This post is the start of a new series documenting our travels through the Southern part of Spain in the Autumn of 2025.
We were on a search for a new European destination ( We had a long term Schengen visa and wanted to utilise it to the fullest – Any one applying for a Schengen visa from India or a similar country will understand!) for our annual Diwali vacation. Our last vacation was an amazing one in the European Spring to the Eastern Sicily, and even though I was game to return to complete the rest of the island in the same year itself( I am a self declared Italophile!) , the better half wanted a change of scenery. So after looking at the options where we wouldn’t be rained out or be very cold in early November we shortlisted Spain and Portugal as the places which would have the best weather for that time.
Not being ones to race around trying to cover an entire country in one go we decided to concentrate on one region as has been our habit for the past few years. After researching for a few weeks about the various regions of Spain we decided to visit Andalusia, the southern part of Spain as it had what we look for in European destinations – Pretty Old towns, a sight that is considered one of the must dos of the continent ( The Alhambra palace in Granada in this case), great public transport and decent vegetarian food options for the better half. It also helped that a couple of friends who had visited the region a few years ago had raved about it.
Once we had zeroed in on Andalusia we looked at flights from our home in Mumbai. Even though the most convenient airport for the region was Malaga, there were no decent connections back to Mumbai from there. So we added the Spanish capital of Madrid to our itinerary and booked flights into Malaga and out of Madrid.
When it came to selecting destinations in Andalusia we wanted to see the cities of Sevilla& Granada and the smaller towns of Cordoba & Ronda, in addition to Madrid which had to be on the itinerary as we were flying out from there. As luck would have it there were not 1 but 2 major conventions in Seville when we planned to visit which made hotel prices astronomical. So we decided to skip Seville for now (hopefully we will return someday) and added an even smaller town called Ubeda ( Which is a UNESCO world heritage site) to our itinerary instead.
With our bases finalised and hotels in the Old town of each city/ town/village booked we started booking train tickets in between the towns & realised that there were no trains between Ronda and Granada in the off season! So we tweaked plans again changed a few hotel bookings ( details when we come to that day! ) to ensure we had public transport between all the cities we were visiting. Tickets to the Alhambra were booked as soon as we had decided when we would be in Granada as those sell out anytime of the year and we didn’t want to miss out on that. Everything was set well in time and soon it was time for us to fly out to Malaga.
We reached Malaga after an eventless connection in Munich. We wasted almost 45 minutes searching for our luggage because we missed a very small sign which said that luggage from non Schengen countries would be on a separate belt! When we finally saw the sign we went to said belt and collected our luggage much to our relief!
We were not spending a night in Malaga but had a few hours to go before our booked train to Cordoba. So we decided to go and explore the city centre / Old town of Malaga for a couple of hours rather than waste them at the train station. We had found a luggage storage place in Malaga City Centre and we kept away our big bag and had a short walk around Malaga City centre.
Pretty cobblestoned pedestrian streets in the City Centre of Malaga
Sadly we were there on a Sunday which meant that the Malaga Cathedral wasn’t open in the couple of hours we were there. We satisfied ourselves by ogling at the external facade of the huge Cathedral. It was Lunchtime when we reached Malaga Centre so we decided to have lunch at a restaurant right in front of the Cathedral. The location was great but as expected for such a touristy location the food was strictly ok (Luckily it was the worst meal we would have on the entire trip!).
At the Malaga Cathedral – Hopefully we will go inside the next time!
Getting a table at a cafe right on the Cathedral Square
Having lunch at Malaga Centre
The location was great but the food was ok!
After finishing our lunch we went around the Cathedral seeing it from all sides before going towards the base of the hill fortress of Malaga called the Alcazaba. With more time we would have climbed up to visit it as it is supposed to have great views over the Alboran sea. For now we had to satisfy ourselves with gazing at the impressive walls from below and seeing the Roman Theatre at its base ( If there is a Roman Theatre anywhere close we have to see it!)
The huge Malaga Cathedral !
At least we saw the outside of this majestic Cathedral!
The better half poses with the Roman Theatre and the Alcazaba looming above
The Roman Theatre of Malaga with the Alcazaba walls in the background
With a walk around Malaga Centre done it was time to retrieve our luggage and walk to the main train station from where we would catch our booked high speed train to Cordoba.
A beautiful tree full of blooming flowers in Malaga
Happy us at having spent a few hours in Malaga
Some of the excellent street art in the streets of Malaga
We reached the station well in time and found our booked train on the huge departures / arrivals board and proceeded towards that platform. Here we found that when it comes to high speed trains, it was impossible to go to the platform where these trains leave without a valid ticket. Also all high speed train tickets in Spain come with a compulsory seat reservation (It has been optional everywhere else in Europe we have been till now!) so we knew we didn’t have to search for vacant seats! We found our coach and seats, put away our luggage in the overhead rack and soon we were off to Cordoba.
Checking out where our train to Cordoba leaves from
On our way to Cordoba!
The high speed AVE train zoomed along and got us to Cordoba in an hour. We then used previously downloaded offline maps and walked down to the Old town of Cordoba which was a fairly long but level walk. We travel light so walking with luggage has never been a problem and we got to our hotel right next to the famous Mezquita of Cordoba without a hassle.
Walking towards the bell tower of the Mezquita through beautiful cobblestoned streets
We reached our Boutique hotel Caireles which was right next to the Mezquita – the famous Mosque turned Cathedral of Cordoba. I had booked a room with a view of the famous monument and it turned out to be fully worth it as it had breathtaking views over the Cathedral and its bell tower. We enjoyed the view for a while before dropping off to a well earned evening siesta.
