Things to do
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Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
Christian kings ruled from this squat riverside fortress and received Columbus in it, and the Inquisition later used the same halls. The draw now is the garden: terraced water channels, clipped hedges and fish pools running below the walls. Towers can be climbed for a view over the roofs, and a summer visit works best early, before the gravel holds the heat.
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Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
Red and white horseshoe arches march over a forest of columns inside the Mezquita, built as the great mosque of the caliphate and given a Renaissance cathedral through its middle in the sixteenth century. Early entry on weekday mornings is free for a short window, and the building is emptiest then. The bell tower is ticketed separately and climbed by timed slot.
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Roman Bridge
Sixteen arches carry the old road over the Guadalquivir below the Mezquita, rebuilt many times on Roman foundations and now closed to traffic. Crossing at dusk puts the lit cathedral tower behind and the ruined watermills in the river below. The Calahorra tower at the far end holds a small museum of the three faiths of the city.