazar.

Wandering among rooms dripping with muqarnas (“stalactite vaulting”) and walls embroidered with arabesques ( ataurique , from al-tawriq ), I found myself in the Courtyard of the Maidens. There, against a famous scene of a rectangular pool of greenish water surrounded by multilobed arches, Ahmed, an Egyptian living in Spain, was taking a picture of his mother, who was visiting from Cairo. Birds flew upward into the tent of blue behind the pink of her head scarf. Ahmed was in a structure built by Christians who were celebrating the art of an only recently vanquished Islam. “How did it feel?” I could not help but ask. “The most beautiful,” Ahmed said, giving me a smile of tobacco-stained teeth, “the most authentic. We call it a lost paradise.” Then, perhaps aware of the oblique angle at which he stood in relation to this work of art, he added, “It’s like seeing your own culture from another perspective. It’s Islamic, but it’s Spanish.” The walls were decorated with Arabic inscriptions celebrating Peter I, employing the Granadan creed “There is no Conqueror, save Allah.” Ahmed had been trying to read them, but without success. “It’s hard,” he said. “I don’t think it was made by Arabs.”

It was the Spanish philologist Américo Castro who in 1948 first used the term convivencia to describe the coexistence of Muslims, Jews and Christians in medieval Spain — one that inspired many volumes of history that sought to graft the ideals of the secular present onto a medieval past but was met with fierce polemical rejoinders, such as Darío Fernández-Morera’s “The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise” (2016). It is probably best, given how treacherous these waters can be, to treat the “ethnoreligious diversity of Al-Andalus” — as Brian A. Catlos does in his 2018 book, “Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain” — less as an “ideal” than as a “fact.” It is a fact that Jews, Muslims and Christians, including Mozarabs (from mustarib , meaning “Arabized”), lived side by side here for the better part of a thousand years. They intermarried. They participated in a shared intellectual enterprise. They assimilated (and expanded) the art of the Other. They collaborated against their coreligionists when it suited their interests. They each used religion instrumentally, sometimes to be generous, sometimes to be cruel. For some 900 years, Spain was a plural society. And then, around the early 1600s, it was not. What changed?

It was the question that was uppermost in my mind when I met Miguel Ángel Tabales, 58, an archaeologist at the University of Seville conducting excavations in and around the Alcazar. He was waiting for me near the exit dressed in a loose blue shirt and sandals.

“You’re in the heart of the taifa period here,” he said as he greeted me, his enthusiasm pushing through his careful, halting English. Taifa means “party” or “faction” in Arabic. The Emirate of Cordoba, after a period of fitna , or “calamity,” in the early 11th century, fell apart, giving way to a glorious age of city-states, or taifas , of which Seville had by far been the greatest.

Tabales now likened the poet-emir al-Mu‘tamid (1069-91) to Rome’s Caesar. During his reign, the river Guadalquivir (from al-wadi al-kabir , “the great river”) had a different position than it does today, making it more conducive to trade. The city grew exponentially, from some 185 acres to 740. “We see it in our investigations,” Tabales said. “Each house is the same Islamic house.” Yet al-Mu‘tamid, in an era of political instability but creative efflorescence, made a catastrophic mistake. After the fall of Toledo to the Christians in 1085, he lost his nerve and invited the Almoravids, a Berber dynasty who practiced an austere form of Islam, to cross the strait from North Africa and help him drive back the Christian advance. They were happy to oblige but, after witnessing the chaos of Al-Andalus, they returned a few years later, not as allies but as conquerors. Al-Mu‘tamid was deposed and became another entry in Al-Andalus’s catalog of exiles. “Oh, that God might choose that I should die in Seville ... !” he would write longingly from North Africa.

On the way to Tabales’s office, I asked about the multilingual inscription on the tomb of Ferdinand III. “This is very common after the Reconquest,” he said. “It gets even stronger in the 14th century. When the danger of war was out, the Castilian kings had no problem with minorities. Once they had won, they were more accepting of Muslim influence in the arts” — though not so much, he added pointedly, in politics and religion.

