Guide to Córdoba — Alexandra Hauser

Hi everyone!

I am kicking off my study abroad blogging experience with a post about my first weekend trip! I went on an academic excursion to Córdoba, a vibrant city south of Madrid. One of the best things about my university’s program is the optional trips they offer throughout the semester; they provide lodging, transportation, and tours of many of Spain’s most famous cities. The Córdoba trip was actually a mandatory activity for one of my classes. I would have gone regardless. I’d been wanting to see the Grand Mosque of Córdoba since I studied it in Art History in high school. There are surprisingly so many things to do and see in what I thought was a tiny city. Córdoba has a lively social scene and incredible food on top of it’s cultural and historical importance. The city has definitely come a long way since it’s days as the capital of the old Muslim empire.

We started off the trip at 8 am with forty students piling into a coach bus for a five hour drive. We were all exhausted yet excited to finally get to stretch our legs once arriving in Córdoba. We were given one hour for lunch before touring the city. A group of students and I decided to do lunch at a very local spot recommended to us by our tour guides. Taberna Casa Tollin had all the classic Spanish dishes except for croquetas....devastating. The food was absolutely delicious. We ordered tapas style - potato salad, jamón ibérico, tuna tartar, ribs, and artichokes. These may seem like random dishes but we actually only ordered things we recognized. Everything else seemed a little too out there. I’d recommend this spot if you’re interested in a Spanish cafe vibe with high quality food. We each paid seventeen euros, which was actually kind of pricey for a tapas cafe.

The tour of the city was surprisingly very relaxing, just like the overall vibes of Córdoba. Everyone is dressed very casually and seems to be in no rush. We got to do a lot of great people watching. The weather was perfect, around 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. The most notable part of our tour was, of course, the Grand Mosque. The mosque is as architecturally astonishing as you imagine it to be. Seeing it in person is unlike anything you would see in pictures. The many red and white striped arches truly make the inside of the mosque feel like a forest. The Catholic influence also plays a huge role in the grandeur of the mosque; smack in the center there’s an intricate and slightly gaudy alter, choir section, and benches for prayer. If you make one tourism stop in Córdoba, this is the place to go. Most of our tour consisted of walking through the different neighborhoods of Córdoba. It was a great way to get an overall feel for the city.

The last stop on our tour for the day was the “Jardín del Alcázar Reyes Cristianos”, a beautiful garden that truly feels like a piece of paradise. We got to watch the sunset here. It was so beautiful seeing the strong orange and yellow sun beams turn the garden into gold. I enjoyed the garden the most when sitting on a bench by the pools, breathing in the fresh air that was masked by multiple flower scents. If you are looking for nature in this very developed city, i’d recommend coming here.

Dinner was one of the most memorable moments of the trip because it was so, so good. Qurtubah Cafe & Restaurant offered some of the best Moroccan food I’ve ever had. I think many people don’t realize how much of an Islamic influence is still present in Spain; you really can appreciate it through the cuisine of southern Spain. The ingredients and preparation of this meal reminded me of my time in Abu Dhabi. They didn’t even offer alcoholic beverages! I, along with seven other students, ordered basically half of the menu. My favorite dishes were the bourekas, hummus trio, and couscous salad. The restaurant experience was made even better by their stellar service. The servers were so accommodating and let us split the bill eight ways, which is not very common in Spain. We each ate for twelve euros. I would definitely come back to this restaurant if I found myself in Córdoba again.

We spent the night at the NH Califa Hotel. It was the kind of hotel you’d only spend a couple of nights in, so it was perfect for our travel purposes. The hotel staff was super friendly, the shower water pressure was great, and the breakfast buffet was delicious. The beds were pretty stiff and the AC wasn’t really working. Thankfully, I was exhausted by the time I went to bed and unbothered by those things.

Our last day in Córdoba was spent at the Medina Azahara. This beautiful old city, now in ruins and under restoration, used to be the home of the first Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba. It’s said that the Muslims of Spain were basically responsible for creating a new way of urban living. This medina specifically was only inhabited for eighty years, but it set a precedent for the economic and social structure of Muslim life in Spain. The grounds have now been made into a popular tourist attraction. I would highly recommend going with a tour guide throughout the ruins. If you decide to do it on your own, which I am not completely sure you can do, just make sure you do your own research on the medina. From here, we all piled back into the bus and headed back to Madrid.

I hope you were able to get an idea of my trip to Córdoba from this post. I can’t wait to keep sharing. Please comment, offer any suggestions, opinions, and subscribe if you want to!