We woke up as it was turning dark and the Mezquita was all lit up and there were pretty clouds in the sky. The SLR came out for the first time as I had not felt like taking it out in Malaga, but this beautiful view from the room got the tiredness of the long flight out and we were ready to have dinner and take a short walk around the Cathedral.
Beautiful views of the Mezquita & its bell tower from our hotel room
Enjoying the view from our room at the Hotel Boutique Caireles
Before dropping off to sleep I had reserved a table for dinner at one of the popular restaurants in the area – The Bodegas Mezquita Céspedes. It had a great reviews and was right next door to our hotel. We got ready and reached the packed restaurant and immediately got a table thanks to the online reservation made a few hours ago. We ordered and enjoyed the uniquely Spanish system of Tapas or small dishes which allowed us to sample a variety of food without overeating or racking up a huge bill. The better half had her first taste of the salmorejo ( A cold tomato soup unique to the region) while I enjoyed some Calamari and Oxtail stew. I also ordered a Vermouth which I had tried in Catania and enjoyed while the better half had an iced tea. The ambience was great, the food tasty and the location very convenient. We have a habit of sticking to a restaurant if we like it and this was no different, we would end up having all our dinners in Cordoba at this restaurant. ( Always with prior reservation – never saw the restaurant empty!) All the memories of the mediocre meal at Malaga were forgotten!
Enjoying my Vermouth with fried Calamari and Oxtail stew Tapas
The better half has her first taste of Salmorejo
Enjoying a great first dinner in Cordoba at the Bodegas Mezquita Cespedes
With a great meal in our tummies we started walking around the Mezquita towards the Guadalquivir river which runs through Cordoba and the old Roman era bridge across it. We first came to a huge Plague monument tower called the Triunfo de San Rafael built in the 18th century thanking the Archangel Rafael for protecting the city from the plague in the 17th century.
The Triunfo de San Rafael in Cordoba
The mood around Cordoba old town was very laid-back with no major crowds, which was perfect for us. We took some photos around the monument and then proceeded to walk through the incomplete triumphal arch at the edge of the old town and onto the Puente Romano or the Old Roman bridge.
With the Plague monument on an extremely laid-back evening in Cordoba
The history of the bridge is very interesting, a bridge has existed in some form at the location from the 1st century AD! For 2000 years it was the cities only bridge across the river till another was constructed in the 20th century. Most of the present structure in from an 8th century rebuild by the Arabs and for obvious reasons it was declared a World Heritage in 1984.
We walked across the lit up pedestrian bridge to the Calahorra tower on the other side enjoying the post dinner walk with a view. The bridge would become a favourite of ours in our stay in Cordoba where we would enjoy a walk every day for sunrise and post dinner.
Locals and tourists enjoy a walk across the historic Puente Romano in Cordoba
The extremely picturesque view from the Old Roman bridge in Cordoba
Another 17th century statue dedicated to St Rafael on the bridge
A view towards the Perth del Puente / Gate of the bridge
The Puerta del Puente – the incomplete 16th century gate of Cordoba
We finished our walk across the bridge and back to the old town side at a leisurely pace and then walked back to our hotel having enjoyed our first walk in the Old town of Cordoba.
Back to the Bell tower of the Mezquita and our hotel
Happy us after our first brief walk in the Old town of Cordoba
We returned to our room and dropped off to a peaceful nights sleep. We woke up early the next morning and got ready to do our traditional early morning walk through the Old town. We got ready well before sunrise and walked the same route as the previous evening as we wanted to see the sunrise from the Old bridge.
The bell tower area deserted early in the morning
The street in front of the Mezquita all serene and peaceful early in the morning
The better half poses at the street along the walls of the Mezquita towards the river
Getting out the mini tripod for a selfie early in the morning
The unique mishmash of architecture at the Mezquita
The restored back wall of the Mezquita
The decision to watch the sunrise from the bridge turned out to be a perfect one as we watched the sky turn into a riot of colours before the sun rose and bathed the Mezquita and the Gate in Golden light. It was a sight which was just perfect and we couldn’t have asked for a better first morning of our Andalusian Adventure.
The beautiful colours as the sun rises over the city of Cordoba
The elaborately carved gate of the Episcopal Chapel opposite the Mezquita
We walked back to the hotel with a wide smile on our faces. We went back to our room for a few minutes before it was time to enjoy our breakfast at the hotel.
Happy us after our first morning walk in Cordoba
We enjoyed the breakfast which was adequate and freshly prepared – perfect for a full day of sightseeing. We had booked tickets to the bell tower and the Mezquita itself for when it opened at 9.30 and 10 am respectively. We still had some time left so I took the better half to a lane I knew she would enjoy – The Calleja de las Flores. This is a tiny lane which is decorated by flowerpots on the walls and has a near perfect alignment with the bell tower – perfect for photography. This lane is also very popular with tour groups and gets notoriously crowded later in the day. So this was the perfect time to enjoy this street in peace.
We reached the tiny lane and it was empty this early in the morning. We enjoyed taking photos of the pretty lane and the small square it opens up into. We spent the 45 minutes we had before we had to go to the Mezquita here enjoying the pretty lane and square with only cats for company.
The pretty Callejas de las Flores in Cordoba early in the morning
The pretty little square at the end of the Callejas de las Flores with its resident cats
Walking back towards the Mezquita from the Callejas de las Flores
Eventually it was time to leave the tiny square as the first big tour group walked in. We had our fill of the pretty lane for now. We walked towards the Mezquita where we would spend the next few hours enjoying the views from the bell tower and being awestruck by the unique interiors.
But that is the subject for another post, some other time, some other day.
Till then,
Adios!
yogictravel 
I loved that floral street too! Beautiful architecture in Andalusia. Looking forward to more posts.
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