If the early spirit of the Reconquest had been assimilative, by the 15th century attitudes began to harden. The Catholic monarchs, Tabales said, referring to Isabella and Ferdinand, “established a political skeleton in which religion was given the first position.” One monarchy, one religion became the order of the day, and it was not merely Jews and Muslims who were forced underground. Arabized Christians had to forsake their Mozarab rite in favor of Roman Catholicism. “It was never easy for the minorities,” Tabales said, suggesting that they were ever at the mercy of political calculations. “It’s a myth, the convivencia.”

As he spoke, I was transfixed by a marble stone, draped in a red cloth, next to the table where we sat. As we were leaving, I asked him about it. He looked at me in astonishment. We were in the stairwell. “But it’s the whole history of Seville,” he said, insisting we go back upstairs.

The stone, he explained, pointing to a second-century inscription in Latin, had been given by the oil producers of Seville to the goddess Minerva. Under the Visigoths, whom Tabales referred to as “the Germans,” it became part of the superstructure of a column in a fifth-century cathedral. With the arrival of the Muslims, it was inverted and made part of a doorway. “The city,” Tabales said when we were in the street again, standing under the shred of a Muslim arch, “is full of spolia.” But Tabales was not romantic about this use and reuse of old stones. To him, it represented a language of power, of appropriation and reconfiguration. Struggling to recall the Arabic name for it, he said spolia were used to indicate “the upper position of Muslims over Christians.”

“IF I COULD go back to any year,” said Reyes Abad, 44, a researcher in architecture and cultural identity at the University of Seville, “I would go back to 1248,” the year the Christians marched into Seville.

She and I were walking home from what was once known as the Gypsy quarter of Triana (Atrayna) on the right bank of the Guadalquivir. Abad, who wore a long dress, had dark Andalusian features and almond-shaped eyes. Earlier, she had made a point of saying that her name was likely Moorish. “Can you imagine,” she said, “those Christians coming from the north, which was cold and damp, to what was by then a Muslim city?”

Abad had told me about her doctoral thesis, which addressed the ways in which the architecture of La Reconquista had paralyzed Seville’s relationship to modernity. “Seville was the model,” she said, “the blueprint for how other cities would look” following the Reconquest. Here, as in other parts of Andalusia, an original period of subsuming and reconfiguring Islamic buildings and using Muslim craftsmen to produce Christian art — like that in the Alcazar — gave way to a triumphalist Renaissance architecture. Abad saw, in its unnatural scale and the rupture it represented, something almost sinister, as if the Reconquistadores were making up in size for the cities they had depopulated. That controlling relationship to buildings, she felt, brought forth a “pedagogical architecture,” so that even in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Seville had been unable to unclench its fist, unable to embrace movements such as Art Nouveau that were sweeping through other parts of Spain. “We have been a symbolic city for so many years,” Abad lamented as we crossed the Guadalquivir.

As we entered Triana — the sun was setting — Abad pointed to an alley leading down to the river: Callejon de la Inquisición. “You can imagine what happened there,” she said. “They killed them and threw them into the river.”

On Castilla Street, the Hermandad del Rocío de Triana — one of many brotherhoods associated with the Andalusian pilgrimage of El Rocío — had gathered. There were ancient ladies in floral dresses, with tiny battery-operated fans, and middle-aged men and women, some members of a famous band called Siempre Así. Handsome Andalusian boys threaded a course between them, wearing loafers, collared shirts and embroidered leather belts. Each, old and young alike, wore a medallion with the coat of arms of the brotherhood on a green ribbon around their necks. An icebox full of wine and beer lay on the ground. When Abad introduced me to our host for what felt like an open house, telling him that I was writing about the legacy of Al-Andalus, he grinned and said, “I’m polygamous.”

