Practical Travel Tips for 7 days of summer in Granada with a bit of Cordoba and Sevilla
Many people go to Spain. Some people think there are too many tourists and not enough housing for common working people. You can see this in the protests in Barcelona. I believe that there is a real point to that and while solving the problem is complex, one way is to leave the beaten tracks and obvious places to go.
Instead of Barcelona, why don't you go to the north of Spain as described a while back here. Or consider the south, which even in a hot summer is really beautiful. You can find details on a week in the south described in this post. Spreading ourselves, being polite and considerate, so we don't become a nuisance might just be help a little bit...
And with that... back to our regular programming.
Travel like Just Been There
A week of Spain traveling like just been there can look like this:
- Arrive by plane in Sevilla and travel to Granada by train
- Two days Granada
- A day trip to Córdoba from Granada
- One more day in Granada
- Two days in Sevilla
- Travel out of Sevilla by plane
Just Been There Art
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| Calleja de las Flores, Córdoba |
Arriving and then Catching the Train
You can start this trip in a number of ways, one way is to fly into Madrid and take the high speed train to Sevilla - Córdoba - Granada. It is efficient and pretty fast to get to Sevilla, it is a little slower after that. If you choose this route, I would still go all the way to Granada and start there. Then break the return journey up and stay a few days in Sevilla, and then back Madrid for your flight out...
We found that Sevilla offered the most convenient flights from within Europe of these three cities, and there are a number of stop-overs that can get you to Sevilla. If you are flying in from outside Europe, have a look. From the US, going through Lisbon seems to be a reasonable option and Barcelona (oh no!) can be one too.
Sevilla airport is a small airport compared to Madrid or other major hubs in Europe. So expect relatively calm and collected place for your arrival. Bags too a bit of time to arrive...
We took the EA (Especial Aeropuerto) bus from the airport to Santa Justa train station. The airport website describes the bus very well. There is no need to buy any tickets in advance, this is a regular city bus service. Simply pay 5 Euros per passenger at the little ticket booth, right outside the arrivals terminal doors. The bus is marked with EA and that is the only city bus you will see. Schlep your owns bags into the bus and take a seat.
Once in the bus, some busses have the digital system telling you what the next stop is. If they do, pay attention because the bus from the Airport to the City does NOT drive into the station. It stops on Avenida Kansas City... so just pin the location in your phone and follow along on the map for this stop:
From the bus stop is a real short walk into Sta Justa. The station has a number of coffee shops / restaurants, with decent sandwiches and coffee. Importantly, it has decent and pretty clean rest rooms. As with any large station, lots of people milling around. The boards will tell you where your train departs.
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| Santa Justa Station, Sevilla |
Timing: we landed at Sevilla relatively early in the morning, around 09:45. Got our bags, got the bus tickets, lined up, rode the bus and were at Santa Justa at around 11:15 or so. Plenty in time to catch our train to Sevilla, scheduled for 12:18 (it is the direct Avant - not fast train - more below).
Trains and Train Tickets in Spain
For the train, I do recommend to buy your tickets in advance, and reserve seats, especially if there are two or more of you in the party. We used the official Renfe site to do all of this. That all worked well, but we did experience a bunch of outages where the store or site were just not working. So, plan ahead and book ahead!
For Sevilla - Granada we traveled on both the Avant and Ave (the fast train) and there really is little noticeable difference other than the looks of the trains. The Ave looks lot sleeker, but for the 2:30 hours ride it didn't much matter... So I would look for the most convenient time and not focus on Ave or not.
Also keep in mind that the Ave trains require an extra security check. So, don't cut it too close to hop aboard.
In terms of pricing and schedules, here are some things to think about:
- Highest train density for these long range trains seems to be the morning commute and the evening commute. The Ave trains all go to and come from Madrid...
- We didn't find much advanced pricing discounts... whether we booked a few weeks out or 2 days out seemed to be very similar (whereas in Portugal there is a big discount for early bookings)
- Turista class on both Avant and Ave is plenty good, we didn't see much benefit in booking a higher class as the seats are booked in advance.
The trains ran (mostly) on time, and we found the personnel in the trains and on the stations to be extremely helpful and willing to explain almost anything. Just keep in mind that basic Spanish is very helpful as most don't speak fluent English... But it is refreshing to see such helpfulness.
Practical Granada
Many guides and website review all the amazing things to do and see in Granada, which is a truly wonderful destination.
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| Late afternoon light on the Alhambra, Granada |
So instead here are some practical things to know when you plan your visit, starting with: don't bring a car. The city is really small (ok, you can walk 15,000 - 20,000 steps a day easily) and old... so leave them cars behind.
Then, your Alhambra morning or evening:
- As everyone and every guide book / website will tell you, buy the Alhambra tickets ahead of time. We bought the Alhambra General tickets, they provide entrance to the whole thing.
