Travels in Spain’s Andalusia

More than beautiful beaches, this Mediterranean region offers the Alhambra, Picasso’s childhood home, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and undiscovered walled hill towns.

This year's pre-Christmas trip to Spain was not my usual shopping trip – although my family was happy to find a few goodies – candied whole figs, Andalusian olive oil, almond-studded nougats and Castile soaps – under the tree.

This time we chose to explore Andalusia, a region so large and so rich in culture that we could only skim the surface. This region of Spain, covering the western Mediterranean coast to the Portuguese border and reaching up into the mountains to the north, was ruled for centuries by an Islamic caliphate that endowed the region with art treasures beyond belief, and left a love of beautiful things that pervades the very soul of Andalusia to this day.

Already posted on this page are articles covering exotic Seville, the cruise port of Cadiz, and the wine town of Jerez de la Frontera, as well as Seville’s Flamenco scene, and the comforts of flat-bed seats on Iberia Airline’s new Business Plus class.

In coming weeks, look for more – descriptions of the Alhambra and its gardens (and a wonderful restaurant inside Granada’s bullring), the new Picasso Museum and other sites related to the artist in his hometown of Malaga, Marbella’s charming old streets, Cordoba’s astonishing Great Mosque and old medina, and other places that are not as well known.

These include hilltop Carmona and a wonderful town I had never heard of: Priego de Cordoba, which we found by following the Route of the Caliphate. This and several other well-designed new tourist routes are beautifully detailed in a series of books produced by the ever-ahead-of-the-curve Spanish Tourist Office.

To read more about our Spanish travels click here.