Every now and then a trickle of pilgrims — young girls in beautiful flamenco dresses with shawls around their shoulders, young men in gray hats — would arrive, but the attendees of the nearly 400-year-old pilgrimage, which had been canceled these past two years because of the pandemic, were in for another disappointment. The heat was such that the pilgrims’ wagons had been diverted. The main chariot carrying the Virgin would still pass through, but the drama of pilgrims following in its wake would not now occur. The others were more disappointed than I was. I found it incredibly moving to see the arrival of that silver chariot all lit up with white lights. The singing, the cries of “viva,” the tolling of bells. Then it was over, and the street, so full of commotion and anticipation moments before, emptied within minutes.

“We didn’t destroy what we inherited,” Abad had said to me. “We changed the symbolism, the language.” In fact, as had so often been true in Spain, both things occurred. Just as the Muslims had absorbed and reconsecrated the keyhole arch of the Visigoths and destroyed the Basilica of San Vicente in order to build their Mezquita, so, too, did the conquering Christians absorb what had gone before while proclaiming their victory through acts of destruction.

Abad wanted me to meet Fátima Roldán-Castro, a professor of Arab and Islamic studies at the University of Seville. “One of her subjects,” Abad texted me, “is discourses of alterity.”

“Alterity,” Roldán-Castro said on my last day in Seville — I was about to catch the train to Cordoba — “was an acknowledgment of difference.” It stood in contrast to otredad , or “otherness,” which she said “could be not very nice.”

We sat in a cafe outside the University of Seville, set in an old tobacco factory with a sweeping neo-Classical facade. Roldán-Castro wore a green beaded necklace, yellow sunglasses, pink lipstick and a long black dress. In telling me of the deep influence of Moorish culture on Spain — the use of almonds in food; 4,000 loan words from Arabic, such as aceite , “oil” (which comes from az-zait ), or ojalá , “God willing” (from law sha’ Allah ) — she focused on how the fall of Granada in 1492 had coincided with Columbus’s voyage to the Americas.

“A new world was beginning,” Roldán-Castro said. “It was necessary to make a Catholic Spain without Muslims,” adding what I had heard others say, too: “It was a deal.” Which is to say, it was born out of expediency, rather than religious passion.

It was Roldán-Castro who first told me about Aljamiado, the secret language of the Moriscos — Muslims forcibly converted to Christianity. Catlos defines Morisco as “Muslim-ish.” Isabella and Ferdinand had given their Jewish and Muslim subjects an ultimatum: Convert or be expelled. Many chose conversion, Jews becoming conversos , Muslims Moriscos.

But if there was one great lesson to be drawn from the history of Al-Andalus, it was this: When a majoritarian atmosphere takes hold in a society, as it most surely had in Spain, no concession is ever enough. The conversions of the Jews and Muslims to Christianity only excited fears of bad faith. From those fears came the Inquisition, ushering in an era of book burnings, autos-da-fé and crypto-identities. What makes it so painful is that these were the same people, with a shared culture, and Aljamiado, for all the suspicion it aroused, was — like Urdu in India, which uses a Sanskritic grammar with a Perso-Arabic vocabulary and script — simply a Romance language written in the Arabic script.

Roldán-Castro spoke to me of Mudéjar art, which she described as an artistic language emerging out of a Christian fascination with the legacy of Al-Andalus. “I don’t know of another place,” she said, referring to the singular phenomenon of victorious Christians continuing to work in the creative medium of a now-vanquished Islam, “where a culture keeps on being alive, but with a different mentality, in the Middle Ages,” adding that something similar did occur in Sicily, but perhaps not in quite so striking a fashion. If Al-Andalus was a place of longing in the Muslim imagination, its place in the Spanish imagination alternated between fetishization and a willful forgetting. This was, after all, still a country where a close friend who grew up in a village in Andalusia remembered his school friends saying, “Los moros para el otro lado del estrecho” (“Moors to the other side of the strait”).

As Roldán-Castro spoke, an uncomfortable thought occurred to me: Was it easier to embrace the art and culture of a people one had subjugated, or expelled? In the United States, there had been no contradiction between enslaving Black people and embracing so much of their culture, from music and dress to food and language. When I asked Roldán-Castro if the absence of Muslims in Spain made it easier to adopt their art and culture, she said, “It’s a very difficult question. It’s not only about religion, it’s about any way in which your neighbor might be different from you.”