The fun starts after that: - The Nasrid Palaces tickets are timed. I would buy them for a time slot in the early morning, or as late as possible in the day. For the late ones, ensure that after the palaces you have enough time to wander around the rest of the complex!
- There are essentially a number of entrances into the complex. The main entrance is NOT the same as the entrance for the Nasrid Palaces! For the Nasrid Palaces you go here:
Enter through the Puerta de la Justicia and line up along the green line to enter at the green circle for the palaces - Be there about 15 - 20 minute in advance and line up, so you get ahead of the group that is all going in on your time slot. Being early in your group means pictures with fewer "other people" in them!
- Bring your passport or identity card you used to buy the tickets, they do check and have the QR code for scanning!
- If you are late, go past the line and ask for forgiveness... they seem to let people in within reasonable times
- The Alhambra takes around 3-4 hours, so bring a lot of water or better, a refillable bottle. There are water fountains (check the labels on the fountain!) around the city to replenish your bottles with potable water.
- Plan food around your Alhambra trip. If you early, eat a big breakfast and after the visit find a nice cafe or restaurant with air conditioning and enjoy a nice lunch... We enjoyed Los Manueles (there are a few in Granada) near the Cathedral, where a nice Menu del Dia will cost you around 13.50 Euros
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| Just for fun, the Nasrid Palaces |
Next up, a number of other things we really liked in Granada:
- Walk the city! But mind the cobble stones
- The San Jerónimo monastery is really worth a visit, and even if you have visited a number of churches, this one is really worth the 6 euros.
- More walking... either in the morning (like 9:00) or in the late afternoon (18:00 in the summer) walk around the city as shown here:
- Start from the center to the Plaza Santa Ana, walk along the river on the Carrera Del Darro. You' see some wonderful bits of the old city and the Alhambra. Make sure that when you turn left at the end of the map above, you walk into the Palacio de los Cordova. It is one of the coolest (temperature) and quietest places in town. A nice garden to picnic if you are up for a snack
- Continue and make your way to the Plaza San Nicolás for stunning views of the Alhambra, and likely a lively group of artists making music...
Musicians and some incredible views of the Alhambra - Continue along the green line and be sure to visit the Palacio de Dar al-Horra. This is a small palace, but it is quiet and has some very nice views onto lesser seen parts of Granada
- Then wander down back to the Plaza Santa Ana...
- This will take you some 3 hours or so and gives you Granada in all its glory, largely for free
- Walk to the Genil river and hang around in the park near the Puento Romano and take in the locals enjoying the park in the shade
Lastly, some of the food we enjoyed:
- Starting with the most casual and unassuming, with a whopping 8 seats or so, stop by for a shawarma at Restaurante Jerusalén, on C. Elvira 42 (it is a block of the Gran Via de Colón). It doesn't look like much, but has some of the best Shawarma in town...
- A lovely outdoor dinner can be had at the small covered outdoor seating of Pimienta rosa, we can recommend the "Arroz Negro" and if they still serve them, the "Morcilla de Burgos"...
- In the Mercado de San Agustin, we ate at La Cocina de San Agustin, a seafood joint in a bustling market. No one really speaks English, so point at the fish. We really enjoyed the Calamar Nacional Plancha and the Navajas... (yes the place has 3.3. stars, but the fish is fresh and locals order their shrimp etc, just be ready for a lot of hustle and bustle)
- We had Churros y hot chocolate (very nice!) and Piononos de Santa Fe (local specialty?) at Via Colon, which is very cute cafe on the Gran Via de Colón (at #13) with an excellent coffee
- And a touristy meal can be had at Bodegas Castañeda, which we actually enjoyed (just say no to Pan)... the food was not too bad and we were happy with the Sangria, Cerveza and the 1/2 Table Caliente. Is it the best, no, but it is in a nice street with tons of people to look at and be looked at by... so, why not.
And that is Granada. Again, lots to read about it, but we spent three wonderful days in Granada.
A day trip to Cordóba
Our day trip from Granada to Córdoba started bright and early start, as the trains run either very early or late. So we took the 06:00 train and arrived in Córdoba around 07:30.
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| Not too hot and few people... |
The upside of this, it is still relatively cool and quiet. As before, you will find loads of tips on Córdoba in many places. Here are some of the practical food and walking tips:
- The train station is in easy walking distance to the old city and the Puente Romano de Córdoba, and most of the walk goes through a park
- If like us you arrive early in Córdoba or stay there, get the first entry time of the day tickets for the Mezquita-Catedral. It enables you to take pictures without anyone in them... so when you walk in, do a walk about quickly (take those cool shots without them other people in it!) and then go back to start and do the actual tour...
Look... no other people yet! - It is worthwhile to be in the city early as said... the bridge get really warm (or hot) after 09:00, so make it over there either early in the day or late in the day
- The art shown above paints a nice picture of the Calleja the las Floras... but it is a bit of let down. It is a short street, with some nice flowers. And it makes for that cool shot of the cathedral tower and the flowers... but, if you miss it, no harm done
- We loved the Patios Cordobeses! While many of them were closed in the high summer (the flowers are wilted or less pretty then during the May festival) we did enjoy the two we visited. They were free and very lovely.
