Visiting the Golden Triangle of Andalusia
The Golden Triangle is made up of Córdoba, Granada, and the capital, Sevilla. We visited all 3 cities during our month-long trip exploring Europe! The Moorish influence in this region of Spain can be seen in the incredible architecture. Andalusia is best known for the Meszquita in Córdoba, Alhambra Palace in Granada, and the Alcázar in Sevilla.
Transportation
We opted for the cheapest option* – the bus. I get carsick easily, so I was hesitant about a 3-hour bus ride through the Spanish countryside, but I didn’t get sick at all. It was surprisingly pleasant! We actually loved it and it saw so much of Spain that we never would have otherwise. We used ALSA and reserved seats far ahead of time, but I believe you can even book it the same day. We got lucky and more than half the bus was empty, so we moved further back and had full rows to ourselves!
*Prices may differ depending on the time of year you go. Airbnbs were less expensive when we went in winter, but I’m not sure if bus prices change seasonally as well.
Seville to Granada: $15.11USD per ticket | 3hrs
Granada to Córdoba: $9.43USD per ticket | 2hrs 40min.
Where to stay
We stayed at Airbnbs in all 3 cities and loved it! Our Seville Airbnb was so incredible I even wrote an entire blog post on it. Click the photo below to read all about it!
Seville
Our favorite city of these three cities was Seville, by far. It is one of the most astonishing cities I have ever been to. There isn’t a single inch of the city that doesn’t have breath-taking sights. We didn’t get a chance to go to the Alcázar, but I have heard it is worth a visit! It’s no wonder that Seville is the capital of Andalusia. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
The most beautiful part of Seville is the Plaza de España. Worth visiting at sunrise to avoid the crowds! We went in winter, but during the summer the canals are full and you can ride boats around it. We didn’t care so much about the canal being empty since we were surrounded by such grand, intricate architecture.
The Maria Luisa Park is sprawling, filled with orange trees, statues, fountains, and people picnicking. It was such a lovely Spanish vibe!
Granada
We had an amazing time visiting the Alhambra here, but didn’t love the city of Granada itself compared to Seville and Córdoba. It’s absolutely worth a visit for the Alhambra, though! I have a full blog post guiding you through the Alhambra – click on the photo below!
The heart of the city is filled with shops and restaurants, but the most beautiful views are the side streets with views of the Alhambra and the fountains throughout the city.
We stayed in an Airbnb that had obviously just been completely renovated and looked BRAND NEW. We had a great stay there. Our checkout was around 11, but our bus to Córdoba wasn’t until the evening, so we killed time sitting at benches near a fountain with all our luggage. Luckily there was a nearby library with bathrooms and we took turns watching the luggage – ah, that travel life!
A great little tip our Airbnb host gave us: Granada gives you free tapas when you order drinks! One drink = one small tapa, two drinks = two small tapas or one big one.
With this tip, we went to a cute little restaurant and ordered a couple beers. A few minutes after getting our beers, they brought out a plate of mussels. It was fun not knowing what they were going to bring out and I never had mussels before – they were so yummy!
The restaurant we went to was called El Sifón. We only had beers and mussels here, but it was in such a nice location and good service. It was a small corner restaurant and packed at 10pm in typical Spain fashion. We loved the energetic vibes so late at night!
Córdoba
After traveling for 3 weeks and constantly going without rest days, we were burnt out once we got to Córdoba. It was the perfect town to hit our limit and have a few days of rest and relaxation. We even spent a few hours at the Hammam Spa one day! That was one of the coolest things I have ever done – can’t wait to go back one day and take some photos.
Córdoba is known for the Mezquita (aka Mosque of Córdoba), as I mentioned earlier. We booked an Airbnb just steps from the entrance of the Mezquita which was pretty magical. It costs money to go in, unless you visit before 9:30am which is what we did.
The sky in Spain was dark, royal blue looking one direction and a light, hazy blue on the other side. Both of the photos below were taken the same day!
I really recommend visiting all 3 cities in the Golden Triangle if you’re going to be in Southern Spain. If you only have time to visit one, go with Seville! Have you visited or have upcoming plans to visit? Let me know in the comments below!
For our Winter Europe trip, we chose to rent out Airbnbs instead of staying in hotels or hostels (besides our one night at a hotel in Barcelona). We got lucky in Seville and found the most beautiful Airbnb in the city…