QURTUBA! THERE ARE few names that exert more power over the Islamic imagination than the Arabic word for “Cordoba.” It was here, at the mosque Abd al-Rahman I first conceived, that the poet Allama Iqbal — the spiritual founder of Pakistan — was inspired in the early 20th century to sing his lament among these “enduring foundations, these columns without count” for the lost emirate of Al-Andalus and for “the upheaval raging in the Muslim soul: that godly secret which dare not find utterance.”

I had been here 18 years before, to this “white and taciturn” city, as Maugham described it, with its stately Roman bridge, where the writer had been “astonished to meet people in European dress rather than Arabs, in shuffling yellow slippers.” I had come specifically to see the Mezquita but found it closed. I took it as a sign and went away. In the two decades that elapsed, the building grew and expanded in my imagination. I saw images of what some have described as a forest of 800-odd columns, with their double arches, resembling Roman aqueducts, the alternating voussoirs in burnt red and cream. I read of the bishop who, in the 16th century, 300 years after the mosque had already been converted into a church, planted a Renaissance cathedral squarely within its confines, drawing from his king — the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain) — the most withering of all reprimands: “You have built here what you, or anyone else, might have built anywhere; to do so, you have destroyed what was unique in the world.”

Cordoba itself had become laden with meaning for me. If, as Maugham writes, half the charm of Andalusia lies “in what you divine rather than what you see,” I divined the ninth-century poet-musician Ziryab walking these streets, come from the Abbasid court in Baghdad to teach the plebes out west about everything from the latest Persian hairstyles to how to eat one’s dinner in courses. I divined blue-eyed Abd al-Rahman III, who was three-fourths Spanish Basque, staking claim to the title of caliph in 929, gazing out from his palatine complex, Madinat al-Zahra, on a hill four miles away. I divined that fabled, perhaps imaginary, fountain of mercury on its rolling base that flashed silver for guest after astonished guest. The city that had started as a mere outpost in the eighth century, a cutting from the felled Omayyad tree propagated on foreign soil, had two centuries later grown into one of the premier cities of Islam.

No amount of Google image searching prepares you for that first arresting glimpse, at the Mezquita, of the horseshoe arch picked out in umber and draped in arabesques, a symbol of one culture fertilizing another. It stopped me in my tracks, the sight of it embedded into that outer wall of honeyed stone. I had been in mosque after mosque, from Indonesia to Morocco, but this felt utterly new in inspiration and conception — it felt, odd as it is to say it, European. I stumbled into the cool of a sea of arches, imagining the right-and-left movement of the Islamic prayer that would send them dancing. I wandered through Mudéjar chapels and stood before the strange spectacle of a Christ crowned by interlacing polylobed arches in Pompeian red and white. I came at last to that famous mihrab, whose ribbed ceiling of gold and large-leaved foliage, like a dream of verdure in the desert, returned me instantly to the Omayyad mosque in Damascus. Here was an Islam hungry for the material world, bolstering its spiritual message with new influences, now Greek mosaics, now Roman engineering. As Hindu numerals traveled west, the Persian dome traveled East, and Islam became like a petri dish for the cross-fertilization of the classical world.

Outside this church upon a mosque upon a church, a potbellied Arab sat on the steps, conspicuously reciting his Quran. Beyond was the belfry of the cathedral, in which the minaret of the old mosque had been buried. Many over the years have confirmed the view of Charles V. The church has been described as a “pustule,” and there is little denying that while it is ordinary, the mosque is extraordinary. But I have to confess, I quite like the discordant note it strikes, what Richard Fletcher in “ Moorish Spain ” (1993) describes as “architectural evidence of strife.” For me it felt like a civilizational equivalent of the New York therapist’s maxim: “Where there is hysteria, there is history.” It was especially poignant, given my upbringing in India. Even as I write, a temple is rising in Ayodhya, in the northeastern state of Uttar Pradesh, on the ruins of a 16th-century mosque that was destroyed in 1992 by fanatics who claimed it had been built on the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram. The Mezquita is a reminder of what the wounds of history can drive men to, but it is also proof of hysteria wearing itself out, of people moving on, of the past growing cold.