One of the Patios - If you are a big fan of the Spanish Inquisition (hmmm...) you probably want to visit the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos... we skipped it as we had just done the Alhambra in Granada...
With that, some places to eat on a day trip:
- Coffee... ah, in the morning after we arrived we enjoyed a nice cup at CRV bar. It is on the Plaza del Triunfo, and if you sit outside you look across the bridge through the Puerta del Puente... quite a nice view with that coffee
- We ate a somewhat early lunch at Ordoñez Taberna y Vinoteca, where we had some real fun dishes. We enjoyed the Oxtail Rice and the Venison stew (see their menu here)
- And then we found, on our way back to the train station, a market hall in the middle of that park. We just had a smoothy, but just looking around, you should try something in this place. It is called the Mercado Victoria and looked like it was serving mainly locals... here is their menu.
Lastly, how much time should you spend in Córdoba? We spent about a day hitting the highlights above, and enjoyed it. It did feel smaller and bigger than Granada... Smaller in the sense that the old city is smaller. But since the train station is a bit further away from the old town, it did feel more city like. So, a day trip did it for us, whereas Granada was more of a two - three day visit.
Sevilla - here we come
So, we only stayed a a day and a half in Sevilla, but I got some help from a trusted source who spent 2 weeks in Sevilla. The food tips are most theirs (with a splash of our own).
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| Sevilla Cathedral - Columbus' Grave Site |
Some quick practical stuff:
- From Santa Justa train station we hopped the EA bus to the center of town... to do this we had to walk down to Avenida Kansas City (the reverse of our earlier path) and just wait for the EA to show. For this bus, the good bit, it is always 5 Euros... no matter where you hop on or hop off.
- We hopped off that bus at the Torre del Oro, on the Paseo Colon, and from their walked to our apartment. As said before, if the bus has the electronic signs, you are good, if not open up that map on your phone and be on the look out for a landmark like the Torre del Oro
- If you can, rent something in the old city! It is so lively and being able to just enjoy the old city is amazing.
- Sevilla is a much bigger city than Granada, but you can walk almost everything in the old city with a good 15,000 or 20,000 daily steps...
- We never used the trams. It somehow felt like they never actually ran. And if you are used for say... Amsterdam, than the Sevilla trams feel non-existent. So walkies it was for us...
Food, some of the highlights:
- The best Jamon Iberico sandwich from the nicest person in Sevilla. Go to B de Jota on Cta. del Rosario 7. Ask for a bocadillo jamon iberico con tomate y aceite. That last bit is important, so yes, do get it! It is fabulous, plan to come back. Oh, just keep in mind the place closes at 14:00 or so!
- Altara, wonderful tapas on a small square off the beaten path. Go to C. Sta María la Blanca 4 and have a seat on the outdoor patio. Be aware that there are 2 tapas places right next to each other, and so make sure to sit at Altara, and NOT at Bar Carmela...
- Focaccino, serves apparently the best sandwiches and they make for a great late night snack (before midnight though!). This is quite a ways up from the old city, but if you find it, it is great. Go to C. Feria 84
- Ice Cream time... at Gelateria MITO. There are four locations (I think) and you want to go off menu here. So ask for Chocolate Negro and sound like an in the know local...
- More deserts at Chök, check out the double dark chocolate chip cookie here. It is at Pl. Jesús de la Pasión 8
- And for some more desert, this cafe at C. Álvarez Quintero 2 called La Tarta de la Madre de Cris serves some real good (the best choice on their menu) lotus cheesecake and a nice Chai Latte...
- Bar Casa de la Moneda for Tapas on the square. The place is quite big and busy, and if you can sit outside and watch the city wander by. We have a bunch of dishes and enjoyed the food
Tapas in Sevilla - On the weekends (I assume) wander down to the Placa a Vicente Aleixandre, chances are you will find someone sitting on the square singing late-ish at night. Find some ice cream and just sit down and enjoy the music
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| Live entertainment |
Bus to Airport
And with that, the trip has ended. We took our now familiar EA bus to the airport. For a 10:30 flight we took an 08:00-ish bus, and it is quite efficient. It tends to take 30-35 minutes to get to the airport. Ironically, from the city to the airport, the bus goes out of its way to go into Santa Justa station... why it doesn't do this when coming from the airport is one of these travel mysteries...
The airport security and bag drop is all quite efficient. Interestingly we saw people bring in bottles of water, and they were put in a machine... then cleared. Ours were not, but simply looked at and we were told to get rid of them. There goes another reusable plastic bottle... ah well. I still have not figured this one out.
It does however point to a rather annoying phenomenon. Despite the single market and customs union, the airport rules across the EU are all still different for all sorts of things... I guess it keeps us all on our toes and entertained (or annoyed)...
Till next trip
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