Cordoba - favourite revisited.

The Mezquita has to be one of Europe's spectacular sights. I had been three times before, but I should hate to think that my fourth visit was the last. It is now easy for the carless to visit the wonderful archaeological site of Medina Azahara as there is a return bus trip for €5.

Three other new places to me, all worth a visit, were the brilliant archaeological museum, the botanical gardens, and the 13 patios at the Palacio de Viana. I have done a journal on Cordoba already on this site but this seemed enough to justify another, although the mezquita has probably had sufficient coverage.

Quick Tips:

There is nothing better than just wandering round in Cordoba looking at the patios -- don't be embarrassed about it; they are there to be seen and there is a lot of pride in having them admired. Make sure one of your walks passes through the amazing Plaza de la Corredera.

Best Way To Get Around:

See above for Medina Azahara. I have only walked before, but now, with a dodgy heart, I found the urban bus mightily useful when I was loaded with my stuff.

The en-suite room had two beds. There was coffee and beer available at the reception desk. There was a lift. The staff spoke good English, and was very friendly and helpful.

Incredibly, they were building an archaeological museum when they discovered they were actually on a Roman villa site! Given this head start, it was certainly fully used to create a delightful museum, not only of Roman remains, but also of items from Paleolithic times through to the Moorish period with some lovely artefacts from Medina Azahara.

Medina Azahara [various spellings] is a few miles west of Córdoba. Until recently it has not been easily accessible without a car and I expected to have to use an urban bus part of the way and walk for about a mile each way at the end. I was determined to get there as friends with cars had raved about it.

However, an [apparently new] excursion has been introduced. A tourist bus leaves the city most days at 1100 and €5 pays for the return trip, a guidebook, and 1.5 hours to spend at the site. Entry is cheap but separate. The trip can be booked through hotels or at the tourist office.

It is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a fabulous city built in Moorish times by one of the sultans and named after a favourite wife. There are remains and extant arches and walls from both residential and official parts of the city and yet it will be many years before the excavation is complete; there is so much there. I hope my photos give some impression of its interest and beauty.

It's relatively new as botanical gardens go, opened in 1987. It would seem odd for Córdoba, with its lovely patios and gardens, not to have somewhere like this and it makes an excellent addition to the Arab mills, ensuring that a long stretch of the river is a place of beauty.

There are two museums here as well as various buildings for the study of plants. The first is the Museo Paleobotánico, located in an old water mill, which has a fine collection from much of the world of leaf fossils and the like. This is arranged with huge ladder charts to show the different stages of development over millions of years.

The other is the Museo Ethnobotánico, which shows the history of the relationship between humans and plants. This is very well supplied with interactive displays ideal for school trips.

It is possible to do a full tour for €6. This involves a guided tour in fast Spanish lasting an hour and a half. I opted for the patios only version [€3 unguided, but good info supplied in English]. There are no less than 13 separate patios, some of them being: the main garden, grilled patios visible to the outside, a large paved area for activities, and a patio resembling the typical Córdoban shared patios.

I found this visit extremely restful and the patios were great, even though there would be more flowers in bloom later in the year.