Cordoba is an important Roman city and a major Islamic centre in the middle Ages of Southern Spain. Cordoba has a mix of Muslim, Jewish and Christian influence and architecture. A place where the white washed walls are covered with pots of flowers. A city which is perfect for a day trip from Seville. There are so many unusual cool places in Cordoba to visit and here is a guide for them.

How to go to Cordoba from Seville? 

To travel to Cordoba from Seville you can either take a bus or a train; we took an early morning train and a late evening return. It costs us around Euro 15 for a person for a two-way journey. The time taken is approximately around 45 minutes. You can definitely take a self-driven car and drive to Cordoba; the duration would be around one and half hour.

The first cool place in Cordoba is the Cathedral mosque-Mezquita:

The entrance to the mosque:

Our first stop was this mosque cathedral, which is an iconic place in Cordoba. The entry ticket for the Mezquita is around 10 Euros. We did not take a guide or the headphones. The entry is from the courtyard which is very green and had beautiful orange trees and a fountain. The orange trees are amazing to look at and the walk around the courtyard gives you a feel of the place. The name of the courtyard is Patio de los Naranjos.

The insides of the mosque:

When you enter the mosque-cathedral you would be awed to see the columns which are so iconic and I am sure you would have seen pictures. The arches are like horseshoe arches and are striped by places red and white tiles. The way the columns are placed gives you a strong chromatic effect. There are more than 850 coloured granite and marble pillars in total. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple that had occupied the site previously, as well as other Roman buildings. Sunlight streams in from windows in the four cupolas creating interesting effects combined with artificial light from the thousands of small oil lights.

The Cathedral of the mosque:

We roamed around, appreciating the columns. In the centre there is a Renaissance cathedral which dates back to the early sixteenth century and showcases Moorish architecture. The two mahogany pulpits r are interesting as they feature a near life-size bull and a lion in veined marble and an eagle in black marble.  There is a bell tower which is 93M high and is possible to climb the stairs for beautiful view of the Cordoba city.

The Game of thrones long bridge of Volantis: Roman Bridge:

The present structure of Roman Bridge is a medieval reconstruction, although the 19th-century cobbled paving does give a Roman feel. There is an irregular pattern to the 16 arches in size and abutment protections. Visitors can walk over the Roman Bridge from one to side to another. The bridge recently has become famous as it featured in Game of Thrones sitcom Season 5 as the long bridge of Volantis. The bridge is beautiful and attracts a lot of tourist.

Just opposite to the bridge, on the other side f the road there is a high platform where you will see a lot of tourist and a bell in the centre which rings from time to time. We spent quite some time here as it was a beautiful place and provide good photo opportunities of the bridge. Near the bridge you have a parking for the horse carriage rides and you can take one. They will show you around the entire Cordoba city. We had already taken a carriage ride in Seville so did not take one. The Seville Carriage ride blog Discover the wonders of Seville on a two day fun trip with me-Day one.

The beautiful potted flower lane – Calle De Las Flores:

This beautiful alley is very close to Mezquita, off calle Victor Bosco.It is a narrow cobbled street and is the most photographed street in Cordoba. The whitewashed walls covered with vivid colours and flowers of purple, pink and red. It is very beautiful spot and perfect for photography.Around the area there are a few shops as well selling souvenirs and beautiful bright small things to buy. We had our lunch around the corner in the open seating of MacD and really enjoyed the afternoon. The beautiful place had left its mark in the first half of the day itself.

There is a lot of walking around to cover all the places. It would be very important to dress comfortable and wear comfortable shoes. You can look at a variety of comfortable shoes here:   Comfortable Women’s shoes

The grand palace of Cordoba – Alcazar:

The Alcazar is a beautiful castle with amazing gardens and moorish influenced baths. The entrance to the Alcazar cost around 5 Euros. The gardens have amazing waterfalls and aromatic plants. There are stables next to the gardens as well. You can read about the Seville Royal Alcazar here Discover the wonders of Seville on a two day fun trip with me-Day two.    The Alcazar is a must visit. It seems like old remains, though the gardens, the stone fountains and the pond in the courtyard are beautiful. It is an interesting place to wander about.

The top view from the Alcazar of Cordoba is beautiful and the place looks surreal. The statue of the king at the doorway shows the authority of the place, therefore giving the place the royal feel it deserves. Visitors are not allowed inside some towers and hence these places are secured.It makes the place mysterious and lets us know, how old and historical these places are. There are various towers which you can visit, some of them are Lion Tower, Tower of Inquisition, and Homage tower or Keep. There are royal baths in the basement which are fun to visit as you get to see the how different the culture was. You would be able to see the hanging rooms, the hot, warm and the cold rooms.

The beautiful open characteristic cafes:

On the way while making your way through Cordoba to visit the unusual cool places you would come across some beautiful cafes. They have a character and are inviting. Open seating and beautiful flower arrangement in quaint little small houses giving an old town feel hence worthy of the time spent here, enjoying a meal or taking pictures.We loved the city of Cordoba and would recommend it for a visit.