Hi all, we are about one month away from our visit to Seville and Granada. Based on other reviews and threads, we'd like to work in a visit to Cordoba, too. I realize this is an oft-asked question, but what would you recommend on how best to incorporate Cordoba into our existing itinerary below?

Friday - arrive to Seville mid-day after international travel
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday - Seville
Wednesday - train to Granada
Thursday - Granada
Friday - fly home

As I see it, our options are:
1) Day trip from Seville via train. This is our current plan, but it seems a bit redundant to travel back/forth to Cordoba when we'll pass through en route to Granada. What day would be best?
2) Leave Seville a day earlier on Tuesday, spend one night in Cordoba, continue to Granada on Wednesday. This eliminates the back/forth from Seville, but does require a single night hotel stay.
3) Leave Seville Monday night, spend that night and Tuesday in Cordoba, then to Granada on Wednesday. This allows us to "settle" a bit more in Cordoba, but also cuts our Seville time to 2.5 non jet lag days.

Thank you for any insight and input!

A dilemma,
I personally would be reluctant to cut the Sevilla time to 2.5 non jet lag days, but... I love Sevilla and find so very much to see and do there and the weather should be pleasant in March (you won't be traveling during Holy Week, March 24-31??).

It really depends on. what sightseeing you have planned for Sevilla, and if you feel you can accomplish that in 2.5 non jet lag days.

Maybe some of these sights?
Real Alcázar & gardens
Cathedral / Giralda
María Luisa Park and Plaza de España (you could do this via a carriage ride, picking up your carriage in front of the cathedral)
Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador (2nd largest church and a Baroque masterpiece)
Either the Casa de Pilatos for its tiles or... the Palacio de las Dueñas, the exquisitely maintained, beautiful mansion of the late Duchess of Alba, an insight into this colorful character's life and a visual delight
A stroll through Triana across the Guadalquivir River and a walk through the Triana market
If you happen to be a lover of Spanish Baroque painting, the Museo de Bellas Artes is a treasure

4 full non jet lag days would be much better in Sevilla but you would then need to day trip on your last day, Tuesday to Córdoba (better than Monday because of a few truncated monument hours) which poster lrice did recently (see here trip report "Our December in Andalucía") and many people do instead of spending a night.
(I personally prefer a night, but I have the gift of time, so I understand why a day trip can be necessary in many cases).

If you feel that a night would be better (and Córdoba is lovely at night after the crowds of day trippers leave), then the 3rd alternative--leave Sevilla Monday evening, spend the night in Córdoba, then after Tues. morning sightseeing (Mosque/Cathedral, Jewish Quarter with synagogue and Casa Arabe, walk along the Roman bridge, peek into the artisan market Zoco Municipal de Artesanía, etc.) take an afternoon train to Granada on Wednesday.

Since you´ve read the ongoing threads on what posters see / do in both cities, only you can decide how much sightseeing you want to do in both and whether a Córdoba day trip will suffice. A dilemma, for sure.

I would choose your option #2 because that still gives you 4 nights in Seville, which is a good amount of time for sightseeing. And this way you will have one night in Cordoba to enjoy that lovely city after the daytrippers have left and to see the illuminated Mezquita. If you visit Cordoba as a daytrip from Seville, then, as you say, you are wasting time going back and forth. It makes more sense logistically to stop in Cordoba for one night en route to Granada.

To give you an idea of what can be done in 4 nights in Seville, this is what we did when we spent 4 nights in Seville:
Real Alcazar and gardens
Cathedral/Giralda
Maria Louisa Park and Plaza de Espagna - we walked to Plaza de Espagna and also had drinks at Maria Louisa Park
Another day we took the carriage ride to Plaza de Espagna
Casa di Pilatos
Explored Triana neighborhood
Visited several markets - Triana and Barranca
Explored Barrio Santa Cruz
Saw a Flamenco show

If you do choose only one palace-museum in Sevilla to visit, I would certainly opt for the Palacio de las Dueñas (see lrice's "December in Andalucìa" current report).
The Palacio de las Dueñas is just very special and is kept in immaculate condition by the House of Alba. It hasn't been open to the public as long, so less discovered.
Not only do you get to tour the gardens filled with orange and lemon trees, the many patios with their fountains but also the elaborate rooms decorated by the Duchess, with her priceless collection of paintings, her furniture, carpets, the majestic staircase--a decorative arts museum in and of itself-- and her room dedicated to flamenco. She was quite the flamenco aficionada.

