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Cordoba/Seville/Granada Questions

devarae

100+ Posts
Hello Slow Europe folks!

I'm making progress on our upcoming trip to Cordoba, Seville and Granada (Sept 29-Oct 12) but have a few things I am trying to figure out and would love any input from folks who have been to any of these cities. As reference, our party is three adults and two seniors, all of us okay with walking quite a bit each day. We enjoy architecture, history, people-watching, gardens and beautiful scenery. We also love good food but three of us are vegan and I don't eat beef/pork/seafood, so we know that may be a challenge. We will be in apartments and plan to cook at home a bunch. And I am practicing how to ask the right questions in Spanish when ordering! :)

We're spending the first three nights in Cordoba, with our priorities being the Mezquita (ideally going to the free early morning entry, maybe more than once), the Palacio de Viana, the gardens of the Alcazar, and just wandering the city, especially the old Jewish quarter and Roman bridge area.

QUESTION: Has anyone here been out to see the Medina Azahara? It looks as if it is accessible via public transport, and thus might make a nice little trip outside town.

Then we travel via train to Seville. I haven't bought those tickets yet but I gather I should try to do so as soon as they are available to get good prices. I have been checking but I think it is still too early.

In Seville, the places on my high-priority list are the Real Alcazar, El parque de Maria Luisa/La Plaza de Espana, Las Setas, and the Cathedral and Giralda tower. I also have noted down Casa de Pilatos and Palacio de la Duenas as other places that might interest us, and of course we love just wandering, people-watching, and visiting markets.

QUESTION: Has anyone every been out the the Roman ruins at Italica? If so, did you go by public transport? Did you enjoy it?

QUESTION: We're interested in seeing a Flamenco performance. Does anyone have any favorites to recommend? I am assuming I should buy tickets in advance.

QUESTION: Has anyone seen the upstairs Cuatro Alto rooms of the Real Alcazar that have timed entry and cost extra $$? What I've read leads me to believe they are perhaps not as interesting as the rest of the palace (or not worth the extra cost) but I'm interested in any other opinions. (I am hoping to get our Real Alcazar tix in advance to avoid lines).

We'll finish off our trip in Granada. I've already gotten us tickets to the Alhambra (daytime tix one day with Nasrid entry in the afternoon, plus separate nightime tix to the Nasrid Palace on another day). Aside from that, we're hoping to explore the city on foot, especially the Albacin area, and maybe trying to do some of these walks: https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/04/walking-in-granada.html

QUESTION: I believe we will take an Alsa bus from Seville to Granada. Does anyone know how early I would need to buy those tickets?

QUESTION: I'm tempted by some of the private or small-group 4x4 or hiking tours that go into the Sierra Nevadas for a half-day. I know there's plenty to see in Granada, but we also love nature and scenery and I'm thinking it might be a nice change. Have any of you ever done anything like that?

QUESTION: How would you get five adults from an apartment to the Granada Airport if you had a 9:30AM flight? I've seen references to an airport bus but am wondering if it would be less stressful to take a taxi.

***
Some non-city-specific questions:

QUESTION: Have any of you visited one of the Hammam baths in any of these cities? It sounds like it could be a very atmospheric and interesting experience and there are places in all three cities. I am wondering which might be preferable.

QUESTION: Are there any sites/experiences in these three cities that you loved but that I don't have on my list? Especially places with beautiful architecture or a lot of atmosphere?

QUESTION: My dad is an avid photographer. If anyone has any advice on favorite places to go or things to be aware of in any of these three cities, I'd love to hear it.

I'm also definitely interested in any reccs for favorite foods items, bakeries, heladarias, restaurants, or markets, especially if vegan or vegetarian-friendly!

I think that's it for now! I hope it's not to confusing to have this all in a single post but I thought that was better than having twelve separate ones! If it would be better to split things off, though, let me know and I can repost.