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS after the fall of Granada, the last emirate of Al-Andalus, a mosque had risen in the city in 2003 — the first to be constructed in Spain since La Reconquista of 1492. It overlooked the white Moorish neighborhood of Albaicín falling at its feet like a petticoat. The heat, the solemn shape of cypresses, the new mosque on that old stage: It was all very suggestive. Spain now had a Muslim population of 2.25 million people, the majority of them North African. The ancient drama of the coexistence of Christianity and Islam on the Iberian Peninsula was beginning again.

Moments before, I had seen the legendary door that Boabdil had left from. My guide at the Alhambra had spoken of how he had asked Isabella and Ferdinand to seal it shut in perpetuity. The Catholic monarchs honored this most minor clause in the terms of surrender but betrayed Boabdil in more significant ways, especially regarding the assurance that Muslims would be allowed to practice their faith. That assurance was a restating of the ancient Islamic code upon which the plurality of Al-Andalus had been founded. Dhimmis, or protected peoples, non-Muslims, had been allowed under Islam to follow their religion unmolested so long as they acknowledged the superiority of Muslims and paid taxes. That law had been in force during the early centuries of La Reconquista, too. But as a new Catholic Spain asserted itself, a creed of uniformity became the order of the day, the old diversity regarded almost as a contaminant. Within a few years of the fall of Granada, the Inquisition came to town. There were public bonfires of Arabic books. Morisco revolts ensued, and more restrictions followed.

To destroy a people one has first to dehumanize them. One has to tell them they are nothing, that their history and culture are nothing. The final order of expulsion did not come until the early 17th century, when tensions between the Spaniards and the Ottomans were high, and Spain’s then-diminished Muslims more suspect than ever. It came after the book burnings, the forced conversions, the demands upon a people that they erase every aspect of their identity only to find their tormentors questing after further proof of their sincerity, almost as if the very same people who had created this world of shadows were now afraid of them. No amount of historical memory could save the Moriscos. All those centuries of intimacy, of living cheek by jowl, of building a shared culture, mattered not a jot. The history of Al-Andalus, like that of Germany in the 1930s, reminds us how feeble a protection cultural assimilation is against the primordial scream for a limpieza de sangre.

In Las Alpujarras, the mountainous region an hour’s drive south of Granada to which the last Moriscos of Al-Andalus had fled, there is now a community of Muslim converts and their families. When I asked one of its residents — Medina Tenour Whiteman, a half-American, half-British 40-year-old — what had brought her parents to Granada, where she was born, she said, “They had gone because there was this whole dream of reviving Islam in Europe.”

Whiteman grew up in Britain, feeling, she said, very much the “alien, the weirdo,” struggling with how being the Muslim daughter of converts in Britain meant engaging in what felt to her like a form of “dress-up,” using Arab or Pakistani culture to legitimize her Muslim-ness. In Spain, there was none of that. The memory of an autonomous European Islam still ran in the marrow. What she loved about living here was what she had loved about visiting Bosnia, too: “I can be exactly as I am.”

Whiteman, who has written guidebooks and travel guides for Muslims in Spain, had met a man from the province of Extremadura in the west who still recalled his grandmother going to the basement of her house and praying in the Islamic manner, with no conscious awareness that the washing and kneeling were part of Muslim ritual. “The Muslims they were getting rid of,” Whiteman said, speaking of the expulsions of the early 17th century, were not Arabs or Berbers but “indistinguishable from the Christians carrying it out.” The narrative of the Reconquest had been applied centuries later to what she saw as a simple act of ethnic cleansing.

When I asked Whiteman about what Al-Andalus meant to Muslims, she said, “We can’t help but be aware that something extraordinary took place here. A flourishing — of the word, of knowledge.”