The Palacio de las Dueñas is a less discovered gem and an oasis of calm away from the crowds. And the English audio guide is excellent.

And yes, as KarenWoo says, it makes more sense logistically to go to Córdoba on the way to Granada. If you do want to take in ¨The Soul of Córdoba" evening light and sound show, the calendar is up for March, but performances are only given the nights of the 4th to the 15th. The performance on March 21 is already sold out. (Capacity controlled)

Wow, thank you everyone for the great advice. You are all a wealth of information! I'm strongly considering doing a one night stopover in Cordoba on Tuesday.

For Sevilla, we haven't yet planned much besides our hotel and tickets to a Saturday night flamenco show at Casa de La Memoria. Because we will have our eight year old son with us, we can't be too tightly tied to a rigid, "must see" itinerary like in our previous European trips. We will definitely see all the big sites like the Cathedral (probably with the rooftop tour), Alacazar, and Plaza Espana, but also spend a good portion of time walking, exploring the city, and eating. The lists provided above will certainly serve a a good guide for us!

For Cordoba, "The Soul of Cordoba" looks incredible, and tickets are available for our potential visit date. Would it be worthwhile seeing the Mezquita during the day and again for the evening show? For hotels, there are several attractive options - La Ermita Suites, Eurostars Azahar, Eurostars Palace. Any suggestions on where to stay for one night?

In Granada, we already have our Alhambra tickets reserved, and have hired a private tour guide for our Thursday.

The mezquita is absolutely worth visiting twice. We did it both morning and late afternoon, and the difference in the light added to the experience. I imagine the night visit would be even more dramatic. It's one of the few places that pictures cannot do justice.

Very glad you've secured tickets to the flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria. For my money, it's the best.

I agree with shelemm, about seeing the Mezquita twice.

For one night, I do know the very contemporary Eurostars Palace (a former AC hotel), and it's convenient for the train and walkable into the entrance to the Jewish Quarter but void of any typical Córdoba charm, such as interior patios with gurgling fountains, covered with azulejos (tiles) and geraniums adorning the walls. A hotel with a typical Cordoban, evocative central courtyard (or several patios) would be a nicer intro to this wonderful city.

The Ermita Suites are very attractive and get a top rating on Booking.com. I looked at them last Feb. and wished that I had stayed there rather than the suites I chose (due to price, dumb move).

The Eurostars Azahar is located near the Roman temple, so outside of the Jewish Quarter, Judería, about a 15-minute walk south to the Mezquita/Catedral..
For just one night, you probably want something inside the quarter.

Is the Casas de la Judería not available? That or the Balcón de Córdoba would be my top 2 choices in the Judería.

We stayed at La Casas de la Juderia and loved our stay there. I highly recommend it.

I've reached out to La Casas de la Juderia to see if they have any rooms that could accommodate two adults and one child. Based on their site, it seems they only have double occupancy rooms, as does Balcon de Cordoba. I agree on staying inside the quarter with our short visit time.

That's strange about the Casas de la Judería, as I did a dummy Booking.com search for 2 adults and 1 8-yr old child, and it came up with an available triple room, but I didn't know the exact date. You might check booking.com.

I think the La Ermita suites would fit the bill and it's very close to the Mosque/Cathedral and gets a 9.8 rating on Booking.

Maribel do you recommend the SOUL OF CORDOBA show for me?

I don't know because it might interfere with your dinner plans.
There are 2 shows per evening in March at 9 and 10:30 (but not every evening) but some are sold out. It depends on what you already had planned. It lasts for an hour, and you're given a headset.

To update, we booked La Ermita Suites for our single night in Cordoba. Laura, who I think is one of the owners, has been very responsive when I asked about storing our luggage. Our plan is to arrive from Sevilla at 9:22, drop our luggage at the hotel, then start exploring the city!

Hope you have a wonderful night and next morning in Córdoba.