Andalucia is a wonderful part of Spain, and the perfect region for a tailor-made holiday combining two or more of the fascinating historic cities: Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, Jaen, Malaga and more. My recent trip combined the three highlights of the west of Andalucia: its main city Seville, the fascinating historic town of Cordoba, and Malaga, a much-misunderstood coastal city.
Our accommodation for the trip included the wonderful Hotel Alfonso in Seville, Parador Cordoba and Parador Golf in Malaga. All properties completely different. Of course, the Alfonso is stunning, centrally situated and has a wonderful outdoor pool, perfect for the summer months. The Paradors are great, all of them have fantastic views, the rooms were large and excellent value for money. A lot of the Paradors have pools as well, which is lovely to have when you want to escape the heat. The only Parador I would sell with caution is the Parador Golf in Malaga as the airport is very close by and you have jets flying over you constantly.
At each place we had a walking tour. A perfect way to see the cities and so informative. A must especially when you only have a short time. During the summer months, the walking tours should always be booked early morning, as the heat is very intense in Andalucía. You skip all the queues with the guides so there is no waiting around.
Highlights of Seville included the magnificent Cathedral, Alcazar Palace and walking up the Giralda Bell tower which has spectacular views over Seville. Our tour leader also walked us to the historic Seville Bull Ring, the Real Maestranza, and gave us the history of Bull Fighting.
One and half hours drive from Seville is Cordoba where the Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral is a must-see. An amazing old Mosque with a Cathedral built inside it: I am sure there is no where else in the world that you can see this architecture. Next to the Mezquita are the stunning Alcazar gardens, which are well worth lingering for.
The biggest surprise of the trip was Malaga. A wonderful city that is totally overlooked. It has a lovely old town and a lot of it is now pedestrianised. This city is a great alternative to cities like Barcelona and Madrid. It is small, walkable and there are lots of sites to see including an ancient Roman theatre, Cathedral and the home of Picasso. Highly recommended.
