I am wondering if you had to choose between spending a couple days in the white hill towns or a couple days in Cordoba what would you choose?

Cordoba for sure. One of nicest cities in Spain with great cathedral. White towns are small and nice but not much to do there.

Definitely Cordoba.

Cordoba, without a doubt.

Please note, the pueblos blancos are over rated.

Go to Cordoba.

Actually much of Cordoba is a white town - http://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p414429517

Cordoba, as everyone else suggests. It was one of our favorite cities on our trip this past September. The Mezquita is amazing! We enjoyed the Alcazar with its beautiful extensive gardens. We also visited the Palacio Viana with its 12 lovely courtyards. Loved the Roman Bridge at night with spectacular views of the illuminated Mezquita. And had one of the best meals of our trip at Regadera, along the riverfront.

We stayed at Las Casa de la Juderia. Excellent property. They had an honor bar set up in their courtyard every late afternoon/early evening. We had drinks there with our friends before going out for the evening.
https://www.lascasasdelajuderiadecordoba.com/en/

It's been nearly 20 years since I've been to the white towns, but we loved our visit to Cordoba this past March. The Mezquita was really powerful. We, too, stayed as Las Casas de la Juderia and loved it.

We also ate dinner--probably the nicest dinner of our trip--at Regadera. Reserve ahead; it's a popular place.

Ditto. Cordoba!

Cordoba. It's underrated. I've stayed there a few times, sometimes overnight, sometimes waiting for an 11 PM train to somewhere else, and there's much more to the city than just the Mezquita. The food is incredible, hotels affordable, and it's just got a nice vibe. I've been to the white towns - not super memorable.

I agree with overlt that there is more to Córdoba than the Mezquita. We stayed 2 nights, but i wish we had a 3rd night.

Cordoba!

If you want to visit white towns, try American suburbs.

following

"If you want to visit white towns, try American suburbs"

rimshot added

While we LOVED Cordoba and three days were not enough, I think the Pueblos Blancos are getting a bad rap here. We were there last autumn. We stayed in Jerez de la Frontera (fabulous town) and drove out into the villages one whole day and then went out again and stayed overnight there before heading up to Cordoba. In particular we liked Arcos de la Frontera and Vejer de la Frontera, had a wonderful very local lunch in the very untouristy Grazalema and ended up staying in beautiful little Zahara de la Sierra where we did manage to walk up to the castle on the hill towering over the town.
If you've only got a couple of days, Cordoba is the best choice but keep the Pueblos Blancos in mind for another trip!

"staying in beautiful little Zahara de la Sierra where we did manage to walk up to the castle on the hill towering over the town."

Although not overly impressed with the White Towns, to be fair we also stayed in Zahara de la Sierra at Al Lago...nice spot across from the lake (hence the name) with a dynamite dinner, and we also enjoyed Grazalema.