Andalusia: practical recommendations for preparing your trip. Distance from Malaga to Cordoba How to get to Cordoba from Seville

At first I was very doubtful whether it was worth going to Malaga, and then I thought about Granada, because it turned out that there is currently no direct train connection between Cordoba and Granada (between Seville and Granada, respectively, too, but I had already arrived in Cordoba) because for track repairs, you need to go with a transfer, at the Antequera transport hub, transfer from the train to a special bus from the railway company, and, of course, get back in a similar way. But still, I decided to take a risk. It all turned out not as scary as one could imagine, only expensive - hardly due to the transfer, just very expensive train tickets in Spain, even if you buy it at the round-trip fare, and this is a significant saving if in one side - just ruin. It is clear that since I had already unloaded in Cordoba and left my things at the hotel, I somehow got there and back to Granada, albeit with a bus transfer. In Washington Irving's "Alhambra" you can read how, moving from Seville towards Granada, they also passed through Antequera - "although it is a respectable city, but, as has already been noted, it stands away from the main roads." Today it would be more correct to say - it stands away from the main road: I almost didn’t notice the city, just a little bit on the way back, at dusk, by the lights, but in daylight it’s not visible at all - it’s literally “aside”, but the station is the largest railway junction, a multi-storey building, with escalators, but practically empty, all trains pass through; there is a huge parking lot at the station; All around is a deserted and lifeless area. While Washington Irving and his Russian companion saw “the ancient warlike city, so often mentioned in chronicles and ballads. Yonder from those gates, yonder along that slope, pranced a detachment of Spanish caballeros, the bravest and most noble: they went to conquer Granada and were all cut down in the mountains Malaga, and all of Andalusia was plunged into mourning. And beyond the gates lay a valley - gardens, fields, meadows - second in beauty only to the famous valley of Granada. On the right, over the valley, towered the rock of the Lovers, from where the daughter of the Moorish ruler and her unfortunate lover rushed. when they were overtaken by pursuit." Well, it’s hard to imagine what Antequera is today - it’s not clear from afar. But even under Irving, the city lived with memories of itself - albeit ironic ones. Thus, in response to the Seville tales of the guide, nicknamed by travelers Sancho by analogy with the character of Cervantes, the owner of the Antequera inn says that once they had a “bull fountain” in the city square, because water gushed from the mouth of the bull, and above his head The inscription was carved on the bull: “there is a treasure hidden in the bull’s forehead.” Many dug the ground near the fountain, but did not find the treasure, and one wise man decided that the treasure was in the head itself, late at night he appeared with a hammer and smashed the bull's head. "And what do you think he found there?
- Gold and diamonds! - Sancho shouted excitedly.
“I didn’t find anything,” the owner objected dryly. - And the fountain was gone.
The owner’s hangers-on burst into laughter: Sancho was simply tricked with the owner’s routine joke.”

And in Granada they are building a line of either a high-speed tram or an overground metro, and the process is in full swing, that is, there is no metro yet, but the roads have already been dug up. Having come primarily for the Alhambra, of course, I realized that if I relied on my own physical strength, I would have wasted money on the trip and would not see anything, so I dared to take a taxi - for the first time since 2004, when I took a taxi in Los Angeles , but then, at least, my plane and hotel were paid for. To my surprise, a taxi ride from the doors of the station, where the railway special bus arrived, to the entrance to the Alhambra museum complex cost a little more than 7 euros - in fact, considering all the conveniences of a taxi, not too expensive (in the Netherlands, over which the Spaniards once ruled, for the same money you can only take a two-way tram ride). I also appreciated the correctness of the decision on the way back, when I decided to go down on foot - it’s a miracle that I didn’t roll down this hill and get hurt, but how can you climb it with your feet (but still some people try, I saw) - I can’t imagine, well, I definitely wouldn’t have succeeded, there’s no doubt about it. And the minibus that goes to the Alhambra comes from the city center, you have to go there from the station by regular public transport - this is a transfer, and how much cheaper it would be if you wasted time is a big question.

