Cordoba and Granada

This was the trip that started it all off. As a child, I had been on holiday with my parents to Torremolinos. I remember us debating the whole week whether to hire a car and visit Granada, deciding against it, and then spending many years lamenting that decision. In 2009, I decided it was time to start doing some of the things I had always wanted to do, regardless of whether I could persuade anyone to come with me. So, first up, it was Granada and the Alhambra, although by then I had also heard extensively about Cordoba and the Mezquita too.

Costs. Flight £30. Car parking £9.99. Cordoba hotel (B&B) €30. Granada hotel €39 each night. Malaga–Cordoba train €20. Cordoba–Granada bus €12.50. Granada–Malaga bus €10. Typical evening meal with drinks €10–€15. Mezquita entrance €8. Alhambra entrance €12. Total cost of trip £300.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Mezquita, Cordoba (Day 1, Read my review); Hotel Plaza Nueva, Granada (Days 2 and 3, Read my review).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 9th edition).

Day 1: Travel to Cordoba. Left home at 6.45 am, drove to Prestwick, and caught 8.50 am flight to Malaga, arriving 1 pm. Caught train into city and then mid-afternoon AVANT train (not the hideously expensive AVE – a premonition of HS2!) to Cordoba. Walked to excellent hotel (pre-booked), had a first quick look round the old city, and then had dinner and a stunning glass of montilla (for €0.90), served straight from the barrel.

Day 2: Tour Cordoba; travel to Granada. Had breakfast and then went to the beautiful Synagogue, the Alcazar, and the Caliphal Baths. Finally, I headed for the Mezquita. Wow! Caught 3.30 pm bus to Granada and admired all the Moorish castles passed on the way, then got the local bus into the city, found hotel (pre-booked), and had dinner.

Day 3: Tour Granada. Left hotel, walked up to Alhambra entrance, and had breakfast. Entered Alhambra complex and spent magical next 5 h there. Then visited Capilla Real to see the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand. After that, I wandered up into the old Moorish part of Granada, the Albaicín, and was about to snap THAT view from San Nicolás square – it was a glorious evening – when my camera batteries died. Returned to hotel and had dinner.

Day 4: Tour Malaga; travel home. Left hotel, caught bus out to bus station, and then bus to Malaga. Walked into town and toured the Roman theatre and the Moorish Alcazaba and Gibralfaro. Had a beer and a simple burger dinner and caught local train out to airport for 8.50 pm flight, arriving home about midnight.

2010 version. I repeated this trip in January 2010, accompanied by a friend who must have been tempted by my enthusiasm for the original trip. She was not into walking and we had to hire taxis to move around Cordoba and Granada. We visited more sites than I had done on my own, adding the museum at the end of the Roman bridge in Cordoba and the Cathedral in Granada. Our return flight left at lunchtime and so we did not see anything of Malaga this time. The exchange rate had moved in our favour since 2009 and there is a certain economy to travelling as a couple, and so the total cost was still only £300 each.

Other useful links. Renfe trains

Alsa buses

Bus services from Malaga

Reflections. Although not a hiking trip, there was still a lot of walking on this trip and I was right to wear my walking boots. The Alhambra is utterly magnificent but my vote for Europe’s top building goes to the unmissable Mezquita. The weather was very good, especially in Granada, and the sight of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada inspired me to start thinking about turning this type of trip into a hiking expedition.

© 2014 The Untravelled World