12 Step Planet: Córdoba
12 steps to help make the most of your time in the Spanish city of, Córdoba, with all the best hotels, restaurants, and hot spots. Plus, top travel news from around the world
Stuart Clark, 13 Apr 2010
How do I get there?
Ryanair fly Dublin-Seville on Tuesday and Saturday from around €80 return including taxes. Regular buses leave Arrivals (€2.30 one-way) for Seville’s Santa Justa railway station, which has twice-hourly express trains to Córdoba (€9 one-way, www.renfe.com).
When should I go?
With daytime temperatures rarely dipping below 15 degrees even in December, the Andalusían city is very much a year-round destination. That said, you’d want to be taking serious amounts of Factor 50 with you in August when it’s hotter than parts of the Sahara Desert!
What are the touristy things to do?
The city is justifiably proud of its Mezquita cathedral, one of Europe’s largest, which spent the first four hundred years of its life as a mosque and is the pick-up point for pony & trap rides round the Judería – a charming jumble of whitewashed houses, tree-lined squares and hole-in-the-wall bars serving montilla sherry straight from the barrel. The atheists among you might prefer a visit to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, a palatial mish-mash of Moorish and classical Spanish architecture, which is another of the reasons that Córdoba was recently afforded UNECSO World Heritage status.
Anything else?
No visit to Córdoba – or indeed anywhere in Andalucía – is complete without sampling a neighborhood flamenco club like Tablao Cardenal (Calle Torrijos 10). Unless you enjoy being in close proximity to groups of wobble-arsed Germans, avoid anywhere that hands out flyers or offers hotel pick-ups – the good places don’t need to tout for business.
What about eating?
Head to Corregidor Romero where El Rincón de Carmen, Casa Pepe de la Judería, El Churrasco and half-a-dozen other tapas bars specialise in Córdoban fare like rabo de toro (oxtail), salmorejo (chilled tomato & garlic soup), and arroz marinera (the local take on paella). You can piece together a substantial meal for as little as €15.
What should I avoid?
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