162 Best Sights in Andalusia, Spain

This small city, in a cleft in the rock cut by the Río Guadalporcín, is 8 km (5 miles) north of Acinipo. The streets resemble long, narrow caves, and on many houses the roof is formed by a projecting ledge of heavy rock.

The only Jewish temple in Andalusia to survive the expulsion and inquisition of the Jews in 1492, Córdoba's synagogue is also one of only three ancient synagogues left in all of Spain (the other two are in Toledo). Though it no longer functions as a place of worship, it's a treasured symbol for Spain's modern Jewish communities. The outside is plain, but the inside (restored in 2018), measuring 23 feet by 21 feet, contains some exquisite Mudejar stucco tracery. Look for the fine plant motifs and the Hebrew inscription saying that the synagogue was built in 1315. The women's gallery (not open for visits) still stands, and in the east wall is the ark where the sacred scrolls of the Torah were kept.

Next door to the Church of the Holy Cross are the remains of a 1st-century-BC Roman theater, one of the oldest and largest in Spain. The stage is unexcavated (it lies under nearby houses), but you can visit the entrance and large seating area as well as the visitor center.

The tower on the far side of the Puente Romano (Roman Bridge), which was restored in 2008, was built in 1369 to guard the entrance to Córdoba. It now houses the Museo Vivo de Al-Andalus (Arabic for \"Land of the West\"), with films and audiovisual guides (in English) on Córdoba's history. Climb the narrow staircase to the top of the tower for the view of the Roman bridge and city on the other side of the Guadalquivir.

Built by the Moors in 1220 to complete the city's ramparts, this 12-sided tower on the banks of the Guadalquivir served to close off the harbor when a chain was stretched across the river from its base to a tower on the opposite bank. In 1248, Admiral Ramón de Bonifaz broke through the barrier, and Fernando III captured Seville. The tower houses a small naval museum.

From Grazalema, the A374 takes you to this town on the slopes of the Saltadero Mountains, known for its leather tanning and embossing industry. Look for the Convento de los Capuchinos (Capuchin Convent), the church of San Pedro, and, 4 km (2½ miles) away, the ruins of the Moorish castle El Castillo de Fátima.

Fans of Bizet's opera Carmen will want to come here to see where the famous heroine reputedly rolled cigars on her thighs. At the far end of the Murillo Gardens, opposite Calle San Fernando, stands part of the University of Seville, in what used to be the Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory). Built in the mid-1700s, the factory employed some 3,000 cigarreras (female cigar makers) less than a century later. Free guided tours (book online only) are available on Tuesday (11 am), Thursday (11 am), and Friday (11 am and 6 pm), except in August. 

Few Phoenician settlements have survived intact, but excavations underneath the Puppet Museum revealed some of the best-preserved ruins in Southern Europe. You can visit the 9th-century-BC remains and discover eight houses along two cobbled streets, complete with animal hoofprints encased in mud and clay. The site also has the remains of a Roman fish-preserving factory with saltwater pools.

This farm just outside Jerez de la Frontera specializes in Carthusian horses. In the 15th century, a Carthusian monastery on this site started the breed for which Jerez and the rest of Spain are now famous. Visits are on Saturday at 11 am, April to November, and include a full tour of the stables and training areas and a show (allow two hours). Book ahead.

A solitary watchtower dominates a crag above this village, its outline visible for miles around. The tower is all that remains of a Moorish castle where King Alfonso X once fought the emir of Morocco; the building remained a Moorish stronghold until it fell to the Christians in 1470. Along the streets you can see door knockers fashioned like the hand of Fatima: the fingers represent the five laws of the Koran and are meant to ward off evil.

The Spanish word for the Arab souk (zoco) recalls the onetime function of this courtyard near the synagogue. It's now the site of a daily crafts market, where you can see artisans at work and live music on weekends.

Just west of the town center, the Jerez zoo is set in lush botanical gardens where you can usually spy up to 33 storks' nests. Primarily a place for the rehabilitation of injured or endangered animals native to the region, the zoo also houses white tigers, elephants, a giant red panda, and the endangered Iberian lynx (the only place where you can see the lynx in captivity).