The 10 best places in Andalusia

Every time I see the word ‘best’ I take the contents with a pinch of salt as ‘best’ is just as subjective as ‘beautiful’. Everybody likes something different and I don’t claim to know it all. I do however have my own opinion and after spending 9 months in Andalusia and travelling somewhere almost every weekend I think I can give a fairly comprehensive guide about this region. I’ve tried to put this list together so everybody can find something, be they a nature lover, a sun adorer or a city stroller.  I would also like to add that the list is not in order, the first being the ‘bestest’ and the last being the ‘worst best’, these places are all on the top in their own right!

Well, here’s my list of the best places in Andalusia.

1.  Granada

Wherever we went in Spain everybody said that the most beautiful town in the whole country is Granada. I have to agree with this statement and even Paul said that this magical town should be on everybody’s bucket list. The Alhambra, the neighbourhood of Albayzín, the free tapas bars, the carmenes, the list is just endless. You need at least three days to explore everything

If you need more info, just type ‘Granada’ in the blog search.

2. Seville

After spending 8 months in this lovely city I have to say that I’ve completely fallen in love with it! The Cathedral with its Muslim tower, the Giralda, is something that I’ve seen countless times but was awed by every time. The Alcázar is a must for everybody who comes to visit and I will never forget walking around my favourite place, Plaza España. The Feria de Abril and the Semana Santa were probably the most Spanish experiences we’ve had so far and if you can, make sure that you plan your visit around it. Seville is such a comfortable city, I could definitely imagine settling down here for good.

3. Córdoba

The last (but not least) city of the Golden Triangle of Andalusia. We haven’t lived here but returned many times to visit it. The Great Mosque of Córdoba without a doubt the most beautiful basilica I’ve ever visited and believe me if I say I have seen a few in my life. The city not only boasts many lovely and interesting monuments but also has a great events calendar that is worth checking out before your visit. You can find everything from the Patio Festival to the Noche Blanca del Flamenco. They even have their own Feria in May!

4. Ronda

The ‘City of Dreams’ is another of Spain’s jewel. This impossibly amazing place will leave you feeling utterly amazed and your memory card completely full in your camera. Make sure you take a second one. And a battery for your camera, too!

      5. The beaches of Costa de la Luz

I know it’s kind of cheating but all the beaches are similar there: sun, soft white sand and sparking, gorgeous blue sea. You get these basics in all of them. You can visit them individually or go to a few of them in one day and make it a road trip.

      6. Zahara de la Sierra

One of the most scenic white villages or pueblo blancos that we’ve seen in the whole region. Whenever it was possible we took our visitors here to see the wonders of this little place in the side of the Sierra de Grazalema (which is great for hiking, by the way).

      7, Setenil de las Bodegas

Another of our favourite spots and one of the lesser known secrets of the region. Such a unique place and so beautiful! We often did the Zahara – Ronda – Setenil trip with our visiting guests. Don’t forget to visit the Viewpoint (mirador)!

      8.  Vejer de la Frontera

We heard about this place first from my Spanish teacher. We’ve never heard of the name before but liked it so much that when Paul’s friends came to visit us this was the first village we put it into our itinerary.

9. Mulhacén

The highest point of inland Spain is in the Sierra Nevada, just over an hour drive from Granada. The climb is slow and hard but the view from the top is worth all the struggle. Read through my blog about it if you want to climb it, I hope I managed to put some useful info about it there.

10. El Torcal

There are so many amazing places in Andalusia, I had a hard time to choose the last one. I chose this Nature Park as it is something that I’ve never seen the like of and wouldn’t know what to compare it to. A walk in this maze of incredible wind- formed stones will be an unforgettable experience for everybody. The Wolf Park is also close by, drop in in one of their Howl Nights if you’re interested in animals.

Just like with every region we’ve in lived before we are in love with Andalusia, too. This was where we spent the longest so far in Spain therefore we’ve made the most memories here. We’re off to Portugal for the summer but we’ll be back in this beautiful country again in September.

See you soon, Spain.

The Hermitage above Córdoba

When we visited Córdoba the first time last October, our guides, Rafael and Salvador, pointed a white dot out for us on the hill behind the town and told us that there’s a great viewpoint in Las Ermitas. We didn´t have enough time then to visit it however on this occasion we came by car and took this opportunity to take the scenic drive to it.

We paid the 1.5 euro entry fee then walked straight to the famous viewpoint. We found the huge statue of Christ (ok it wasn´t THAT hard to find it) and walked down the stairs in front of it.

From a viewing platform you get an incredible view of the town of Córdoba and the surrounding areas. It´s just simply priceless and worth the trip up here. Have a seat in the stone throne to enjoy the view in comfort.

