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The fascination of Andalucía springs from its peculiar history, Christianity and Islam. For centuries the region stood on the porous frontier between two different faiths and ideologies. Left to slowly ferment like a barrel of the bone-dry local sherry, these sometimes peaceful, sometimes battling kingdoms threw up a slew of esoteric cultural colossi: ancient mosques masquerading as churches, vast palace complexes strafed with stucco, a passionate musical genre bizarrely called flamenco, and a chain of lofty white towns that still dominates the arid, craggy landscape.
This visually and viscerally compelling legacy can be found all over the region in places such as Córdoba’s Mezquita, Jerez’ music venues and the hilltop settlements of Cádiz province. The smell of orange blossom, the lilt of a flamenco guitar, the flash of the matador’s cape; memories of Andalucía stay with you like collected souvenirs, begging you to return.
Location
Andalusia has a surface area of 87,597 square kilometers (33,821 square miles), 17.3 percent of the territory of Spain. Andalusia alone is comparable in extent and in the variety of its terrain to any of several of the smaller European countries. To the east is the Mediterranean Sea; to the west the Atlantic Ocean; to the north the Sierra Morena constitutes the border with the Meseta Central; to the south, the self-governing British overseas territory of Gibraltar and the Strait of Gibraltar separate it from Africa.
Andalusia is in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, immediately south of the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha; west of the autonomous community of Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; east of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean; and north of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. The small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusia province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, separated by the Intrabaetic Basin. In the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spain’s Meseta Central. To the south the geographic sub-region of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, while Lower Andalusia is in the Baetic Depression of the valley of the Guadalquivir.
Climate
The Mediterranean climate takes its name from, and is influenced by, the proximity of the sea. The outstanding features of the climate are hot, dry summers, mild winters with variable rainfall, almost constant sunshine and an absence of frost. The short spring and lengthy autumn are transitional seasons which tend to merge imperceptibly into one another with no winter season. Other areas around the world with a similar sunshine and rainfall pattern are also said to have a Mediterranean, or winter rainfall, climate. These include south-western South Africa, the central and southern coast of California, central Chile and south-western Australia. Mediterranean climatic areas lie between 30-45 degrees latitude whether to the north or south of the equator.
There is a notable difference in climate between the coastal and inland areas of Andalucia. On the coast temperatures are temperate in winter and less hot than inland during summer. Inland areas have cooler temperatures in winter from November to February and very high temperatures during summer.
Depending on tolerance to heat, the best time to visit Andalucia might be during April to June and September to the first half of October. At these times temperatures are warm but not too hot and any winter rain is avoided. It is common to see people swimming in the sea and sunbathing on the beaches from February onwards during spells that can reach higher than 25C/77F.
Transportation
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As in any modern society, transport systems are an essential structural element of the functioning of Andalusia. The transportation network facilitates territorial coordination, economic development and distribution, and intercity transportation.
In urban transport, underdeveloped public transport systems put pedestrian traffic and other non-motorized traffic is at a disadvantage compared to the use of private vehicles. Several Andalusia capitals—Córdoba, Granada and Seville—have recently been trying to remedy this by strengthening their public transport systems and providing a better infrastructure for the use of bicycles.
Most of the principal roads have been converted into limited access highways known as autovías. The Autovía Del Este (Autovía A-4) runs from Madrid through the Despeñaperros Natural Park, then via Bailén, Córdoba, and Seville to Cádiz, and is part of European route E05 in the International E-road network. The other main road in the region is the portion of European route E15, which runs as the Autovia Del Mediterraneo along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Parts of this constitute the superhighway Autopista AP-7, while in other areas it is Autovía A-7. Both of these roads run generally east-west, although the Autovía A-4 turns to the south in western Andalusia.
Malaga Airport is the international airport that offers a wide variety of international destinations. It has a daily link with twenty cities in Spain and over a hundred cities in Europe (mainly in Great Britain, Central Europe and the Nordic countries but also the main cities of Eastern Europe: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sofia, Riga or Bucharest), North Africa, Middle East (Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait) and North America (New York, Toronto and Montreal).
What to See
Casa Museo Arte Andalusía
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The Casa Museo Arte Andalusí is a fascinating private museum and the venue for regular flamenco performances. The first glimpse that this is somewhere special is the original 16th-century heavy carved door. Ring the bell if it is closed.
