Wandering through the streets, walls, churches & bridges of Old Town Cordoba – Alluring Andalusia, Part 3

This post is the continuation of a series ( Already slowed down by a heavy spell at work!) documenting our travels through Andalusia in Southern Spain in the European fall of 2025. We had started in Cordoba where we had spent a great morning visiting the unique Mezquita ( The Mezquita Catedral de Cordoba – A unique architectural masterpiece – Alluring Andalusia, Part 2 ). We were now hungry after the mornings sightseeing and headed towards the San Basilio neighbourhood of Cordoba where I had booked a table for lunch at a restaurant called “La Posada del Caballo Andalusia”.

Despite being a mouthful to repeat the restaurant was a highly rated but simple restaurant which served traditional taverna styled Cordoban food. We walked through the beautiful white washed San Basilio neighbourhood which is famous for the Alcazar fortress and the stables of Cordoba. Sadly both of those were closed for restoration during our visit, so we had to satisfy ourselves with a photo of the Alcazar walls from outside.

Even though the main sights in the neighbourhood were closed the neighbourhood itself was a very pleasant one to walk through. White washed buildings with sloping roofs, cobble stoned streets and beautiful patios which are free to take a peek into. We walked at a leisurely pace stopping to take a photo or two at the pretty little lanes and ducking into a patio or two for a photo before heading to the restaurant at our reserved time.

The better half poses at the pretty lanes of the San Basilio neighbourhood

Locals with the pets enjoying the peaceful San Basilio neighbourhood

A pretty lane lined with blue pots at the San Basilio neighbourhood

The San Basilio neighbourhood is a pleasure to wander through

A couple of the typical Cordoban Patios that we ducked into

The Alcazar tower from outside as it was closed during our visit

We reached the Equestrian themed restaurant which was tastefully decorated with horse themed memorabilia and were directed to our table. I took some photos of the restaurant as we entered as it was empty then. I thought I had reserved unnecessarily but as soon as we ordered a big group entered and the restaurant went from relatively empty to completely full! ( It’s highly advisable to reserve restaurants in Andalusia as it guarantees that you get a table at the time you want to eat!)

The Equestrian themed “La Posada del Caballo Andaluz”

At the table of the simple but tastefully decorated restaurant

We ordered the Berenjenas Fritas ( Eggplant strips deep fried and served with cane molasses) for the better half and a traditional Rabo de Toro (Oxtail stew) for me. We also ordered Ice tea for the better half and a Cerveza (Small beer) for me and enjoyed the tasty lunch at leisure before walking back to the hotel along the walls of the old town.

Berenjenas Fritas for the better half

Rabo de Toro with baked potato slices for me – Extremely tender and tasty

With the bill after enjoying a great lunch !

A photo outside the restaurant as a memory for the wonderful lunch eaten

We then walked towards the ancient Roman walls of Cordoba which were originally built in 206 BC and again in the 12th century. Originally extending all around the old town these ancient walls are now seen in the Southwestern part of the Old town near the San Basilio neighbourhood where a nice pedestrian boardwalk has been made so that we can walk along these centuries old walls.

At a floral arrangement cum sculpture in the San Basilio neighbourhood

We walked the boardwalk stopping to click photos along the way. We then reached the statue of Averroes who was a Muslim lawyer in the 12th century who was the medieval world’s number one authority on Aristotle! He was thrown out of the city and his books burnt when the more zealous Almohad rulers took over the city.

At the boardwalks along the ancient City walls of Cordoba

With the statue of Averroes outside the walls of Cordoba

We then reached the Puerta de Almodovar which is the best preserved of the original gates of Old Town Cordoba. Right outside the gates is the statue of another of Cordoba’s ancient philosophers – Seneca. Again a philosopher who met a sad end as he was accused by the Roman Emperor Nero of plotting against him and ordered to commit suicide. ( Philosophy didn’t do well even in the ancient times!)

The Puerta de Almodovar – the best preserved gate to Old town Cordoba

A statue of the Roman Philosopher Seneca outside the Gate

We completed our tortured philosopher walk with the statue of the Jewish Philosopher Moses Maimonides who was a philosopher, medical doctor and astronomer! His teaching that secular knowledge and religious faith could go hand in hand obviously didn’t go down well when the Almohads took charge. He and his family were driven out of town! Apparently nothing has changed in the centuries since then!