A ticket to the museum - but, alas, it was not possible to get there for free - was also sold to me at a discount, for 8 euros. In general, the risky venture with Granada more or less justified itself, even if in general it was not cheap (mainly due to the Cordoba-Granada-Cordova road, and a taxi and a museum are trifles in comparison with it). On the other hand, coming to Granada with an overnight stay and spending several days there, according to my cursory impressions, is completely unnecessary; it’s enough to drop by for one day at the Alhambra, with all its newness and pretentiousness - a worthwhile thing, no matter how you look at it. It has been adequately reconstructed (work continues), the complex is large, there is something to see and where to relax. Prudently, the time spent on the territory is limited to four hours, and entry into the Nasrid palaces is strictly on schedule. Having read the horrors about queues, crushes and the impossibility of getting into the Alhambra without first purchasing tickets, I was relieved and took the ticket right away (two people - not a queue), and the wait to the Nasrid palaces did not last more than ten minutes, which was what was prescribed on my ticket time that I barely had time to walk from the entrance to the palace complex, so I even went to the neighboring fortress of Alcazabu only after.

The halls, fountains, alabaster “stalactites” of the domes of the Alhambra certainly deserve the reviews they receive in tourist advertising. Although Washington Irving, who was the first to make the Alhambra, dilapidated at that time, a “fashionable place”, and to whom a marble memorial plaque is now dedicated directly in the Alhambra, and also a monument halfway up and down the walk along the fortress wall, found the complex neglected and inhabited by homeless people - however, Presumably, for an American who came to Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, such a monument was a curiosity. Today's Alhambra is a tourist attraction, Disneyland, and thank you, without any outright vulgarity in the form of some costumed Moorish knights. The Nasrid palaces and adjacent gardens are conveniently arranged for viewing, with seats, and the ability to rest along the route. Crawling along the Alcazaba is a more difficult task, but since I climbed into it, I considered it necessary to climb all the towers, rummage around the bastions, and look at the city from above. And then there is the Generalife, the summer residence of the Granada emirs, which is also quite interesting, and besides, again, the halls, gardens, fountains, etc. The “water staircase” is absolutely amazing, where the railings are grooves through which water flows from the mountains, feeding both the garden plantings and the palace itself. I have a little time left to look at the main tourist routes of Granada - in one direction and the other from the New Square. Closer to the mountains is the Albayzin area with difficult terrain and dense old buildings, but tourists walk in a continuous stream along the embankment street of the Darro River, and houses hang over it, motorcyclists rush by and taxis drive by, just have time to dodge. Closer to the cathedral there are all souvenir shops, everything for sale - I don’t really like that, I didn’t have enough air in Granada (if we don’t take the Alhambra, but talk about the tourist center). There is a Lorca museum in Granada - but it’s on the outskirts, it’s really Lorca’s family estate, where he was arrested the day before his execution, but what kind of situation there could be if the country was ruled for forty years by those who shot Lorca - I don’t know, I’m going there didn't get there. I passed by the Manuel de Falla Museum in a taxi on my way to the Alhambra, but I didn’t have time for it, and it wasn’t like I read de Falla... In short, the Alhambra for Granada is practically the only breadwinner, everything else comes with it, and tourists, who checked in with the Nasrids in the morning, rob souvenir shops and eat out restaurants in the evenings - let them in. There is definitely another Granada - while walking to the station to catch the bus (you shouldn’t have to take a taxi back and forth!), I saw students after university classes, along approximately the same road from the academic buildings, they were moving to the campus located near the station, but they have their own life, parallel to the tourist one. As a tourist, I would prefer Malaga.

