One day in CórdobaTwenty centuries, from dawn to lantern light
Get up early and start with “The best of Córdoba: from the Corredera to the patios”: first thing, Calleja de las Flores is almost empty, and in spring the Courtyard of the Orange Trees smells of blossom. Cross the Roman Bridge and finish among the flowerpots of San Basilio. Have salmorejo for lunch at Taberna Salinas and, if the heat is fierce, take a siesta. Once the afternoon cools, “From Corduba to the Caliphate” leads you from the Roman Temple to the Alcázar. When night falls, head up to Plaza de Capuchinos for “Lanterns, archangels and a sleepless queen”, then have oxtail stew for dinner in the Jewish Quarter.
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Morning
The best of Córdoba: from the Corredera to the patios
- Plaza de la CorrederaCórdoba’s grand main square, scene of bullfights, markets and autos-da-fé.
- Calleja de las FloresBlue flowerpots, white walls and the Mosque tower framed at the end.
- Courtyard of the Orange Trees and Mosque towerThe old ablutions courtyard, with its grove of orange trees and the bell tower that hides a minaret.
- Bridge Gate (Puerta del Puente)A Renaissance arch where people have entered Córdoba for two thousand years.
- Roman Bridge and Calahorra TowerFor twenty centuries, Córdoba’s only bridge over the Guadalquivir.
- San Basilio quarter and its patiosThe walled quarter of the Alcázar Viejo, home to some of Córdoba’s most famous patios.
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Lunch
Try Salmorejo at Taberna Salinas. Calle Tundidores, 3
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Afternoon
From Corduba to the Caliphate: twenty centuries in one walk
- Roman TempleTen Corinthian columns remind you that beneath Islamic Córdoba lay a Roman capital.
- Almodóvar Gate and Seneca statueThe best-preserved gate in the city wall, watched over by the Cordoban philosopher who taught Nero.
- Synagogue and Maimonides SquareA prayer hall from 1315 and the most famous physician and philosopher of Córdoba’s Jewish quarter.
- Mosque-Cathedral: St Stephen’s GateThe oldest gate of the great mosque, through which the emir’s viziers entered.
- Alcázar of the Christian MonarchsThe fortress from which the Catholic Monarchs directed the war for Granada.
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Early evening
Lanterns, archangels and a sleepless queen
- Christ of the LanternsA marble crucifix ringed by eight lanterns, in Córdoba’s most secluded square.
- Plaza del PotroThe square of rogues and muleteers that Cervantes mentioned in Don Quixote.
- Triumph of St RaphaelThe archangel who, according to tradition, swore to be Córdoba’s guardian.
- Albolafia MillA waterwheel that appears on Córdoba’s coat of arms and that, records show, Isabella the Catholic had dismantled.
- Calleja del PañueloCórdoba’s narrowest street, as tight as an unfolded handkerchief.
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Dinner
Try Oxtail stew (rabo de toro) at Casa Pepe de la Judería. Calle Romero, 1