Granada
The Alhambra is Granada’s – and Europe’s – love letter to Moorish culture. Set against the brooding Sierra Nevada peaks, this fortified palace started…
Must-see attractions in Andalucía
Córdoba
It’s impossible to overemphasise the beauty of Córdoba’s great mosque, with its remarkably serene (despite tourist crowds) and spacious interior. One of…
Córdoba
Eight kilometres west of Córdoba stands what's left of Medina Azahara, the sumptuous palace-city built by Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III in the 10th century…
Parque de María Luisa & South of Centre
A glorious oasis of green, the 34-hectare Parque de María Luisa is the perfect place to escape the noise and heat of the city, with duck ponds, landscaped…
Granada
The Royal Chapel is the last resting place of Spain’s Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs), Isabel I de Castilla (1451–1504) and Fernando II de Aragón …
Andalucía
Jaén's massive cathedral still dwarfs the rest of the city, especially when seen from the hilltop eyrie of Cerro de Santa Catalina. Its construction…
Málaga
This unmissable museum in the city of Picasso’s birth provides a solid overview of the great master and his work, although, surprisingly, it only came to…
Málaga
Málaga’s elaborate cathedral was started in the 16th century on the site of the former mosque. Of the mosque, only the Patio de los Naranjos survives, a…
Nerja
It’s hard to imagine the surreal world that lies beneath the mountain foothills 4km east of Nerja, and it’s even harder to believe that these vast caverns…
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Andalucía
This famous chapel, built between 1536 and 1559, is the flagship of Úbeda Renaissance architecture. Commissioned by Francisco de los Cobos y Molina as his…
Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
Córdoba
Built under Castilian rule in the 13th and 14th centuries on the remains of a Moorish predecessor, this fort-cum-palace was where the Catholic Monarchs,…
Córdoba
Possibly the best flamenco museum in Andalucía, the Fosforito centre has exhibits, film and information panels in English and Spanish telling you the…
Cádiz
Cádiz' beautiful yellow-domed cathedral is an impressively proportioned baroque-neoclassical construction, best appreciated from seafront Campo del Sur in…
Cádiz
Admittedly a little dusty, the Museo de Cádiz is the province's top museum. Stars of the ground-floor archaeology section are two Phoenician marble…
Málaga
No time to visit Granada’s Alhambra? Then Málaga’s Alcazaba can provide a taster. The entrance is beside the Roman theatre, from where a meandering path…
Southeast Cádiz Province & the Costa de la Luz
The ruined town of Baelo Claudia is one of Andalucía's most important Roman archaeological sites. These majestic beachside ruins – with views across to…
Granada
Built between 1737 and 1759, this spectacular basilica unveils a blinding display of opulent baroque decor. Barely an inch of its interior lacks…
Parque Natural de la Breña y Marismas del Barbate
Los Caños de Meca
This 50-sq-km coastal park protects important marshes, cliffs and pine forest from Costa del Sol–type development. Its main entry point is a 7.2km (two…
Andalucía
Dating to the 9th and 10th centuries, this rare jewel of a mezquita (mosque) perches a five-minute walk above Almonaster's main square. The almost…
Andalucía
On the edge of the Barrio de La Villa, this church represents a high point in Andalucian baroque chiefly thanks to its wonderful Sagrario (Sacristy),…
El Puerto de Santa María
Creator of the legendary black-bull logo still exhibited on life-size billboards all over Spain (now without the name), Osborne is El Puerto's best-known…
Andalucía
Beneath Aracena's castle hill is a web of caves and tunnels carved from the karstic topography. An extraordinary 1.2km, 50-minute loop takes you through…
Parque de María Luisa & South of Centre
This bombastic plaza, designed by architect Aníbal González in the Parque de María Luisa, was the most extravagant of the building projects completed for…
Sevilla Province
Écija's history museum, housed in the 18th-century Palacio de Benamejí, is an authentic gem. It has rooms dedicated to the area's prehistory and…
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Almería
A looming fortification with great curtain-like walls rising from the cliffs, Almerìa's Alcazaba was founded in the mid-10th century and went on to become…
Jerez de la Frontera
An intriguing, evocative bodega, not only for its extra-aged sherries (at least 20, mostly 30 years old) but also because it houses the Colección Joaquín…
Córdoba
A stunning Renaissance palace with 12 beautiful, plant-filled patios, the Viana Palace is a particular delight to visit in spring. Occupied by the…
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Andalucía
As was the case in much of Andalucía, the Reconquista destroyed Baeza's mosque and in its place built a cathedral. It's a stylistic melange, though the…
Tarifa
Sprawling between 7km and 10km northwest of Tarifa, to the great white dune at Punta Paloma, Valdevaqueros is one of Tarifa's most popular kitesurfing…
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Antequera
Antequera's two earth-covered burial mounds – the Dolmen de Menga and the Dolmen de Viera – were built out of megalithic stones by Bronze Age people…
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Andalucía
High above the city, atop cliff-girt Cerro de Santa Catalina, this fortress's near-impregnable position is what made Jaén important during the Muslim and…
Tarifa
One of Andalucía's most fabulous beaches, Punta Paloma, 10km northwest of Tarifa, is famous for its huge blond sand dune. At its far western end, you can…
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Andalucía
This lofty castle dates from Moorish times but was rebuilt after the Christian conquest in the 13th century. Abandoned in the 17th century, it was…
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Andalucía
Baeza’s most flamboyant palace was probably built in the late 15th century for a member of the noble Benavides clan. Its chief glory is the spectacular…
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Almería
Almería’s formidable, six-towered cathedral, begun in 1525, was conceived both as a place of worship and a refuge for the population from frequent pirate…
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Sevilla Province
The ruins of ancient Itálica, the first Roman city founded on the Iberian Peninsula, are extensive and, in parts, quite spectacular. Broad paved streets…
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Andalucía
These rare and spectacular caves, 2km east of Sorbas, are part of a vast network of underground galleries and tunnels. Guided visits lead through the…
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Andalucía
In a stunningly picturesque and panoramic perch on a rocky pinnacle towering over pretty La Iruela village, this ancient fortification is well worth the…
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Andalucía
Úbeda's ayuntamiento (town hall) is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful – if not the most beautiful – in Spain. It was built by Vandelvira in about 1562…
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Andalucía
The medieval Sinagoga del Agua was discovered in 2006 by a refreshingly ethical property developer who intended to build apartments here, only to discover…
