mohi187

Hi, I will be in Madrid for work. I am planning on going on a brief weekend trip starting Friday after work. I need to be back at work on Monday morning. Also, I am very much interested in Islamic Spain.
With the limited time, would you guys recommend spending it all in granada (night tours day tours city exploration etc) or throwing in a trip to cordoba to see the grand mosque.

Option 1: drive Friday night to cordoba, spend Friday night and Saturday day in cordoba
On Saturday afternoon/evening take off for granada. Do the night tour, spend all Sunday doing the day tour and exploring the city. In the evening (sunday) I am trying to get tickets to granada v Real Madrid.

Option 2: go straight to granada and save on commute times, spend more time exploring one city.

Head back to Madrid Sunday night

Robert2533

Why drive when you can take the train? That way you can head to Granada and return via Cordoba. There is a train departing Madrid for Granada at 17:05.

Pegontheroad

You should absolutely see La Mezquita in Cordoba. It is like nothing you will ever see anywhere else. Gorgeous!

I've done both the day and the evening tour of the Alhambra, and I don't think there's much difference between them.

michelhuebeli

Good plan, but take the train. You don't want to drive (or park!) in Cordoba or Granada - those narrow streets were built for horses, it'll drive you insane.

After work on Friday, starting at 17:00, you have nine trains that get you to Cordoba in less than two hours.

You can walk the historic center that night, and the next morning you want to be first in line at the Mezquita before the tour-bus crowds start swarming in. Then you'll still have time for seeing a bit more of the old town, and a train will get you to Granada in a bit over two hours.

Book a morning time slot for the Alhambra - there is a narrow time window you get for entering the palace inside the overall compound, and you have to stick to that, but otherwise you can take your time.

Then take an evening train back - no worries.

kimhe

Córdoba is very well worth a visit: http://www.theguardian.com/spanish-t...-changed-world

For lunch/dinner, I very much recommend to go some 300 meters north of the Mezquita and into Roman Córdoba around central Plaza de las Tendillas and Plaza de la Corredera. More local atmosphere up here and affordable and traditional tabernas on every corner. Had excellent meals in some of them two years ago. At night, the two of us used to pay some 30-35€ included a bottle of wine and a couple of brandys. Taberna Salinas is one of the more famous, recommended by the Michelin guide: http://www.tabernasalinas.com/

I very much liked Taberna El Gallo in C/Mária Cristina, 6, two minutes from Plaza de las Tendillas, and next door to the Roman temple ruins. Great wines - try the dry Amargoso - and fine tapas. In one word: Genuine!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html
http://cordobapedia.wikanda.es/wiki/Taberna_El_Gallo

Here's a list of more tabernas in Córdoba. http://www.cordoba24.info/tavernen/h...vernen_en.html

kimhe

<I am very much interested in Islamic Spain.>

I recommend to take a look at the BBC documentary "An Islamic History of Europe". Predominantly about Spain and very much about Córdoba, the heart of Islamic Spain for the first three-four centuries. Around 1000 AD Córdoba was one of the most advanced cities in the world with a population of about 500 000 (estimates goes from 350 000 to 1 million), and a huge cultural, political and financial center with some 300 public baths and one of the largest libraries in the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8rGNBHdmdQ