Visited a beautiful house with 12 patios with different themes and stories. Found two blue doors…read morethere. I wonder where they lead to.. Must-see if you're into gardens

One of those places that a lot of tourists seem to miss out on but is definitely a must if one…read morewants to enjoy true Spanish Garden splendor. 12 patios (great for photography/photo shoots) and an option for 3 more Euros to take the indoor tour of the palacio. A palacio is basically any fancy home of anyone who is an aristocrat/rich person, so there are many palacios and you don't have to be associated w/ royalty to live in one. 5 Euros to get in, located a little further out from the other attractions. Key Patios: Patio de Gatos (patio of cats) and Patio de naranjas (Patio of oranges). I love this garden place b/c it's not too trimmed and manicured like a French garden but has a nice balanced natural look that is not unkempt. The white walls with blue shutters, fountains, flower pots against the clean white facade is a traditional look that a lot of Spanish patios and places will feature. Andalusian traits tend to be wrought iron fences, painted tiles, white washed walls, flower pots, orange trees, and cobble stone paths. Come here for good photography, less tourists, and for those who love quiet and more private tours of a palacio or Spanish decor. Tip: don't get hung up on the first patio when you first come in for photos... take a look at the rest of the 12 and then decide your photos! My favorite is the one with the blue shutters, vines of oranges looking outside

I have mixed feelings about the Medina Al-Zahara experience. I mean, it's an AMAZING site - how…read moreoften do you get to see a 10th century city?! My review is more about the curated experience, I suppose. The experience begins with a movie (with subtitles) that does a great job explaining the site and its history, and there's a truly terrific museum next to the auditorium that is well-curated and well-laid out. But the actual archeological site can be a bit hard to really understand, and it's so far from the museum (you take a green bus to get there) that it can be hard to remember what the spaces you are seeing were actually used for. The placards that are out in the field are pretty dry, and I found myself wishing for interactive displays at the site to bring it to life a bit more, and to explain what the site itself reveals about life in 10th century southern Spain. I could imagine some really cool displays that show where the vessels, jars, and bowls from the museum were actually found. I just wish some of the smart, technologically sophisticated museum displays had made their way to the archeological site. Moreover, I found the constant payments -- for the bus to the site, for entry to the site, for the green bus that takes you from the museum up the hill -- kind of annoying and I wish they had rolled it all into one fee. It's worth seeing, but hold in mind that it isn't flawless.

Really interesting museum inside an ancient bath house giving history of how the entire thing was…read morestructured once upon a time. I do wish they went a little more into the mechanics of how each individual room used to work but it was informative for the most part and a relatively cheap museum.

I bought our tickets the night before and got the first available time slot which was right at…read moreopening. We also queued up on the left side of the entrance for online ticket holders. We were the first ones in the door and for a short time able to take photos without anyone else around us. Honestly even after spending more than an hour exploring we never experienced any crowds that weekday in January. Overall impression was blown away with the way in which the mosque was integrated into a Catholic Church. Much of the moorish features (especially the very recognizable red and white arches everywhere) and the Mihrab were retained. Beautiful. A variety of western styles (Gothic or Renaissance) were used to build out the church choir, chapel, etc. The minaret, now bell tower, was a separate admission but we decided to skip the climb. I recall there was a limited number of tickets at each time slot so buy it in advance if you want to climb up. Definitely one of the highlights while visiting Cordoba.

Beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site. The mosque was built fist and then a cathedral was built…read moreinside of it. The only place in the world where a mosque and a cathedral are coexisting with architecture of both open to any visitor. In the 13th century, under Ferdinand III, the Saint, Cordoba's Great Mosque was turned into a cathedral and new defensive structures, particularly the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and the Torre Fortaleza de la Calahorra, were erected. There's a ticket fee to get in, but from Monday-Saturdays, you can get in for FREE between 8:30a-9:20am. A great way to see this marvel for free.

A nice small art museum featuring (as I recall) a lot of local artists…read more Signage is all in Spanish. One of my favorite things abut this museum (unless I am getting it confused with one of the many other museums we visited in Spain) was that they had these portable folding chairs that you could borrow and carry around some of the galleries, returning before you moved on to the next floor. How I wish that all museums had something like that!! It was so nice to be able to stop and contemplate a painting from time to time while resting on this portable seat. Other museums, please take note of this affordable amenity that will significantly enhance your guests' experience!!

About a week and a half ago,I visited this excellent art museum which emphasizes works of art done…read moreby Andalucian-associated painters and sculptors.I saw fine paintings from the Late Gothic Period(Alonso Martinez)up to the 21st Century.I saw fine paintings with devotional themes by Pedro de Cordoba("Saint Nicolas of Bari"),Master of Flagellation,Juan Penalosa y Sandoval,Jose de Cobo y Guzman("Birth of Saint Peter Nolasco"),Antonio del Castillo Saavedra("Calvary"),and Juan Valdes Leal.I saw fine 19th and early 20th Century paintings with non-religious themes by Francois Antoine Bossuet("View of Cordoba"),Rafael Romero Barros("Stillife With Oranges"),and Julio Romero de Torres.I also saw fine sculpture by Mateo Innurria.I also saw a nice temporary exhibit of Japanese watercolors.I spent about three and a half hours at this relatively small art museum.

A small museum dedicated to bullfighting in Córdoba. Worth a…read morevisit for the history. €zero

My enthusiasm for this site was greatly dampened because on the day I visited, they decided to…read moreclose off access to the most interesting and perhaps prettiest part of the site. This was done to set up for a evening concert but it meant visitors could not get up close or eye-level with several preserved arches. For visitors visiting once in a lifetime, this was very thoughtless and infuriating especially having travelled out of the way to visit and purchasing bus, shuttle, and ticket fare. Excavations at this site are currently at only 11% of the area, so perhaps there will be more to see in future years. Much of this site has been quarried and stripped down to the foundations for building materials so in my opinion, the arches are the most visible decor of the ruins. And they closed it off!

Not bad, but a very small site. At least the bus rides will give you time to rest as you see other…read moresights. I was essentially done an hour before the soonest return bus came at 130pm.

We walked across the Puente Romano to visit the tower and museum inside. While the Roman bridge…read morewas the oldest from the 1st century BC, the tower was built in the 1300s to defend it and the city. The museum inside was intended to show life and culture of Al-Andalus time period. Admission included an audio guide that would start automatically when nearby the marked exhibits. However, the quality and caliber of these exhibits were dated and didn't keep us engaged through all of the 8 rooms. The best feature of the tower was the views from the top looking back across the bridge to the Mezquita and the rest of Cordoba. We got lucky as it was the only sunny day when we climbed up so views were quite nice and clear. Overall save your Euros and just visit the Torre from the outside. If you want an elevated view of Cordoba then the climb up the tower in the Mezquita would be a pricier but likelier better alternative.

Go all the way to the roof and enjoy the view. A worthwhile visit…read more Numerous interesting and detailed dioramas. Very educational. Check out the door the WC. €6 for 2