Saturday – 02/14/2015
We took the train from Atocha station in Madrid at 3:05 pm and arrived in Córdoba at 5:07 pm. As there were 3 of us, it was more advantageous to buy the table with 4 chairs, paying 88 euros for everything.
PS: This was the first time I traveled with a reserved seat on a train and I thought it was great. I was traumatized by the rush of people on the trains in Austria..
We picked up a map of the city at the train station and walked to our hotel. We passed through the square Gardens of Agriculture, with lots of orange trees filled with fruit, and I felt like eating some straight from the tree!
We still don't know if they are good to eat or not, because some people said that they may have a lot of pesticides, but that could be a lie they tell visitors, I don't know. I thought it best not to risk it.
We passed in front of the Victoria Market, which is the Andalusia's first gastronomy market, and we were very excited about what we saw there and on the streets as well. It is believed that the city was the most populous in the world in the 10th century, but nowadays, it has a small-town vibe that is wonderful (at least wherever we went).
When we arrived at our hotel, the Don Paula, the owners informed us that they did not have our reservation. I always booked through Booking.com and I never had any problems, but there's a first time for everything, right? I showed the proof of the reservation on my cell phone and they concluded that there was some communication error between the website Booking and their system.
They promptly and very friendly started calling other hotels in the city and only stopped when they managed to get us a triple room. They made sure to call a taxi and take us to the hotel. Hotel Tryp, even paying the difference in the price of the room (we would have paid 67 euros at the Don Paula). The hotel is very modern, the kind without much personality, and is outside the historic district, but for just one night we thought it was great.
We left our things and got ready for dinner at Mercado Victoria. It was hard to find a table because it was packed. I don't know if it's like this every Saturday or if it was because it was Valentine's Day, but after a few minutes of wandering around, we found our little spot. We took turns buying tapas from different restaurants. Everything was great! It was worth it 🙂
Sunday – 02/15/2015
We did checkout from the hotel early, but we left our luggage there, as our train to Seville would only leave at 1:19 pm. We went straight to Mosque – Cathedral of Cordoba, which is the main attraction of the city and in my opinion, is the most impressive in the entire region of Andalusia.
This cathedral is very special because it is located on the same site as a mosque built by Muslims in the 10th century. They inhabited the region for about 8 centuries, before being expelled by Christians at the end of the 15th century. The building is huge, with a very characteristic Arab courtyard, and the interior is impressive, as it combines the architecture of two religions. It is quite magical, and I left there enchanted. I highly recommend a visit!
From there, we crossed the Roman Bridge, which was built in the 1st century BC, whose view of the city is very interesting, with the Mosque-Cathedral and the Alcázar of the Christian Reyes featured.
We then went straight to it, which is the second most important attraction in the city, mainly because of its gardens. We climbed up to the tower to enjoy the view and we loved it!
From there, we ran through Synagogue of the city, built in 1315 and one of the 3 medieval synagogues in Spain (the other two are in Toledo).
The streets of the historic district are really cute and welcoming, but we had to rush through them to catch our train. We wish we had more time to enjoy the neighborhood, but we'll have to wait until next time. And hopefully there will be a next time!
I was impressed by how the blogs I read didn't give the city much importance, often recommending day trips from Seville. It's absurd, in my opinion! The city is very rich in history and culture and has many tourist attractions, such as churches and palaces, as well as great restaurants and inexpensive hotels. It's definitely worth a stop!
After Córdoba, we went to Seville and I told you all about it in this post: Seville Itinerary (2 days)
Want to know all the details of our trip? Andalusia, in Spain? See below:
2 responses
I loved the tip, I'm going on February 22nd to Seville, Córdoba and Madrid.. hugs
How cool!! Granada, right? If you go, you'll get to know the main part of Andalusia. 😉 Did you see the tips for Seville and Madrid too? Cheers