Deva
 
"QUESTION: I believe we will take an Alsa bus from Seville to Granada. Does anyone know how early I would need to buy those tickets?"
We got our tickets on the bus.

"How would you get five adults from an apartment to the Granada Airport if you had a 9:30AM flight? I've seen references to an airport bus but am wondering if it would be less stressful to take a taxi."
Reserve a big-size taxi ahead of time. You can ask your landlord to help you.

Reading that you are all able-bodied, not very very young people, :) , may I remind you regarding Granada not to miss the neighborhoods of Albayzin and Sacromonte. The Albayzin is across the narrow river from the Alhambra, with a grat view of the latter. This formar Arab quarter is a listed Unesco monument, with beautiful streets and architecture. But many of the streets are in extremely uneven cobble stones that are not easy to walk. Be very careful. And the streets are hilly, but not as hilly as, say, San Francisco. Don't push it. When you're tired, stop in one of Granada's Moorish-style tea houses. One of our favorites is Abaco Té. There are others in Albayzin.
The Sacromonte quarter is adjacent to albayzin. You can easily walk over. Sacromonte, the old Gypsy quarter built on the hillside, has one major road that is paved, so no problem walking.
Have a great time.
 
Some thoughts -

Vegan friendly restaurants in Seville -
For Tapas - Arte y Sabor (two locations, one on and one right off the Alemda de Hercules) is very good has several vegan options. https://www.facebook.com/restaurantearteysabor/

Foodie type dining: Fargo Restraurant - organic, farm-to-table, delicious - has several options for vegans (and an accommodating chef). Calle Perez Galdos, 20 https://www.facebook.com/fargobio/

Vegan take-away: Milk Away - Calle Perez Galdos, 32 http://milkaway.es/

Coffee and toasts: Parceria, Calderón de la Barca 9 (across fromn the side of the Feria Mercado). Super good coffee options from Africa and South America (unusual for Seville) Toasts have the freshest ingredients, http://parceria.cafe/ Here is my review on Trip Advisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...fe-Seville_Province_of_Seville_Andalucia.html

Vegan Restaurant in Granada:

Al-Laurel, Calle laurel de las tablas, 16 Casual and quite good. https://www.facebook.com/allaurelvegetariano/

Flamenco
We saw a couple of good flamenco shows at the the Museo del Baile Flamenco. https://museodelbaileflamenco.com/en/ Buy tickets in advance and get there early for a front row seat.

Also in Seville, if you like roman mosaics Palacio de Lebrija has quite an amazing collection.

To avoid line getting tickets at the Cathedral in Seville, you can buy a combination ticket at the Church of El Salvador (Iglesia del Salvador) and then waltz right in to the Cathedral.

Hiking - Have not done the Sierra Nevadas but went to El Torcal on the way to Granada from Seville. Stunning rock formations and nice hikes.
 
Hi Deva, about hiking from Granada, in the end we didn't have time to do any but there are several interesting hikes from Monachil which you can reach by bus from Granada
If you look at the "Experiences"section of Airbnb there are some descriptions/offers as well.
Torcal is spectacular and is near Antequera but since you are travelling by public transport it might be very complicated to fit it in. There's no public transport from Antequera....
 
Hi Deva,

You can find any information about Cordoba on this website https://sientecordoba.com/en/. You have information about the monuments, restaurants, transport, accommodation and events, as well as at your disposal audio guides totally free of the monuments of the city.
I advise you to visit the Mosque and the Arab baths, as well as Medinat Azahara (declared of cultural interest by UNESCO). The latter outside the city but with a bus available for visitors.
On the other hand, September can be a good time to visit Córdoba, since in the previous months it is too hot.
Enjoy your trip!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I can recommend the flamenco show at the Casa de la Memoria -- authentic and not touristy, no dinner or drinks. I believe there are 2 shows per evening, usually with 3 or 4 performers. Try to reserve seats in the middle of the front row. And enjoy!
 

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