Owner Paco Castro has lovingly restored this former palace without detracting from its crumbling charm (in other words, it has not metamorphosed into just another ‘historical’ boutique hotel). Ask him to show you the Star of David etched into one of the original columns in the central patio. Above are balconies and painted Mud jar-style ceiling and eaves. It is the ideal faded grandeur setting for Paco’s fascinating collection of antiques, which include 19th-century ceramics, a 14th-century well, stained glass, ancient millstones, painted tiles, tapestries, intricately carved wooden chests and artwork, collected from all over Spain and Morocco.
Cueva de Nerja
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The Cueva de Nerja is the big tourist attraction in Nerja, just off the N340, 3km east of town on the slopes of the Sierra Almijara. The enormous 4km-long cave complex, hollowed out by water around five million years ago and once inhabited by Stone Age hunters, is a theatrical wonderland of extraordinary rock formations, subtle shifting colors and stalactites and stalagmites. Large-scale performances including ballet and flamenco are staged here throughout the summer. About 14 buses run daily from Malaga and Nerja, except Sunday. The whole site is very well organized for large-scale tourism and has a huge restaurant and car park. A full tour of the caves takes about 45 minutes.
Palacio de los Leones
The Palacio de los Leones is one of the most stunning structures within the Alhambra, and according to some, the royal harem. It was built in the second half of the 14th century under Mohammed V, at the political and artistic peak of Granada’s emirate. The rooms of the palace surround Alhambra’s most popular symbol, the Patio de los Leones (Lion Courtyard), a marble fountain that channeled water through the mouths of 12 carved marble lions.
Carved especially for this palace, the fountain was originally brightly painted, chiefly in gold, but the originals are now being replaced by copies. The patio’s four water channels, running to and from the central fountain, represent the four rivers of Islamic paradise and the 12 lions are speculated to symbolize any number of things, perhaps the 12 signs of the zodiac, perhaps the 12 hours of the day, ticking from birth to death. The gallery, including the beautifully ornamented pavilions protruding at its eastern and western ends, is supported by 124 slender marble columns. Imagine this entire space covered in vibrant colors and hung with bright textiles – that’s how it was during the 14th century.
Metropolis Parasol
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Some call him the Ferran Adria of modern architecture, and it’s true, German architect Jurgen Mayer H possesses a strange kind of artistic genius. Who else would have dreamt of constructing a ‘flying waffle’ in the middle of one of Seville’s most traditional shopping squares? Smarting with the audacity of a modern-day Eiffel Tower, the opinion-dividing Metropol Parasol, which opened in March 2011 in the Plaza de la Encarnacion, claims to be the largest wooden building in the world. Its undulating honeycombed roof is held up by giant five mushroom-like pillars, earning it the local nickname Las Setas de la Encarnacion.
Six years in the making, the construction covers a former dead zone in Seville’s central district once filled with an ugly car park. Roman ruins discovered during the building’s conception have been cleverly incorporated into the foundations at the Museo Antiquarium , while upstairs on level 2 you can (for a fee) stroll along a surreal panoramic walkway with killer city views. The Metropol also houses the plaza’s former market, a restaurant and a concert space. Though costly and controversial, Mayer’s daring creation has slotted into Seville’s ancient core with a weird kind of harmony, turning (and tilting) the heads of all who pass.
Plaza del Populo
On Plaza del Pópulo is the old entrance to the city, the Puerta de Jaen (Jaen Gate), connected to the huge Arco de Villalar (Villalar Arch). The arch was erected by Carlos I in 1526 to commemorate the crushing of a serious insurrection in Castilla that had threatened to overthrow his throne.
The Plaza del Pópulo is also called Plaza de los Leones after the Fuente de los Leones (Fountain of the Lions) at its center. The fountain is made of carvings from the Iberian and Roman village of Castulo and is topped by a statue reputed to represent Imilce, an Iberian princess and the wife of the notorious Carthaginian general Hannibal.
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On the southern side of the square is the lovely 16th-century Casa Del Populo, formerly a courthouse and now Baeza’s tourist office. It was built in the plateresque style, an early phase of Renaissance architecture noted for its decorative facades.
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