At the same time, she was wary about growing too attached to that history. She had prayed the Friday before at the Granada mosque. It was magical, performing the stations of Islamic prayer as the sun sank behind the Alhambra, yet, like all magical things, it was also a little unreal. The Quran, Whiteman said, urges you to celebrate the wonder of the natural world. “It doesn’t say, ‘Go and look at beautiful mosques and palaces,’ so there is a part of us that gets a little fixated on the vestiges of Muslim power,” she said.

On the Cover

Those vestiges are what brought her back to Spain, so that she could raise her children in a land where, despite the expulsion of its Muslim (and Jewish) inhabitants, Islam was in the soil, and where she could be part of a pluralistic community, with people to relate to and pray with. “Me in my garden,” she said, “tending to my tomatoes is just as Muslim as visiting the Mezquita in Cordoba.”

There was something wistful in hearing her, against the backdrop of this now-pacified theater of religious strife, voice a desire for faith to remain a private matter. The Spanish Inquisition, deeply modern in texture and feel, abolished the very idea of the inner life. It gave us the blueprint for what would serve as the dread apparatus of state surveillance ever after. Even so, the Inquisition’s dream of homogeneity, it turns out, was no less a fantasy than the imperishable diversity of Al-Andalus.

Production: Fixer in Spain

An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misidentified the place where Ferdinand III of Castile brought five and a half centuries of Muslim rule to an end in 1248; it was in the city known today as Seville, Spain, not on the entire Iberian Peninsula. The article also rendered incorrectly the Arabic word for stalactite vaulting; it is  muqarnas , not  muqarna .

How we handle corrections

Aatish Taseer has been a contributing opinion writer since 2015. He is the author, most recently, of “The Way Things Were.” More about Aatish Taseer

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    Our favourite spot to holiday is in Al-Andalus, an area in the south of Spain that was ruled by the Umayyads from 711CE till the early 11th Century. They left behind their architectural mark, flora and fauna, as well as their agricultural advances and techniques. The Andalusian part of Spain encompasses so much antiquity and culture that ...

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    One way to discover the culture of Andalusia is by exploring the sites which have been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage designation. In Granada, you'll see the Alhambra palace, the Generalife gardens and the mediaeval Albaicín neighbourhood; in Cordoba, its historic centre with the great Mosque; in Seville, the cathedral, the Alcázar ...

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    The Moors, a mixed race of Berbers and Arabs who crossed into Spain from Morocco and North Africa, occupied al-Andalus for over seven centuries. Their first forces landed at Tarifa in 710 AD, and within four years they had conquered virtually the entire country; their last kingdom, Granada , fell to the Christian Reconquest in 1492.

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    Al-Andalus is a term used for Iberia when it was partly or fully ruled by the Moors during the Middle Ages.The Moors were Muslims from North Africa who brought with them a culture that has been preserved in Spain, notably through architecture.. Understand [edit] Al-Andalus, shown in orange, prior to the Reconquista. Al-Andalus began when Tariq ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad commander, led a large army ...

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    ALHAMBRA (GRANADA) Built by the Emir of Granada in the 13 th centuries, the Alhambra palace is the most-visited tourist destination in Spain, and for good reason. Designated by UNESCO as one of the most significant examples of Muslim art and emblematic of the glory days of Al-Andalus, "The Red One" is a time capsule from a bygone epoch. Inhabited by both monarchs and emirs, its halls are ...

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    Catch a Flamenco Performance. Getting to know a place's culture is one of the more rewarding parts of travel, and flamenco is a great inroad to Andalusian culture. Combining song, dance, guitar, and body percussion, this communal art form has been performed in Andalusia for centuries and developed many variations and complexities along the way.

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    September and October are also very favorable, especially because the average temperatures usually hover between 20 and 30 C°. The reason why we don't suggest visiting Andalusia during the summer months is that temperatures can be extremely hot (40 C°) and most tourists travel between July and August.

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