A statue of the Jewish philosopher – Moses Maimonides

A souvenir shop in the narrow lanes of the Jewish quarter of Cordoba

Before heading back to the hotel I asked the better half if she was up for a visit to the Calahorra tower across the Roman bridge which was our favourite spot in all of Cordoba. She readily agreed  and we set course towards the bridge passing by our hotel and the Mezquita.

Passing by the Mezquita on our way to the Calahorra tower

We reached the tower built in the 14th century and bought our tickets.  The tickets included a quirky little museum of Al – Andalusia life which showed Cordoba during its prime in the Moorish Empire. It also had beautiful miniature models of the Alcazar and the Mezquita during the Moorish times which were interestingly described in the included audioguide.

Wooden artefacts in the museum inside the Calahorra tower

Scale model of the Alcazar of Cordoba during it’s heyday

A miniature model of the Mezquita during Moorish times

The Mezquita model was done so intricately from the inside it deserved a photo or two!

The main attraction of the Calahorra tower was the view from top of the tower which gave a Birdseye view across the bridge to the Mezquita on the other side. We climbed the stairs to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view from the ramparts of the tower and clicked away to glory.

Climbing the last tight spiral steps to the top of the Calahorra tower

The breathtaking view from the top of the Calahorra tower over the Roman Bridge and the Mezquita beyond

The picture postcard view of Cordoba from the top of the Calahorra tower

The better half poses along the ramparts of the Calahorra tower

A view down to the river and the park along the river from the tower

Using a window of the tower to frame the perfect Cordoba view

Happy us at the top of the Calahorra tower

The better half clicks a photo of me on the Calahorra tower

After we had our fill of the view we got down from the tower and turned in our audioguides before proceeding to the path behind the tower and on to the park along the banks of the Guadalquivir river.

The Calahorra tower which we had just climbed

On way to the banks of the Guadalquivir

We walked to the small park on the banks of the river which had yet more picture postcard views of the bridge from another angle. With only ducks for company we enjoyed this view in peace before starting on our way across the Roman bridge & back to our hotel.

Only ducks for company in the park along the banks of the Guadalquivir

Posing with our favourite Roman bridge of Cordoba

A pretty blooming tree on the path along the river

The peaceful park along the Guadalquivir

Another trip across the Roman bridge of Cordoba

Stopping for more photos of the plague monument on our way back to the hotel

We reached the hotel after stopping for Gelato at a a shop close to the Mezquita and enjoyed it on the platform around the historic structure. With lunch and dessert in our tummies  we would take a short siesta in typical Spanish style before setting out again as the sun started going down to walk through the parts of the old town that we hadn’t explored till then.

Enjoying a Gelato near the Mezquita

Back at our hotel for a late afternoon siesta

We started our evening walk in Cordoba walking away from the Mezquita in the narrow lanes towards a square called Plaza de Jeronimo Paez surrounded by pretty buildings. The Palacete de los Burgos was a building which was abandoned but had a beautiful facade. Hopefully someone takes it over as it would be a waste to let such a pretty building get run down.

The abandoned Palacete de los Burgos

The near side of the square had a patterned cobblestone  with the bust of the poet Lucano. The pretty colours of the sky at dusk and it made the already pretty square prettier.

The better half poses on the Plaza de Jeronimo Paez

Beautiful colours of dusk in Cordoba

A pretty square looks prettier at dusk

The other side of this square has a beautiful Renaissance styled Palacio de los Paez de Castillejos. The beautiful facade made for great photos before we continued our walk.

The facade of the Palacio de los Paez de Castillejos

We then decided to seek out the smaller churches and squares of Cordoba and just walk around them as we assumed most of them would be closed by this hour. We decided to go to the Church of San Fransisco and San Eulogio which has existed in this site since the 13th century.

Pretty arches and streets wherever you go

We reached the arched gateway to the church expecting it to be closed, but lo and behold it was open! So we were glad we had made the decision to walk here and walked inside the church.

The arched gateway to the Church of St Francisco and St Eulogio

The 18th century restored renaissance facade of the Church of San Fransisco

The 18th century interiors were typical baroque, gilded altar, decorated pillars and arches and beautifully lit up. We had brought our Mezquita tickets as we had read that those were needed to enter here but there was no one here to check tickets. The typical gilded Andalusian altarpiece was beautiful and a joy to photograph.

The baroque interiors of the Church of San Fransisco & San Eulogio

The beautiful gilded altar at the church of San Fransisco and San Eulogio

We then did our church routine of sitting in the pews of the beautiful church for a few minutes before we walked towards the next church on our route, the Church of San Pablo & hoping that that would be open too!

