163 Best Sights in Andalusia, Spain

Opened in 1785 in the former Lonja (Merchants' Exchange), this dignified Renaissance building stores a valuable archive of more than 40,000 documents, including drawings, trade documents, plans of South American towns, and even the autographs of Columbus, Magellan, and Cortés. Temporary exhibitions showcase different archives.

This Diego de Riaño original, built between 1527 and 1564, is in the heart of Seville's commercial center. A 19th-century plateresque facade overlooks the Plaza Nueva. The other side, on the Plaza de San Francisco, is Riaño's work. Visits must be prebooked via the website. 

Baeza's town hall was designed by cathedral master Andrés de Vandelvira. The facade is ornately decorated with a mix of religious and pagan imagery. Look between the balconies for the coats of arms of Felipe II, the city of Baeza, and the magistrate Juan de Borja. Ask at the tourist office about visits to the salón de plenos, a meeting hall with painted carved woodwork.

Begun in the early 16th century but restored as a beautiful arcaded baroque palace in 1680, the former town hall is now a conservatory of music. From the hall's upper balcony, the town council watched celebrations and autos-da-fé ("acts of faith"—executions of heretics sentenced by the Inquisition) in the square below. You can't enter the town hall, but on the north side you can visit the 13th-century Iglesia de San Pablo, with its Isabelline south portal.

The excavated remains of the Arab Baths date from Ronda's tenure as capital of a Moorish taifa (kingdom). The star-shape vents in the roof are an inferior imitation of the ceiling of the beautiful bathhouse in Granada's Alhambra. The baths are beneath the Puente Árabe (Arab Bridge) in a ravine below the Palacio del Marqués de Salvatierra.

Baths played a very important part in Muslim life and as a measure of that status were often sited near a mosque or in the souk. At the re-created baths, you can relax with friends, get a massage, and even take tea and play chess in the water. Visits must be booked in advance.

This church holds Seville's most revered image, the Virgin of Hope—better known as La Macarena. Bedecked with candles and carnations, her cheeks streaming with glass tears, the Macarena steals the show at the procession on Holy Thursday, the highlight of Seville's Semana Santa pageant. The patron of Romani and the protector of the matador, her charms are so great that young Sevillano bullfighter Joselito spent half his personal fortune buying her emeralds. When he was killed in the ring in 1920, La Macarena was dressed in widow's weeds for a month. The adjacent museum tells the history of Semana Santa traditions through processional and liturgical artifacts amassed by the Brotherhood of La Macarena over four centuries.

Set on the square and in the district of the same name, this large church is one of Jaén's treasures. Built mainly in the Gothic style with baroque details, the magnificent gilded altar is the highlight.

Founded in 1729, this bodega in the center of town is Andalusia's oldest. Besides being informative, the fun tour and wine tasting give you the chance to buy a bottle or two of Alvear's tasty version of the sweet Pedro Ximénez aged wine.

Phone ahead to book a tour in English.

Five blocks southeast of the Torre Tavira are the gold dome and baroque facade of Cádiz's cathedral, which offers views from atop the Torre del Reloj (Clock Tower) that make the climb to the top worth it. The construction of the building was begun in 1722, when the city was at the height of its power. Cádiz-born composer Manuel de Falla, who died in 1946, is buried in the crypt. The museum, on Calle Arquitecto Acero, displays gold, silver, and jewels from the New World, as well as Enrique de Arfe's processional cross, which is carried in the annual Corpus Christi parades. The cathedral is known as the "New Cathedral" because it supplanted the original neighboring 13th-century structure, which was destroyed by the British in 1592, rebuilt, then rechristened the Iglesia de la Santa Cruz (Church of the Holy Cross).

This is Seville's classy main shopping street. Near the southern end, at No. 85, a plaque marks the spot where the Cárcel Real (Royal Prison) once stood. Miguel de Cervantes began writing Don Quixote in one of its cells.

This seamen's chapel, built in 1759, is one of Triana's most important monuments and home to the Brotherhood of Triana, whose Semana Santa processions are among the most revered in the city. There's also a small museum dedicated to the Brotherhood.

Catholic monarchs Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragón are buried at this shrine. The couple originally planned to be buried in Toledo's San Juan de los Reyes, but Isabel changed her mind when the pair conquered Granada in 1492. When she died in 1504, her body was first laid to rest in the Convento de San Francisco (now a parador) on the Alhambra hill. The architect Enrique Egas began work on the Capilla Real in 1506 and completed it 15 years later, creating a masterpiece of the ornate Gothic style now known in Spain as Isabelline. In 1521, Isabel's body was transferred to a simple lead coffin in the Capilla Real crypt, where it was joined by that of her husband, Fernando, and later her unfortunate daughter, Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad), and son-in-law, Felipe el Hermoso (Philip the Handsome). Felipe died young, and Juana had his casket borne about the peninsula with her for years, opening the lid each night to kiss her embalmed spouse good night. A small coffin to the right contains the remains of Prince Felipe of Asturias, a grandson of the Catholic Monarchs and nephew of Juana la Loca who died in his infancy. The crypt containing the five lead coffins is quite simple, but it's topped by elaborate marble tombs showing Fernando and Isabel lying side by side (commissioned by their grandson Carlos V and sculpted by Domenico Fancelli). The altarpiece, by Felipe Vigariny (1522), is comprised of 34 carved panels depicting religious and historical scenes; the bottom row shows Boabdil surrendering the keys of the city to its conquerors and the forced baptism of the defeated Moors. The sacristy holds Fernando's sword, Isabel's crown and scepter, and a fine collection of Flemish paintings once owned by Isabel.

Up the hill from the Hotel Alhambra Palace, this turn-of-the-20th-century carmen (private villa) and its gardens—the only area open to tourists—are like a Generalife in miniature.

