How to Plan the Best Family Day Trip to Cordoba Spain Day with Kids
My kids (especially my son) loved Cordoba, Spain and we did too. It’s still one of my favorite cities. Cordoba is about 2 hours from our home base in Andalusia – Olvera, Spain. The drive from Olvera to Cordoba is stunning. Roaming hills and olive farms everywhere.
Our Trip to Cordoba was in Feb 2018. We have updated this page since that time to give more information and details.
Cordoba, Spain
Cordoba Spain is located in the north central area of Andalusia. This beautiful and ancient city with where music and history permeate through the air has a very long and at time turmulent past.
The city is old and dates prior to Roman times. During Roman rule the Cordoba initially flurished under but then suffered when 20,000 of it’s citizens were murdered by order of Julius Cesear. Cordoba’s prominence and success ebbed and flowed depending on who had control at the time. In 711 the city was largly destroyed by Muslim conquers but then flourished becoming the larges and possibly most cultured city in Europe. During this time may palaces and mosques were created.
The city again came on hard times with battles of who was to be in control. Eventually Cordoba became part of Christian Spain and acted as a military base on the frontier of the war against Muslim Granada. Cordoba declined under Christian rule culturally and economically.
Today Cordoba is a thriving middle sized city with a strong Spanish culture. Moorish, Christian and even Roman features intermix with wonderful results. There is history everywhere in Cordoba but there is also a very festive atmosphere with people who just seem to stress less and take more time to just enjoy life.
How to get to Cordoba Spain
We visited as a day trip from Olvera. The drive was scenic and not complicated. Cordoba is a wonderful city to add to any tour of the Andalusia area of Spain. We rented a car for this part of our trip but I would think that buses and other transportation services are available.
The most convienent airport is probably Malaga and there seems to be train service that connects to Cordoba. Seville is another choice for flights.
First … find a place to park in Cordoba
If you don’t have to bring a car to Cordoba then it’s wonderful to skip the find parking step. I’d much rather not have a car in these old cities but there are 5 of us and we were not staying in a large enough city to have access to public transportation so finding crazy parking spaces is something we just have to take a deep breath about and figure it out.
We arrived in Cordoba and just followed the signs for parking near the city walls. The city wall is Roman. It’s really a strange experience to be looking for parking around, under and kind of in these ancient structures. We found the last spot in a really tight parking garage that is built in to and under city walls. Only try these garages if you’re good getting in to tight areas. Most of the garages in Europe are small. This one was really small. Plus many of the parking spots were built around ruins which explained the crazy small and awkward spots. It had the effect of some narrow oddly arranged parking spaces then blocked off areas around the Roman ruins, then a tight turn, more small spaces then more Roman ruins … in the parking garage between the parking spaces.
It did make me think – if the parking garage is full of this much cool stuff, I can’t wait to see the rest.
Take Some Time to Stroll the Ancient Streets of Cordoba and Enjoy the Spanish Atmosphere
The city of Cordoba is a wonderful city to roam. There are small cobblestone paths and lots of picturesque streets to get lost in. We passed many cafe’s and there was music in the air. At one of the cafe’s several of the customers were playing the guitar and singing while kids played soccer in the square. Old Spanish cities are so full of life and Cordoba is just wonderful. I could have spend hours at a cafe, listening to the music and watching the kids play.
Unfortunately because we really wanted to see some specific sites, we had to rush by. The sites were amazing and worth it. Next time I may just plan an extra day to relax.
Mezquita de Cordoba
Our goal for this day trip was the Mezquita de Cordoba so that’s where we started our tour – also known as the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. The Mezquita de Cordoba is a beautiful mosque and cathedral in the center of town. It’s just amazing. The kids had fallen in love with the place after watching a Rick Steve’s episode on Andalusia and were even more impressed when we saw the real thing. The kids call it the Candy Cane Mosque (luckily they didn’t lick anything).
Historians believe the site was a Roman Temple then was converted to a church in 572 by Visigoth invaders. At one time the complex was both a church and a mosque. In 1784 the entire complex became a mosque then was completely rebuilt and expanded over the next 200 years. During this time frame the distinct red and white columns were added as well as the courtyard which still contains ancient orange trees and bell tower (that was formally the minaret). Somewhere around the 1200’s (during Spain’s reconquest) the Mezquita was changed back in to a church and in the 1600’s a large cathedral was plopped right in the middle of the complex.
The Mezquita is considered by many to be one of the greatest examples of Islamic architecture in the world. As soon as you go inside you’ll know why this building is such a photographer’s paradise. It’s just so pretty. The rows of columns can make some fantastic shots. Off of the of the main line of columns there are plenty of beautiful objects to stare at as well as the exquisitely made mihrab and dome. Most of the columns have been repaired but there are areas that still seem to near original. You can see the wear and tear of over 1000 years of hands.
The Roman Bridge
After our playground break it was time for some quick food and starting our ride home.
and a Stop at the Mall
As a side trip, we happened to find a Toys R Us on the way home and we needed to get our youngest a new booster seat. Turns out it was a full mall and it was busy – like 1990’s US mall busy. After spending the last few months in small towns and historic cities, it was a total culture shock to us. We started to feel at home with tiny streets and cobblestones but the mall was really disorienting.
We had the same feeling at the mall in Sana Ana, Costa Rica and I think it’s actually a really good experience. It brings you out of the tourist zones and you get to experience the people in a different way. I wish we had a little more energy to hang out in some of the play areas but by then it was our kids bedtime and time for us to start our 2 hour ride back. We did find a booster seat and some cheap shoes so it was absolutely worth the stop.
Out of all the towns we visited in Spain, Cordoba was the kids favorite (and definitely one of our favorites too).
Going to Barcelona? Then check out this article what to see in Barcelona if you only have one day.
Would you like to see our inspiration for this trip? We had several people recommend Cordoba to us but it was this video from Rick Steves that really convinced us.
