5-Day Southern Spain Tour from Madrid: Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Toledo & Costa del Sol

Travel through the land of Don Quixote "The Man from La Mancha" to reach Cordoba.

For a long time, Cordoba was the largest city in Western Europe. Today the historic centre of Cordoba is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour starts by visiting the famous Mezquita or the Great Moorish Mosque of Cordoba, considered a wonder of the medieval world by both Muslims and Christians. Its internal columns and arcades create a vision that reflects the building traditions of the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.

Visit the Jewish Quarter, which dates back to the times of the Romans and Goths. The area consists of a captivating system of narrow lanes that provide for great atmosphere allowing you to imagine what it was like in its heyday. The Sinagoga of Cordoba is the only one to survive the Inquisition. Containing Hebrew inscriptions and beautifully restored, it has been converted into a museum.

After your trip around Cordoba, your tour will then take you to Seville. On arrival in Seville, you check in to your hotel for dinner and stay the night.

The morning starts with breakfast after which you start your sightseeing tour of Seville. It is one of the most loved and visited cities in all of Spain. Occupied by the Moors for more than 800 years it still bears reminders of its rich and vivid past.

You will visit the Cathedral of Seville, the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic religious building in Europe. It also boasts the largest and richest altarpiece in the world. It is lavishly decorated with a large quantity of gold. Take a stroll through the Santa Cruz Quarter, the famous historical old town of Seville. It is truly the heart of the city with a magical charm that comes from its winding alley and lime-washed houses.

The afternoon is yours at leisure to continue to explore this beautiful city.

You return to your hotel for dinner and to stay the night.

After breakfast, you depart for Ronda.

On arrival at Ronda you have time and leisure to admire this ancient town of Celtic origin, famous worldwide for its dramatic escarpments and views over the Serranía de Ronda Mountains. Ronda has preserved its charm and historical identity despite the growth of tourism.

Some of Ronda’s attractions that you will see are:

The Puente Nuevo or ‘New Bridge’ - The Bridge spans the 100 metre El Tajo gorge. It is from here that you can get spectacular views of the Serranía de Ronda Mountains.

La Ciudad or the old city is separated from the newer city by the Puente Nuevo. This is the old Muslim part of Ronda and has winding cobbled streets hemmed in by fine-looking old mansions.

The Barrio San Francisco is a lovely place to relax because of its picturesque and excellent bars and restaurants.

The rest of the day is yours to do as you wish followed by dinner and an overnight stay at the hotel.

After breakfast, you depart for Granada along the Califato road.

On arrival at Granada, you visit and explore the magnificent Alhambra complex which includes the beautiful Generalife Gardens. This was the seat of the Moorish kingdoms of Spain and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Broadly speaking The Alhambra is composed of three parts: The Royal Palace, The gardens of Generalife and the fortress of Alcazar. 

After your tour of the Alhambra, you check into your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast, the tour departs for the Imperial city of Toledo.

On arrival at Toledo, the tour stops for lunch. After lunch, you are taken on a tour of the city and its most important monuments and sites. You will get to explore and see many architectural and artistic styles such as "Mudejar", Gothic and Renaissance.

We will get to see plenty of El Greco’s paintings inside different churches and monasteries around the town. You will get to see the world-famous art of Damascening – or the decorative application of gold or silver on iron or steel.

See The Gothic Cathedral (outside) and continue to the St. Tome Church - with its Mudejar Tower and El Greco’s most famous painting – “The Burial of Count Orgaz”.

Visit Synagogue de "Santa Maria La Blanca", which is a beautiful construction in the ‘Mudejar’ style and in the medieval Jewish quarter of Toledo.

Continue to the Victorio Macho Museum, which is now a museum containing some of Macho's best-known sculptures and is situated right in the heart of the Aljama, Toledo's old Jewish Quarter. Finally visit the Monastery of the San Juan of the Kings – A 15th-century monastery in the Gothic-Spanish-Flemish style was built on the orders of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

After the tour of Toledo, you continue on to Madrid where the tour ends