Córdoba Mezquita (day trip)

Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba

A forest of red-and-white arches, with a cathedral inside a mosque

⚠ Free entry Mon–Sat 08:30

Hours

Mon–Sat 10:00–19:00 (free visit 08:30–09:30); Sundays and feast days differ for Mass; last entry 30 min before closing

Tickets

Mezquita €15; over-65s and students 15–26 €12; under-10s free; bell tower €4; night show 'El Alma de Córdoba' €25

Address

Calle Cardenal Herrero 1, Córdoba old town; tickets at the Patio de San Eulogio visitor centre

Through the door, once your eyes adjust to the dark, double arches of alternating red brick and white stone march off in every direction. It's a great mosque enlarged over two centuries from the 8th century on, with nearly 850 columns. Walk far enough and a 16th-century Renaissance cathedral suddenly rises in the middle of the arch forest, which leaves everyone scratching their heads. Don't miss the gold mosaics around the mihrab, the prayer niche. Afterwards, the flowerpot-hung white lanes of the Jewish quarter and the Roman bridge round out the day.