We reached the Church which is from the 1700s and built on the site of a Roman Circus which became a Muslim Palace which became a Dominican convent! Shows the progress of history through this ancient city. This church was open too! So we quickly took photos of the ornate gate & the external facade before we moved inside this much smaller church.

The ornate entry gate to the Church of San Pablo

The 17th century facade of the Church of San Pablo

The interiors of this church were much simpler without the adornments of the previous one. The dimly lit interiors made it atmospheric in its own way. Once again we were alone in this little church and we did our church routine before stepping out.

The much plainer interiors of the Church of San Pablo

We then reached another site which we had wanted to see in Cordoba – the reconstructed Roman Temple of Cordoba. This site was discovered by accident during the expansion of the adjacent city hall in the 1950s. It was surreal to see tall Roman columns standing right in the middle of modern buildings all around.

The Templo Romano of Cordoba

Happy us at the Templo Romano of Cordoba

Tall Roman temple pillars in the middle of a modern square in Cordoba

We then started our walk back taking a different route through the Plaza de la Campania which has the remnants of a monastery in the form of the Tower of San Domingo. It also has another column with St Rafael on top, all in all yet another pretty little square in Cordoba.

The Plaza de la Campania in Cordoba

We then walked towards the last 2 churches on our walk, the Church of Santa Victoria and the Convent of St Anna but our luck with them being open till late had run out. So we had to satisfy ourselves with photos of the facades before we returned to our hotel.

Outside the Church of St Victoria in Cordoba

The beautiful facade of the convent of St Anne

We rested at our hotel for some time before we returned again to the Bodegas Mezquita Cespedes for dinner. We had reserved a table as usual and as usual it turned out to be a wise decision as the restaurant was bustling when we went. Thanks to our reservation we got a table ordered a Tortilla de Patatas ( Spanish Omelette) for the better half and a Flamenquin Cordobes ( A traditional Cordoban dish with Pork wrapped in Ham coated with breadcrumb and fried!) for myself. I also decided to have their house artisanal beer while the better half had a pineapple juice. The dinner was great as expected and capped off a great day in this city that had immediately become one of our favourites.

A Flamenquin Cordobes served with roasted peppers, potatoes and mayo

The better half enjoys her Tortilla de Patatas with garlic aioli

The amazing artisanal beer at the Bodegas Mezquita Cespedes

The heavy dinner made us wanted to walk a bit before we retired for the day and we returned to the Roman bridge again(Where else!). I hadn’t carried my camera but couldn’t resist a few mobile photos on this otherwise peaceful night walk across the Guadalquivir.

Mobile photos from our post dinner walk on the Roman Bridge in Cordoba

Happy us after a sightseeing filled day in Cordoba

We returned to our hotel after that much needed post dinner walk and dropped right off to sleep. We had left the morning activity depending on when we woke up, since we had a morning train to catch to Ronda. As it turned out both of us didn’t want to miss a chance to see yet another sunrise from the Roman bridge. So we got up and got ready and went on our early morning walk across the river. I’m sure readers are sick of reading of that bridge by now so I will just post a few photos as that sunrise was really beautiful.

The Mezquita from our hotel balcony

The better half clicks away to glory

The lights make the square behind the Mezquita magical early morning

The Puerta del Puente early in the morning

Watching the sky turn into a riot of colours at Cordoba would be one of the lasting memories of this trip. Hopefully the photos do it some justice.

A lot of photos from watching the sun rise on a beautiful autumn morning  at Cordoba

With our morning walk done we  returned to our hotel and checked out of our room with a view.  We had our breakfast which was ready by the time we got down. Since we would be returning to this hotel again the next night after 1.5 days in Ronda we just took our small bag and left most of our luggage at the luggage storage.

Saying goodbye to our beautiful room with a view at the Boutique Hotel Caireles

We then walked to the train station through the same gardens which we had rushed through on our way into the Old town. This time since we weren’t weighed down by luggage we stopped to take a few photos.

Walking through the park on the way to the train station of Cordoba

Stopping to take photos in the park on our way to the train station

We reached the station well in time as is our habit and waited till the platform was displayed before passing through the security checkpoint. Soon our train arrived and we found our way to our reserved seats and were on our way to Ronda.

At Cordoba train station waiting for our train to arrive

On the train to Ronda

Cordoba had been a great first stop of our Andalusian adventure and the compact but pretty Old town had exceeded our expectations. The next stop on the trip was the hilltop town of Ronda which was known for its stunning location and gorge straddling bridges.

Whether it would live up to the hype is topic for another post, some other time, some other day.

Till then,

Adios!