The Hermitage (or Las Ermitas, as they are known) is a collection of 13 little cells built for Carmelite hermits who wanted to dedicate their lives to God. They were built at the beginning of the 18^th century. 

Some of them are still inhabited however two of them are free to visit. Looking at those tiny little rooms and the wooden beds made me very sad for some reason. It was easy to imagine the lives of these monks who did nothing else here but praying, meditating and living in the barest austerity you can imagine.

The Hermitage is less than 10 miles from the El Brillante neighbourhood. You can cover this distance by foot if you feel up for it. Only 10 km (logically 20km round trip), however the path is steep. On your way you will be rewarded with the lovely vistas of the city and the valley.

Or you can drive up there using one of these three options:  through the Palma Road(15 km); to the south, through the Carretera de Santa María de Trassierra (14 km); and north through the road Villaviciosa de Córdoba (19 km). Their paths are A-431 , CO-3304 , CO-3314 CP-021.

For more information about the Hermitage check out their website here.

Learning to rollerblade in Seville

One of the great things in Seville is that it’s flat and its Sevici cycle lanes are surprisingly extensive. These lanes are not only used for cycling but also for running, for skateboarding, for wheelchair users, for luggage pullers and … rollerbladers. I had always wanted to learn how to rollerblade and when I got my job in the language school it was decided: I’m going to sign up to a club.

The classes were held in a park where there was a special flat concrete area for the rollerbladers (pista de patinaje). This is where we met every Friday at 18.30. There were many classes for many different age groups, many of them are kids who were already masters at rollerblading. 

Interestingly, in the beginner group there were many ladies around my age, mostly mothers of the children in the kids’ classes who wanted to enjoy the sport with their offspring. We were doing our warm up circles slowly and carefully with trembling legs, holding onto each other, eyeing every little bump on the ground as a potential cause for a fall while the kids were whizzing around us chasing each other, doing amazing tricks and just generally behaving like they were born to do this. So unfair! It always made me smile when the instructors shouted 'Watch out for the adults!' after the children. Somehow the roles were reversed here.  

It was a very interesting experience as my Spanish was quite basic at that time however my instructor, Javier, was very patient and repeated everything about a hundred times for me. Also, rollerblading is a physical sport, so when all the words failed, he simply used his body to demonstrate what he wanted to teach.

After a few months of falling on by backside many times but slowly getting better at controlling myself I decided to try the ultimate challenge, the Ruta de Iniciacion, or the Initiation Route. All the girls in my group had been whispering about it and those of us who actually tried it were treated as superheroes. It is basically a two hour long rollerblade through the streets of Seville, using the cycle lanes. It sounded terrifying, very tiring but definitely something absolutely AWESOME!

After the class I got into the car with two other girls, Carmen and Merche, and drove into town. We met up with the others in the centre at Puerta de Jerez at ten in the evening and when everybody got ready, we hit the town.

I was still a beginner so all the way through I was holding my instructors’ hand (well, ‘clinging to it with my dear life’ would be a better description), thankfully avoiding any fall. It was an indescribable feeling to whizz through Plaza Espana at night with 50 other people, making tourists jump and stopping the traffic while all of us flew through the zebra crossings. It was a kind of sightseeing tour as we sped over bridges, through parks and along the river. We waved to the groups as we passed them and the waiters at the restaurants stuck their hands out to get 50 hi5s in a row. I glided along with them, swept up in the experience but trying to stay balanced.

We had a break half way at a bar (getting a drink on your rollerblades is quite a challenge!) and got back to Puerta de Jerez around midnight. All the Spanish kids were still going strong while I was already yawning and wishing for my bed. While walking slowly home on the Avenida de la Constitucion I thought that this was one of the best things that happened to me in Spain.

Sea kayaking in Chiclana

I was desperate to do some kayaking before leaving Spain for the summer and after a long search I finally found what I had been looking for: the area of Sancti-Petri in Chiclana de la Frontera. We had Caroline visiting from London so we dragged her along with us and set off to hit the beach together.

I found a website that offered guided kayak routes (here is their site if you’re interested – only in Spanish!) and we went to see those guys but when we got there we realised that there are loads of kayak shops on that stretch. We just walked into the first one and decided to hire the kayaks and do it ourselves. They didn’t speak much English in the shop but my intermediate Spanish was enough to get by with them.

They showed us a map and we could choose from two routes. We decided to try to go to the castle. The approximate time there and back is about 1,5h. You can get out there and sunbath a bit or walk around and take photos of the view. This was the plan.

It all fell apart however when we realised that the current is quite strong and it took us ages to work against it. We made it to the other side and decided to have a little break and walk around the island. After having a dip in the sea we got back to the kayaks and paddled back.

