Cordoba Travelers Recommend

Begin your trip with a morning stroll along the Guadalquiver River, where you can relish in views seen by centuries of Cordoban citizens, starting with the Romans. As founders of the city, they built the Puente Romano, or Roman Bridge -- constructed in the 1st century BC -- which crosses the river just south of the Mezquita. Spend the rest of your morning at the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, where you can meander through the palace grounds -- once home to the Muslim Caliphates, then to the Catholic royals -- and its gardens, interiors, and even tower-topped walls. Start your day early by heading to the north side of the historic quarter to the Viana Palace, which opens at 9am. Your early arrival will be rewarded with minimal crowds as you wander its 12 patios and treasure-filled interior. While in the area, zigzag your way toward City Hall to see the neighboring Roman Temple.

Singing, guitar playing, hand clapping and of course dance: this is what makes up the soulful art form of flamenco. Believed to have originated in the south of Spain, Córdoba can be the perfect place to immerse yourself in one of the country's proudest and most evocative traditions. Some of the best and most authentic flamenco in town can be viewed at Tablao Cardenal, where you can watch shows in the their quintessentially Cordoban patio during summer and spring, and in an interior auditorium during winter. Other venues like La Buleria offer smaller-scale, tavern-style performances, or Arte y Sabores de Córdoba, with shows that take place in what was once the site of Arab baths. If you happen to be in Córdoba in June, be sure to catch La Noche Blanca del Flamenco, or the White Night of Flamenco. During one full night in June, soulful flamenco music and dance take over the city, in venues like the gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.