Originally built in 1494 for the Pisa family, the claim to fame of this house is its relationship to San Juan de Dios, who came to Granada in 1538 and founded a charity hospital to take care of the poor. Befriended by the Pisa family, he was taken into their home when he fell ill in February 1550. A month later, he died there, at the age of 55. Since that time, devotees of the saint have traveled from around the world to this house with a stone Gothic facade, now run by the Hospital Order of St. John. Inside are numerous pieces of jewelry, furniture, priceless religious works of art, and an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures depicting St. John.

This 16th-century palace, adorned with the coat of arms of the Grana Venegas family who owned it, was named House of the Shots for the musket barrels that protrude from its facade. The stairs to the upper-floor displays are flanked by portraits of grim Spanish royals, from Fernando and Isabel to Felipe IV. The highlight is the carved wooden ceiling in the Cuadra Dorada (Hall of Gold), adorned with gilded lettering and portraits of royals and knights. Old lithographs, engravings, and photographs show life in Granada in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This private museum opposite the synagogue is dedicated to the culture of Sephardic Jews in the Mediterranean. Providing a very personal insight, the museum's director leads visitors through the five rooms of the 14th-century house, where displays cover Sephardic domestic life, music, festivities, the history of Córdoba's Jewish Quarter, and finally a collection of contemporary paintings of the women of al-Andalus ("al-Andalus" is Arabic for "Land of the West").

Located in the central paseo—where the Plaza del Pópulo (or Plaza de los Leones) and Plaza de la Constitución (or Plaza del Mercado Viejo) merge to form a cobblestone square—this graceful town house was built around 1530. The first Mass of the Reconquest was supposedly celebrated on its curved balcony; it now houses Baeza's tourist office.

The composer Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) lived and worked for many years in this rustic house tucked into a charming hillside lane with lovely views of the Alpujarras. In 1986, Granada paid homage to him by naming its new concert hall (down the street from the Carmen de los Mártires) the Auditorio Manuel de Falla. From this institution, fittingly, you have a view of his little white house. Note the bust in the small garden: it's placed where the composer once sat to enjoy the sweeping vista.

Granada's most famous native son, the poet Federico García Lorca, gets his due here, in the middle of a park devoted to him on the southern fringe of the city. Lorca's onetime summer home, La Huerta de San Vicente, is now a museum (guided tours only)—run by his niece Laura García Lorca—with such artifacts as his beloved piano and changing exhibits on specific aspects of his life.

There's a delightful garden in this fine 16th-century Morisco house (built by Moorish craftsmen under Christian rule). It houses the School of Arabic Studies.

This castle was built in the 13th century on the site of a mosque. Created by Alfonso X, it was later home to the Duke of Medinaceli. Among the guests were Christopher Columbus, who tried unsuccessfully to persuade the duke to finance his voyage west, and Juan de la Cosa, who, within these walls, drew up the first map ever to include the Americas. The red lettering on the walls is a 19th-century addition. Visits are by tour only (in English at 11:30), which must be booked by phone or email; Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday visits include the next-door bodega.

Originally begun by Fernando III on the site of a former mosque, the cathedral was largely rebuilt by Andrés de Vandelvira, architect of Jaén's cathedral, between 1570 and 1593, though the west front has architectural influences from an earlier period. A fine 14th-century rose window crowns the 13th-century Puerta de la Luna (Moon Door). Don't miss the baroque silver monstrance (a vessel in which the consecrated Host is exposed for the adoration of the faithful), which is carried in Baeza's Corpus Christi processions—the piece is kept in a concealed niche behind a painting, but you can see it in all its splendor by putting a coin in a slot to reveal the hiding place. Next to the monstrance is the entrance to the clock tower, where a small donation and a narrow spiral staircase take you to one of the best views of Baeza. The remains of the original mosque are in the cathedral's Gothic cloisters.

Across from the alcázar and around the corner from the González Byass winery, the cathedral has an octagonal cupola and a separate bell tower, as well as Zurbarán's canvas La Virgen Niña Meditando (The Virgin as a Young Girl).

Carlos V commissioned the cathedral in 1521 because he considered the Capilla Real "too small for so much glory" and wanted to house his illustrious late grandparents someplace more worthy. Carlos undoubtedly had great intentions, as the cathedral was created by some of the finest architects of its time: Enrique de Egas, Diego de Siloé, Alonso Cano, and sculptor Juan de Maena. Alas, his ambitions came to little, for the cathedral is a grand and gloomy monument, not completed until 1714 and never used as the crypt for his grandparents (or parents). Enter through a small door at the back, off the Gran Vía. Old hymnals are displayed throughout, and there's a museum, which includes a 14th-century gold-and-silver monstrance given to the city by Queen Isabel.

Near the Puente del Cachorro, the old Estación de Córdoba train station has been converted into this stylish shopping center with boutiques, bars, fast-food joints, a nightclub, and a movie theater complex.

With none of the 40 original ceramicists remaining in Triana, this restored factory complete with its original kilns provides an interesting insight into the neighborhood's tile-making past. Downstairs, an exhibition explains the manufacturing process and the story of ceramics, while upstairs there's a selection of tiles on display. Free guided tours are offered in English.

Located in a huge brutalist building whose intricate facade imitates the geometric shapes on the Mezquita stucco-work, this center operates primarily as a stage for live art with artists in residence and regular dance performances. It also hosts regular exhibitions by contemporary Spanish artists. Every evening at dusk, the exterior facade lights up with artwork, best viewed from the Balcón del Guadalquivir park on the north side of the river. 

A short film shown in the interpretive center introduces the park's main sights. Displays explain the plants and geology, and there's a small hunting museum. Staff can advise on camping, fishing, and hiking trails.