The city of Córdoba, in southern Spain, has some tough competition when it comes to grabbing the attention of travelers to Andalusia. Seville has the energy of a regional capital; Malaga combines cultural highlights and a seaside location; Granada has the incomparable Alhambra; and the list could go on. For many, Córdoba has often been relegated to a brief stop en route to another destination. Those who stop and linger, however, will discover a city of countless charms and a fascinating history.
The city boasts of three sites (the Mosque-Cathedral, the historic center, and the Azahara Medina) and one event (the Fiesta de los Patios, in May) that have been recognized by UNESCO on their World Heritage lists. But the city of Córdoba is all that and so much more. It’s the courtyards that smell of orange blossoms. It’s the elegantly acrobatic equestrian performances of its horses. It’s salmorejo, a local soup made of tomatoes and bread, full of flavor and tradition. It’s the rhythm of a Spanish guitar, the heart of flamenco music and dance. It’s contemporary dishes that are rooted in the region’s culinary traditions.
This guide will show you how to savor every moment of your 48 hours in this enchanting city.
Day 1: The caliphate’s capital
10:00 a.m. According to some accounts, in the 10th century, the Moorish city of Córdoba (or, as it was then known, Qurtuba) had one million inhabitants, a figure that recent research indicates is likely exaggerated. What modern historians do agree on, however, is that it was an immense and cosmopolitan place, one of the largest cities of its time and the first megalopolis on the Iberian Peninsula.
Córdoba was built on the remains of a Roman settlement (the bridge built by the Emperor Augustus in the first century BCE is the most visible remnant from that period), but what the Muslim conquerors established here is almost legendary. For more than 500 years—from the year 711 to 1236—the city was ruled by Muslims. It had running water and public lighting systems, libraries, baths, and a multicultural population that lived both inside the Roman walled perimeter—occupied by one of the three medinas—and outside it, in a number of suburbs.
