Cordoba Mezquita Tour

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Meet your guide at the Patio de Los Naranjos of the Cordoba Mezquita, and then head inside its main entranceway – Puerta del Perdon – to discover the site’s history with your guide. Tracing its roots to around AD 600, the impressive monument is believed to have started out as the Christian Visigothic Church of St Vincent before converting to a mosque nearly a century later. In the early 13th century, it was reconverted to a Christian Church, and has stayed that way ever since, although Spanish Muslims still petition to worship inside the Mezquita once again. After entering through Puerta del Perdon – the monument’s 14th-century Mudejar gateway – stroll through Patio de los Naranjos, a beautiful and shady courtyard that’s adorned with orange trees. Pass beneath the Mezquita’s distinctive striped arches, and then stop for a look at a Renaissance cathedral nave called Capilla Mayor. Added at the request of King Charles V (who instantly regretted it), the nave is one of the Mezquita’s standout features – a striking Christian monument that takes an ironic pride of place inside one of the world’s largest mosques. Admire the cathedral choir section with its intricately detailed Baroque ceiling, and then amble through the Christian chapels toward the back of the building. See the maksura, a royal enclosure where the Muslim caliphs once prayed, and then gaze in wonder at the mihrab. The 10th-century prayer room drips with ornamentation, with hundreds of gold Byzantine mosaics embellishing its walls. Having explored the Mezquita with your guide, head outside into the sunny streets of Cordoba, and finish your tour with a leisurely paced walk to one of the city’s Bar with a patio – the beautiful Moorish courtyards that abound. Sample a glass of local Montilla-Moriles wine, savoring its nutty, sherry-like flavor, and then bid your guide goodbye. Your tour finishes in the Bar.

   Admission included

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 9 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Córdoba

• Its from-price is 29% below the median of the 260 experiences we list in Córdoba.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 91 of 260.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Córdoba

Córdoba is an Andalusian city on the Guadalquivir, once the capital of Moorish Spain, with the great Mezquita, a Roman bridge and flower-filled patios.

Córdoba was the capital of Moorish Spain in the 10th century, one of the largest and most learned cities in Europe, and its old town is a World Heritage site. The Mezquita-Catedral, begun as a mosque in the 8th century, has a forest of double-arched columns in red and white and a Christian cathedral built inside it in the 16th century. A Roman bridge crosses the Guadalquivir to the Calahorra Tower.

Top-ranked sights in Córdoba: Mezquita (Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba), Cordoba Jewish Quarter (Judería de Córdoba), Roman Bridge (Puente Romano).

See all 260 experiences in Córdoba