Around Andalucia, Al-Andalus
Friday 20th March - Saturday 28th March 2026
On the first day we meet late afternoon in the hotel in Sevilla. This is the wonderful Hotel Casa de la Juderia, an amazing four-star, warren-like hotel which spreads out hidden from view across the former Jewish quarter in the very heart of the city. From here we’ll head out for a gentle stroll before supper in a nearby upmarket tapas bar.
The following morning an official guide will take us around the Alcazar palaces and the immense Cathedral. (The guide is optional and works out around 20 euros each) After lunch, depending on the weather, we usually take a short cruise to glide along the river. Seville is a huge city, so this is a good way to make sense of the layout and the geography, as well providing a welcome chance to sit down for a while! Later on, we can amble across to the Plaza España and the park of Maria Luisa……actually, make that saunter, not amble, for the folk of Seville are a stylish lot and there’s nowhere better to observe them than along the fine boulevards that line the ponds and lawns of these splendid gardens. If you’re feeling flush, then you can swan back to the hotel in a horse and carriage. It seems like everyone else does: one of the things that makes the city centre so special is that cars are prohibited, unlike the traditional caleches, whose clip-clopping engines and erm, aromatic contributions, help preserve a sense of timelessness.
Early evening, we almost always take the opportunity to watch a flamenco show, though this, like everything else during the week, is an optional activity. That said, we do encourage it: if you’ve never seen one before you’ll be amazed (in a good way!) and even if you’re already something of an aficionado then we’re sure you won’t be disappointed. In any event, this precedes dinner at an esteemed restaurant just a stone’s throw from the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel paves the way for the journey by coach up towards the city of Cordoba. It’s a fast motorway throughout, and this follows -loosely- the contours of the mighty river Guadalquivir until we reach our destination a couple of hours later.
In Cordoba we stay at the NH Collection Amistad Córdoba, or at the Hotel de la Juderia, a one-time sister to the one in Sevilla, both of which are four-star treasures built into the old city walls. In the afternoon we’ll be able to visit the alcazar, that is to say the royal palace and gardens, as well as being astounded by the great mosque and the chunky Renaissance cathedral that is contained within it. In fact, the entire old city is an urban masterpiece, reputed to be the largest in Europe, a World Heritage site to boot, and a most excellent place to explore on foot. At the far end of the iconic, sixteen-arch Roman bridge sits a tiny museum, one of our favourites, and which offers to explain the meaning of life…..for a mere 4 euros it’s well worth the price of admission! These revelations can be mused upon later that night in the white-linen setting of a lovely restaurant just a hundred metres from the hotel.
Next day we set off on the three-hour bus journey to the fabled city of Granada. A loose itinerary here would include our guiding you through the labyrinthine streets of the Albaicin, which is the ancient Arabic district on the hill facing the Alhambra. En route we'd take in the crypt under the Cathedral to doff our caps to the tombs of Isabel and Ferdinand, who are buried there. There'd be ice cream too, in one of the scenic squares, as well as a visit to one of the many jaw-dropping, gold-dripping basílicas. Later we'd take you to the Alhambra itself, though given that we're not affiliates of the official guiding fraternity we'd be unable to take you round the palaces ourselves; there are audio guides available which do the job more than adequately.
And tapas bars too, nice ones, or perhaps lunch at the gastro-market? And dinner at a hotel we love, where the food and service are so good, and where we've learned over the years that after a day's sightseeing it's just so nice to be able to wander upstairs to your room after supper.
Breakfast next morning at the hotel followed by a leg-stretching meander through old town, before heading on to Mairena, for four nights full board at Las Chimeneas. (The journey back to Mairena takes about an hour and a half.)
Please note that drinks are not included, nor is lunch in the cities, nor admission to the various cultural sites on offer.
The cost includes accommodation, half-board, guiding and transport from Seville to Cordoba, Cordoba to Granada, Granada to Mairena, and Mairena to Malaga airport.
Per person with two people sharing: 1595€
Single traveller: 1950€
