16 essentials: what and do in Córdoba in 2 or 3 days

I have to admit that Córdoba is one of my favorite cities in everything. Spain.

And in addition to such impressive monuments as the Mosque, Córdoba is a city that is a pleasure to walk through, except in summer when it is very hot 🙂

If you search make a getaway to a city with great heritage attractions, charming corners and delicious gastronomy, that is Cordova en Andalusia.

Visit Córdoba It is very easy because it is a very manageable city when it comes to moving around it, in which you can discover the main corners on foot.

Escaping the rigors of summer, any other time of year is ideal to discover this beautiful Andalusian city, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

I remind you that Cordova is part of the list of World Heritage for the Unesco thanks to its historical Center, where the wonderful mosque monument.

An authentic heritage jewel full of curiosities.

I can already tell you that if you don't know it, it is one of the most peculiar Mosques in the world; And that is why it is not just a Mosque, but a Cathedral Mosque. But I'll talk to you about that later.

Furthermore, this city is very well connected thanks to the eTA which, for example, will take you from Madrid in just one hour and 45 minutes, which is an invitation to make a getaway to visit Córdoba in one or two days.

Best places to see and visit in Córdoba

If you prefer to explore this Andalusian city at your leisure, we are going to propose a route to visit Córdoba in 16 steps after our most recent visit there.

A route in which all the places that you can see in Córdoba will appear and that we showed in this video that we made a few years ago about the city.

Based on this information, you yourself regulate the time you dedicate to visits, according to your availability and preferences.

But I can tell you that it is impossible to see Córdoba in one day and that we always recommend at least 2 or 3 if possible.

Plaza de las Tendillas in Córdoba

Our visit to Córdoba we start it in the Plaza de las Tendillas, the axis where the commercial life of the Andalusian city is developed and organized, and which serves as a connector of the main commercial avenues that are the streets of Cruz Conde y Gondomar.

Although the origins of this enclave date back to the 1908th century, in XNUMX the process of forming the square began, widening from east to west.

The square is crowned by an equestrian statue of the Monument to the Great CaptainOf 1927.

Roman Temple of Cordoba

Although Cordova It has the remains of several Roman temples, this is the most important found by excavation.

El Roman Temple of Cordoba It is Corinthian style, 32 meters long by 16 meters wide, and was built throughout the middle of the XNUMXst century and then underwent several modifications in the XNUMXnd century.

Currently, the only remains that we can see are its foundation, the staircase, the altar and some column shafts and capitals.

The shapes seen today are the result of the mid-20th century renovation carried out during the construction of the Córdoba City Council.

Palacio de Viana 

El Viana palace It is a valuable example of the ancestral homes of the Córdoba nobility.

Actually the visit to the palace It is a double visit, because in addition to exploring the interior of the building with a guided tour, you can also see the patios and gardens.

In our case we visited the entire complex, starting with one of its main attractions, the twelve patios and the garden that surround the palace.

Next we sign up for the guided tour of the interior of the Viana palace where we could see the rooms occupied by the marquises of Viana with its original decoration, as well as collections of objects and artistic works.

• What is the Viana Palace like?
• Guided tour of the Viana Palace

Corredera Square in Córdoba

La Plaza de la Corredera It is one of the most emblematic places in the city of Córdoba and one that we liked the most.

It is the only quadrangular main square in Andalusia, which you find in the very center of the city, and has its entrance and exit through the so-called High Arch y Low Arch.

Over time, the square has undergone numerous renovations and has been used for different purposes, mainly festive, such as bullfights, from which the current name of the square derives.

On December 18, 1981 it was declared A Cultural.

Mosque of Cordoba

La old mosque It is, without a doubt, the great monument of the city, which is currently considered to be Christian cathedral of Córdoba.

It is a great exponent of Arabic art in Spain, being built between the 8th and 10th centuries, at the time of greatest strength of the Umayyad Caliphate en Cordova.

La visit of the mosque of Córdoba It has many sections because on the exterior wall you find interesting corners, such as the gates of Al Hakam II.

Once you enter through one of the entrance doors, or the main one, the door of forgiveness, you will be in the beautiful Patio de los Naranjos.

Once inside you will have many corners to see, from the archaeological remains of the original Visigoth church, to the places with the greatest artistic wealth of the old mosque, the mihrab and macura.

You can also see the gothic ship which was built inside during the 12th century after the Reconquest, and of course the renaissance basilica of the Catholic cathedral.

In short, the most essential of visits in your getaway to Córdoba.

• What is the Mosque of Córdoba like?
• Tickets to see the Mosque of Córdoba
• Patio de los Naranjos

Triumph of Saint Raphael 

As soon as we left the Mosque We headed towards the river and found the Triumph of Saint Raphael, which is one of the many triumphs existing in the city.

Dedicated to Archangel Saint Raphael, guardian angel of the city, you will find this monument located in the Triumph Square of the Cathedral neighborhood, giving to the Roman Bridge Gate.

