Islamic Spain: A Guide to the Heritage of Al-Andalus

The one everyone comes for, and it earns it. A fortress stood on the hill from the ninth century — Sawwar ben Hamdun took refuge in the Alcazaba there in 889 — but the Alhambra you walk through today is largely the work of the Nasrid sultans Yusuf I and Muhammad V in the fourteenth century. After the fall of Granada, Charles V added quarters of his own, including the Emperor's Chambers and the Queen's Dressing Room, which is why the site reads as several eras stacked on one hill.

Give it three to four hours. The Alcazaba fortress, the Nasrid palaces, the Patio of the Lions, the Gate of Justice, the baths, the Comares Hall — it is a lot, and rushing it wastes the ticket.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba was built to rival Constantinople, and at its height it was among the largest mosques in the world. Abd al-Rahman I began by buying half of the existing site so the Muslim community could pray there, then purchased the remainder to build the mosque proper. In the sixteenth century a cathedral was inserted into the middle of it — hence the Mezquita-Catedral you visit today.

Look for the horseshoe arches in their red-and-white bands: the form was adapted from the Umayyad Great Mosque of Damascus, and the effect of hundreds of them receding into the dark is why people call this the most beautiful interior in Spain.

The Alcázar has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and is the oldest European royal palace still in use — begun as a fort in 913, turned into a palace under Muslim rule, and expanded by nearly every ruler since. The stone carving and the gardens are the highlight, and the Royal Alcázar Board runs events there through the year.

Nearby, Seville Cathedral — Santa María de la Sede — stands where the city's main mosque once did, and the Giralda was its minaret. It is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world at over 11,500 square metres, so do not attempt it on an empty stomach.

Just outside Cordoba lie the ruins of Madinat al-Zahra — the shining city built by Abd al-Rahman III as the seat of his Caliphate, spread across acres. You can walk the Upper Basilical Building, where the state officials worked, and the House of Ja'far, home to the Caliph's prime minister. It gives you the scale of the thing in a way the mosque alone does not.

In Cordoba itself, the Viana Palace is a quieter pleasure — a fifteenth-century aristocratic home, once seat of the Marquisate of Villaseca, with courtyards and a garden inside the house. Muslim homes have always kept gardens within the walls, on the principle that plants and animals are a blessing and that privacy and nature need not be a trade-off. It is also markedly less crowded than the Mezquita, which by day three you will appreciate.

Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz — tenth-century, and the only one of Toledo's ten mosques still standing. Look for the Arabic inscription on the south-west end recording its founding. Nine bays of horseshoe arches and geometry: small, but remarkable.

Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary, Toledo — built over the city's main mosque; the minaret the muezzin once climbed still stands.

Calahorra Tower — raised by the Moors, extended by King Enrique II in 1369, and now home to the Museum of Islamic Spain. Cross the Roman bridge to reach it. The museum tells the story of the three faiths sharing the city.

Castillo Árabe — a hill fort defended to the last by its Muslim garrison, with the tale that Emir Muhammad IX kept his daughters there. Twelfth century, and worth the climb for the view.

Spring and autumn (March–April, October–November) are the best windows: roughly 14–21°C, shorter queues, and hotel prices that have not lost their minds. Summer (June–August) is the peak — hottest weather, highest prices, longest lines; we would steer you away from it if you have a choice. Winter (November–February) is the low season: cold, quiet and cheap, but check opening hours before you set out, because several sites cut them back.

Dress for walking. In summer, loose cotton and genuinely comfortable shoes — you will not find a decent replacement pair near the sites. In the colder months, a light jacket, a raincoat and, again, good shoes.