this was the third stop on our self-guided tour of espana, and since we only had about 24 hours to…read morespend in cordoba, we decided to purchase day passes for the hop on and hop off tour bus. since there was a ticket booth at the cordoba train station, our entry point into the city, and the bus had an official stop just outside the station as well as a couple of blocks from our hotel, we decided to skip the taxi (save some €€s) and just hop right on the tour bus, luggage and all!
for €17/per person, we were entitled to:
+a regular size tour bus that made a large loop around the city, making 17 stops which included major landmarks such as the mezquita, alcazar, and
+a mini bus which offered 10 additional stops, taking us through the less traveled roads, ones that were too narrow to fit the regular size tour bus
+two unique walking tours, one that showcased the popular tourist spots in the city centre, the other giving tourists a chance to see the old jewish quarter
+hop on and hop off access for 24 consecutive hours
+complimentary ear buds with commentary in english (and 10 other languages)
+free wifi while on the bus
while on the regular tour bus, our driver did take a very long break at the panoramica del rio (panoramic river view) stop, and just got off the bus and whipped out a cigarette. since we weren't sure when the tour would resume, we ended up wandering off on our own and just walking back across the footbridge, to the main part of the city. so unfortunately, we did not get a chance to finish the main bus tour, but i suspect we ended up seeing the remaining sites on foot on our own.
the mini bus was pretty cool as i felt like i was on one of those 1970s vans, cruising through the little alleyways and small streets of cordoba. there was so much to see that i spent most of my time snapping pictures rather than listening to the commentary!
we participated in the juderia walking tour, which took us through the old jewish quarter. apparently, this city used to be predominantly jewish, but started changing through the centuries. carmen, our lovely tour guide, took us to see the very first synagogue built in this city, several key buildings, and statues of famous jews. this tour was meant to be a dual spanish-english speaking tour, but my husband and i were the only english speakers (and possibly the only tourists who resided outside of spain)! carmen knew this and made sure that she took the time to translate everything for us so that we didn't miss anything. she even recommended a nice restaurant for us to dine at after the tour!
this was probably my favourite city tour of all of the cities that i visited in spain. the number of tourist sites that were covered by the bus and walking tours, as well as carmen, our lovely walking tour guide, made this a wonderful experience for hubby and i.