Roman bridge 

Also know as "the Old Bridge“, was the only bridge that the city had for 20 centuries until the construction of the San Rafael Bridge, in the middle of the 20th century.

Built at the beginning of the 1st century during the time of Roman domination in Cordova, the current structure of the Roman bridge goes back to the Middle Ages, when an initial wooden bridge was possibly replaced.

Roman Bridge Gate

La bridge gate It is one of the only three doors that remain in the city of Córdoba, next to the Almodóvar Gate (which we passed through later) and the Gate of Seville.

The current gate is located in an enclave where in the past there was also a roman gate that linked the city with the Roman bridge and Via Augusta, and where a Muslim door was later located.

The configuration of this door as we see it now is the result of a remodeling carried out in the 16th century.

Calahorra Tower 

When from the center we walk across the Roman bridge, on the opposite shore we find the Calahorra Tower, which was used since the time of Muslim domination as a watchtower.

Throughout its history it has had numerous reconstructions, mainly one in the caliphal era, and another with reinforcement that was carried out during the 12th century.

Currently, the Calahorra Tower houses the so-called Al-Andalus Living Museum, which shows the coexistence between Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures.

Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs in Córdoba

Returning again for the Roman bridge, you arrive at Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs, a fortress built in 1328 by the Christian king Alfonso XI in the place occupied by the old Caliphate Palace of the Omeya.

In the visit of this fortress in which they resided Catholic kings you can enjoy climb the walls and tower of tribute, from there you will have beautiful views of the historic center of Córdoba.

But you can also walk through its gardens and visit the interior of the building that now houses a museum with objects and mosaics from the Roman era recovered in excavations carried out in the city.

• Alcazar of the Christian Kings
• How to visit the Alcazar of the Christian Kings

royal stables 

In front of Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs you have the royal stables, an area that you can even see from the walls of the fortification.

The royal stables They were founded in the 16th century, when Felipe II ordered the development of a genetically perfect breed of horses, the purebred spanish.

The king sought to obtain a horse with the elegance of the Arab horses, but that would be useful for war; for it reinforced the Arabian horse, raised it and encouraged the development of a more powerful neck and legs.

Currently in the stables you can enjoy all kinds of equestrian shows; In our case we were left wanting to see some, but we will definitely sign it up for our next visit to the city.

Courtyards of the Old Alcázar in Córdoba

Every year in Córdoba during the month of May the Festival of the Cordoba Patios, a contest that takes place throughout the city so that the patios are opened to the public to visit them.

But originally the contest was limited to the area of Old Alcazar, which is where the idea of ​​showing the patios to visitors arose.

If you want to make a route through the courtyards of Córdoba you have to know what there is tours in spanish in which a local guide shows a selection of the most beautiful and best decorated.

• How to visit the Patios of Córdoba
• Route through the Courtyards of Córdoba

Jewish quarter of Córdoba

Visit Córdoba Is synonymous with walk through the Jewish quarter, the neighborhood that extends next to the Mosque, and where the Jewish population lived between the 10th and 15th centuries, until their expulsion.

Now it is a network of narrow streets where you find craft shops and remembrances, as well as tapas bars and restaurants.

It is the neighborhood through which we tourists move during our visit to Córdoba, and where you can find corners like the old Synagogue from the year 1315 or Casa Sefarad museum.

Almodóvar Gate 

La Almodóvar Gate It is one of the only three that remain today of the medieval wall from the city of Córdoba.

Of Arab origin, from the time of Abderraman I, what you can currently see is a later reconstruction carried out in the 14th century by Christians, which you can cross very close to the Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs.

Victoria Market 

Our tourist route through Córdoba  We ended it by having dinner at Victoria Market, a gastronomic corner of the style of Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid or la Boqueria in Barcelona.

In it we can find a wide range of cuisines, both national, with products from Cordoba and Spanish, as well as international.

It is also a nice place to end a day of sightseeing around the city and relax and, in our case, return home the next day.

Flamenco show 

Perhaps one of the most emblematic icons of Spain is the flamenco.

It is part of the tradition of a part of the population in Andalusia and is one of the most representative cultural aspects of our country abroad.

There are many tourists who come especially to Andalusia to see one of these magical shows.

Therefore, you can conclude your day in Córdoba by attending one of these flamenco shows while you enjoy an authentic Cordoba dinner.

More visits in Córdoba

Now, we have left out several other interesting corners to visit.

Among them, the Julio Romero de Torres museum, Capuchin Square with the famous Christ of the Lanterns and the nearby Cuesta de Bailio, Fernandina churches, and especially the nearby archaeological remains of the palace complex of Medina Azahara.

Of course, making these visits already requires extending your visit to the Andalusian city by one or two more days, which is well deserved, which will allow you to do the highly recommended night visit of the Mosque of Córdoba.

You will not regret it.