Andalusia, Spain — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Andalusia known for?

Eight centuries of Muslim rule left it the Alhambra above Granada and the great mosque at Córdoba, and the region carries that history in its stone. Flamenco was born here, in the streets and courtyards of Seville and Cádiz. The Costa del Sol lines the Mediterranean around Málaga, while whitewashed towns like Ronda cling to the ridges inland.

Sun and heat define it. Few corners of Europe get as many clear days.

Where is Andalusia?

Andalusia fills the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, the last stretch of Spain before Africa. It divides into eight provinces. Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville run from the desert east to the Atlantic coast.

Two mountain systems frame the land. The Sierra Morena walls off the north, marking the old edge of the plateau, while the Sierra Nevada climbs in the south-east to Mulhacén, the highest summit in mainland Spain. Between them runs the Guadalquivir.

The river gathers in the province of Jaén, then flows south-west through Córdoba and Seville before spilling into the Atlantic near the Gulf of Cádiz. Two seas edge the region. The Atlantic washes the shores of Huelva and Cádiz, and the Mediterranean takes over from Cádiz eastward along Málaga, Granada and Almería.

Between the two lies the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow gate where the ocean meets the sea and only a short reach of water separates Spain from Morocco. Morocco stands within sight across it. That crossing has carried armies, traders and pilgrims for as long as the region has had a history.

What is Andalusia like?

Andalusia sounds like flamenco. The song, the guitar and the dance took shape here, in the Roma quarters of Seville, Cádiz and Jerez, and they remain the region's living pulse rather than a museum piece. Much of the rest grew from Al-Andalus.

Nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule shaped the food, the tilework, the horseshoe arches and the very words of the local speech, and that inheritance is stamped on every old city here. The Alhambra crowns Granada. The Mezquita anchors Córdoba, and the tower called the Giralda still rises over Seville.

Faith runs loud through the year. The Holy Week processions of Seville and Málaga, and the spring feria that follows, pull whole cities into the street. Spanish is the common tongue, spoken in an accent that clips and softens its sounds.

Andalusians will tell you their way of speaking is its own thing. Bullrings, sherry from Jerez and the horse fairs belong to the picture as much as the monuments do. Life leans outdoors, and the day bends around the heat.

What is the history of Andalusia?

The name comes from Al-Andalus, the land the Moors ruled after crossing from Africa in 711. For most of the next eight centuries the south was a Muslim world, and Córdoba grew under its caliphate into one of the largest cities on earth. The frontier moved slowly southward.

Granada held out longest, the last Muslim kingdom in Spain, until its emir surrendered the Alhambra in 1492. That fall closed the Reconquista and turned the region toward the New World, its ports handling the trade that followed. Modern Andalusia carries both inheritances at once.

What is the climate of Andalusia?

Andalusia is the hottest corner of mainland Spain. Summers on the Guadalquivir plain around Seville and Córdoba turn ferocious, hot enough that the valley earns its old nickname as the frying pan of the country. The coasts stay softer.

Sea breezes cool Málaga and the Costa del Sol, and winters there run mild and bright. Up in the Sierra Nevada it is another world entirely, cold enough that snow settles on the high peaks and skiers look down within sight of the warm Mediterranean below. Rain, when it falls, comes mostly in winter.

Clear skies are the rule the rest of the year.

How do you get to Andalusia?

Most visitors fly into Málaga. Its airport is the busiest in the region and the main door to the Costa del Sol, while Seville and Granada run their own airports for travellers heading straight to the Moorish cities. Fast trains climb from Madrid to Córdoba and Seville in a few hours, threading the Sierra Morena on the way.

The Strait of Gibraltar carries ferries across to Morocco from Tarifa and Algeciras. Roads knit the eight provinces together, from the Atlantic beaches of Cádiz to the Almería desert in the far east.