For shopping and, perhaps, a quick look around, Alcalá La Real is 5 km from here. A Moorish fortress town dominated by its magnificent 15th Century hilltop castle (this is well worth a visit), these days it’s a more work-a-day, unpretentious and authentically Spanish market town. It has a handful of quite decent (and very reasonable) restaurants.

Head west from Alcalá to Priego de Córdoba (40 minutes away), a lovely town which is Andalucía at its most refined and authentic. A dignified, convivial provincial town with a beautiful historic centre and more than its fair share of marvelous baroque churches.

All around, the spectacular countryside of the Subbética Natural Park, a beautiful land of rugged hills and deep valleys, spectacular scenery and a thriving ecology. A vibrant and vivacious landscape, it is both robust and melodious at one and the same time. Some of Andalucía’s most delightful ‘pueblos’ are to be found here.

To the south west, this landscape merges into the equally beautiful Poniente Granadino with the small town of Montefrio at it’s centre. And mile upon mile of wonderful, peaceful countryside. Time slows down here, for everybody.

A little more than an half an hour away, Granada is, of course, a must-see city. Soaring high above is the spectacular back drop of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains. And what a city lies below, a city of classical beauty, the jewel in the Spanish Crown.

The mesmerising Alhambra Palace and its exquisite gardens, one of the world’s greatest wonders; the narrow, cobbled streets and beautiful walled gardens of the ancient Arab quarter, El Albaicín; the magnificent Cathedral, just one of many superb examples of Renaissance architecture; the caves of Sacramonte, nostalgic legacy of the gypsies.
A city which inspired García Lorca, Andalucía’s finest poet, it is, above all, a people’s city, full of life and colour, energy and fun.

In the opposite direction, Córdoba too, is a must-see city, once the largest city in the world, the thriving capital of Al-Andalus, the name used to describe Moorish Spain which extended throughout almost all of the Iberian Peninsular.
In its heyday it was considered the Mecca of the west. The Mesquita of Córdoba is, along with Granada’s Alhambra Palace, the finest example of Islamic Art in the western world, the grandest and most beautiful mosque constructed by the Moors in Spain. It’s one of only a handful of man-made places in the world which literally takes your breath away.

Quite apart from the Mesquita, there’s much more to discover in Córdoba. It’s very picturesque, a town to stroll around. You will come across little squares, peaceful courtyards and balconies overflowing with bougainvilleas. The aroma of lemon blossom, the exuberant colours of the flowers, the cool trickle of a fountain. It’s a beautiful town, Córdoba.