Looking for things to do in Cordoba? It is a beautiful city to visit, with a rich history and culture that is fascinating to learn about. Cordoba is located in Andalusia and it has a rich cultural heritage, having been home to many civilisations and cultures over the centuries. There’s history to be discovered from the Islamic rule and from the Romans and Visigoths.
Here are 6 things to help you plan your visit to Cordoba.
Take a Walking Tour
Walking tours are perfect for getting an insight into all the different areas of the city. When a local guide is showing you around you learn so much more about the place you’re in, from all the main touristy attractions to the best restaurants and little bits of history that you wouldn’t get just by exploring yourself.
Quite often you’ll find ‘free’ walking tours, and with these, it is just expected that you pay what you feel comfortable paying at the end. Having experienced a few tours in different European cities, I’d say they are always worth doing.
We spent a full day in Cordoba, having travelled by train from Seville. Due to the shorter time frame that we had to explore the city, a walking tour was ideal. It meant we got to learn a lot of the history and saw all the special areas in just a couple of hours.
Alternatively, you could look for a bike tour. These often run with the same principles as walking tours, except you generally cover a little more distance due to having the bike!
Visit the Mosque-Cathedral
This is one of the most famous buildings in Cordoba, and rightly so! The mosque was built in 785 during Muslim rule, and it became a cathedral in 1236. This is the best example of Moorish architecture in Spain. It is such a beautiful building.
The Mosque-Cathedral is a stunning monument to the two religions and cultures that have shaped Andalusia or the years, Islam and Christianity, and the architecture of this building visibly shows the historic layers. This is really fascinating to see in person.
Visit the Patios of Cordoba
The Patios de Cordoba festival is unique to Cordoba, held annually in May. The city explodes with colour thanks to all the pretty floral patios. Visiting outside of May? No problem – there are a few Patios open year-round, where you can get a taste of the beauty. There’s a short self-guided tour available and it’s well worth doing if visiting Cordoba! The thought process and the hard work that goes into maintaining a patio like this is incredible!
This is probably my favourite of the things we did in Cordoba.
Explore Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
This fortress and royal palace was constructed in 889 during Muslim rule and is one of the most important monuments from that era. However, most of what we can see now was constructed in 1328 by order of King Alfonso XI after reconquesting the city. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella lived here and it’s where they met with Christopher Columbus about his voyage to India! It has been used as a residence, as well as a forum and a civil and military jail.
The Alcazar has beautiful gardens, full of fountains, fish ponds, flowers and orange trees. This is what you’ll get to experience when visiting.
Walk Across the Roman Bridge
The Roman Bridge in Cordoba was built in the first century and it goes over the Guadalquivir River. It has 16 arches and is 247 metres long! At the southern end, you’ll find the Torre de la Calahorra, which was built to protect the bridge. At the northern end, you’ll find the Puerta del Puente – the Gate of the Bridge.
The bridge has been reconstructed and expanded many times over the years, and the arched shapes come from the Islamic reconstructions. Unfortunately, only the 14th and 15th arches are original now.
Did you know? This bridge was used for The Long Bridge of Volantis in season five of Game of Thrones!
Visit the Jewish Quarter
Cordoba has a well-preserved Jewish quarter, and it retains the traditional layout of a medieval Islamic city. A labyrinth of smaller streets, with a Synagogue sitting in the centre – one of only three originals still in Spain! You’ll also find the statue of Maimonides, a Sephardic Jewish Philosopher.
The Jewish quarter was separated from the rest of the city by a wall – isolating the inhabitants and protecting them from attacks by the Christians. The narrow streets hold so much character.
More Things to do in Cordoba
There are also other things to do in Cordoba besides just visiting the touristy attractions. It is a lovely city to walk around, taking in the narrow streets and exploring the many local shops and souvenir shops. You could also walk along the river, visit one of the many cafes, or go shopping at one of the open-air markets.
Cordoba is also home to many interesting museums like Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts), Museo Etnográfico Provincial (Provincial Ethnographic Museum), and Museo Arqueológico de Córdoba (Archaeological Museum).
One thing to keep in mind is that everything really does shut during the siesta in the old town area. In our experience, it became very quiet within a matter of minutes. Shutters down, only tourists visible in the streets.
We headed towards the main roads and set up for a few hours between 2pm and 5pm in Mercado Victoria to get out of the high temperatures. (We visited in September and it was above 30 degrees!) This is a market-style hub with various food and drink places – and air-conditioning! The food smelled amazing. It gave us a nice little break from walking around in the heat, and the chance to decide on what we wanted to do for the rest of the day before heading back to the train station.
This area also had some bigger high-street style shops, so once you’ve done all the historical exploring, there’s the opportunity to shop and have a look around the modernised areas!
Have you ever been to Cordoba?