It took us a lot of effort again to work against the current as (following my advice) we crossed to the mainland too early. By the time we managed to get back to the shop I thought my arms would fall off! We decided that this is definitely not for beginners like us. We also decided not to listen to me any more…

We paid 8 euros per individual kayak per hour (12 for a double) which is very reasonable I think. We returned the kayaks after 1h15min but they only made us pay for one hour.

After all this hard work it was time to hit the beach. Yay for the white sandy beaches of Costa de la Luz!  

Noche Blanca del Flamenco Córdoba 2014

On our very last weekend in Andalusia there was one more event that was waiting for us, the seventh White Night of Flamenco. We hired a car and drove, for the last time, to this lovely city to listen to some of the best performers of flamenco in Spain.

This year was the seventh occasion that the White Night was organised and this time it was dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, the flamenco guitarist genius who passed away earlier this year. In the historic centre of Córdoba ten different stages were set up to host the most distinguished figures of this art.

After meeting up with some Spanish friends we went to see the first performer of the night at 22.30pm. The opening act of the night was Sara Baras. Is her name familiar? No? We didn’t know who she was either, until we went to see her 2 hour show in Seville. She’s basically one of the most famous flamenco dancers in the world. 

She and her team of dancers and musicians are just simply incredible! The dance, the choreography, the music, everything is in perfect harmony in her show. If you have a chance don’t hesitate and go to see her. Here’s a little teaser from her show in Córdoba.

After Sara Baras we went to the San Basilio area where instead of street lights the streets were washed in candle light. Some of the famous patios were open to the public and lit up by many tiny tea lights. It was magical. (Read more about the patios here.)

This was the area where we came to see famous guitarists paying homage to Paco de Lucia however there were so many people around that we couldn’t get in!

The last performance we attempted to enjoy was in the garden of the Mesquita (read about this amazing building here) in the Patio de los Naranjos. There was a staggering amount of people here to listen to Niña Pastori, a famous flamenco singer. The garden looked magical at night however the crowd took out all the enjoyment of it. At the end we gave up and after a few tries we managed to get out through the gates without any harm.

We have to admit that we didn´t plan our evening very well. If you have a chance to go and enjoy the Noche Blanca next year, here is some advice for you to consider:

-          Don’t make the mistake of planning to see every performer, it’s impossible. Choose about three or four and go to the stage at least an hour before the performance starts (no kidding, an hour at least!!)

-          Make sure that you either bring dinner with you or book a restaurant in advance. It’s impossible to find a table this night, we were forced to eat outside of a bar, holding the plates in our hands.

-          Plan ahead for trips to the toilet.

-          If you don’t know the performers, ask some Spanish people. All of them will be very good but if you have to pick only a few you might as well see that ones that are recommended.

But above all, enjoy this special, very Spanish experience!

Carmona

When I looked around Andalusia trying to find a good day trip from Seville earlier in the year, I came across this small town that seemed highly recommended. We went to San Bernardo train station and got on the bus. The 33km journey only took us about half an hour. Nice and easy.

Carmona is a lovely place that was built on a ridge in the middle of a huge flat plain.

It has a long history as even during the time of Julius Caesar it was an important city. One of the city’s gates still stands as a memento for the Romans, the Puerta de Córdoba.

Who do you think came after the Romans? Yes, the Moors! Seems like a trend here in Andalusia that never seems to fail. Anyway, they also realised the strategical importance of the place and build a huge wall around it. And when I say huge I mean at least 6 meters across! This is the Puerta de Sevilla which leads the visitor into the Old Town.

The view from the wall of Carmona.

Apart from the wall the Moors made their marks on the city in other ways, too. The white walls of the well-kept houses and the signs of the mudejar-style decoration can be found everywhere, together with the many fountains and the Alcázar of Carmona.

The Alcázar later was taken over by the king of Spain (Don Pedro) who made a castle for himself out of it and during the modern era the building was turned into a Parador Hotel. It now runs under the prestigious name of Alcázar del Rey Don Pedro. We decided to take a look from the inside and after the pretence of ‘just having a coffee on the terrace’ we nosed around as much as we could. Well, it’s certainly beautiful.

 

Not to mention the view from the terrace!

Some more details from this lovely town.

After lunch we went to do a 5km walk around Carmona. It was such a strange sight, a GREEN Andalusia! We took a lot of photos of this short stint of colour. (Later in the year we went this way with some friends and saw it for what it looks like most of the year, an enormous golden sea of wheat swaying gently in the breeze.)

On the way back to the bus we noticed that Carmona has its own Giralda tower, complete with the Giraldilla on top! What´s all this about?

Apparently Ferdinand III, who freed the town from the aforementioned Muslims, gave this motto to Carmona: Sicut Lucifer lucet in Aurora, sic in Wandalia Carmona ("As the Morning-star shines in the Dawn, so shines Carmona in Andalusia" - wikipedia). How sweet! He must have liked a place a lot.