Whenever I think that I might not get to Malaga, it’s not going well: my best impression of the trip after perhaps Cadiz, well, in Cadiz there is the Atlantic, and Malaga is on the Mediterranean Sea. And yet - sea, sun, air. And plus the sea air - an unimaginable number of excellent museums, here you can spin and gasp. The drive to Malaga from Cordoba is simple and relatively short, just over an hour, so I had the opportunity to spend almost the whole day in Malaga from morning to evening, but still I didn’t have enough, I was left with the feeling of “I still want to.” And after all, I made a vow to myself at the station - museums to a minimum, sit more under a palm tree, breathe the sea air, catch the not too caustic December sun rays. And well, I barely reached the river (Guadalmedina in Malaga, I must say, looks even sadder than Guadalquivir in Seville and Cordoba, almost stagnant dirt), when I immediately found myself in the center of modern art. It was apparently a former warehouse, one-story, but spacious. Immediately at the entrance there are exhibition halls, there is now an exhibition of paintings by Michael Borremans “Fixture”: I don’t remember if I have seen this artist before, his style seems familiar, the personal exhibition is quite interesting, it’s like “new figurativeness”, but with a surrealistic slant ; the most spectacular painting is the figure of a woman without a head, with bloody streaks on her back, in a long classic dress; There are both landscapes and more or less “traditional” format portraits. Many worthy objects were also found in the permanent exhibition of the center. Including one work by Anish Kapoor - a cylinder mirrored from the inside with an opening (and a “do not enter” mark), where you should look and in which to be reflected, well, this is a typical optical story for Kapoor, it never seemed to me something outstanding, but at best funny. Another “star” of the exhibition is video documentation of Marina Abramovic’s famous performance, where she lies under a skeleton. What really stood out to me was the terracotta sculptural composition “Night Flight” by Jose Seguri: a girl walking along the fuselage of an airplane. In a separate corner - either an exhibition, or part of the permanent collection, sculptures by Maria Vargas, also interesting to some extent - classical statues (for example, Canova) seem to float, “swell” due to the plastic white and pink “offal”, as if the marble sculptures had their intestines, brains, etc. removed. - plastic classical perfection is thus almost literally turned inside out.

How could you not go to the Carmen Thyssen Museum? It is clear that there can be no comparison with Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza. The permanent collection on the ground floor features 19th-century Spanish romanticism and realism, even more bleak than the landscapes in the Madrid collection. The second floor is a little more cheerful - local secondary impressionists and early modernists; among them are not the most outstanding paintings by Sorolla, except that “The Rider” (1914) pleasantly stands out. On tour to Thyssen from Bilbao came the painting “Portrait of Princess Mattea de Noales, author - Ignacio Zuolaga, probably a great value for the “new” Spanish art, but a portrait as a portrait. But on the third floor there is an exhibition of posters from Toulouse-Lautrec to Jeff Koons - I was simply stunned by how interesting the authors are: Malevich, Chagall, Matisse - and David Hockney, and Robert Rauschenberg. The posters are grouped thematically, and not by chronology or stylistic proximity, which in this case is justified by the concept and, on the contrary, works. The exhibition has a plus: Hockney and Matisse are side by side. The largest section is the art poster, including posters for the exhibitions of the authors themselves (as in the case of Georges Braque - a personal artist in the Basel Kunsthal shortly before his death, Marcel Duchamp, inviting him to the DaDa retrospective, or Jean Duboffet at the New York Guggenheim), as well as theater posters or posters of musical events: Marc Chagall - Metropolitan Opera, Jasper Johns - ballets of Merce Cunningham, as well as Willem de Koonning, Magritte, Rauschenberg, Hockney. An even more unexpected section is sports posters: Pierre Alechinski and Roland Garros, Antonio Saura and the football championship in Seville, Oscar Kokoschka and the Munich Olympics. Advertising posters - a holiday in Nice by Henri Matisse and a Parisian planetarium with Raoul Dufy. There is nowhere without a political poster - mostly, as one would expect, of the leftist persuasion, although here the names of the artists are loud: Calder campaigns “For Vietnam!” 1967 (for the sake of such an occasion, even abandoning an abstract vision and depicting a young Asian exhausted by imperialism), as well as Georgia O'Keeffe, whose white spots on a blue background are not an abstraction either, but clouds in the sky ("Save our planet! Let's save our air!" - 1971); what Miro advocates for in 1937 is clear without words, Picasso draws another dove for the 2nd Peace Congress in 1950 (the dove here is not white, but depicted in gray strokes); plus Che and Castro, “Freedom for South Africa and all the standard intellectual crap; and among it - militaristic propaganda, as if deliberately to spite all the “peacekeepers” - Kazimir Malevich, 1914: “Look, look, the Vistula is already close, the Germans are pissed off, which means it’s sour.” But what attracted me most was the section related to the advertising of drinks: Salvador Dali - Perrier water, Andy Warhol - "Grand Passion", well, Warhol and Dali, okay, they are still hucksters; much more unexpected - Balthus and his design of the label "Chateau Mouton Rothschild" 1993 - with the naked girl, inevitable for the author, stretched out. And number one in this collection is the not so famous (I don’t know him, at least) George Rodriguez and his “Absolute Vodka” - a flower in a vodka bottle and next to it on a napkin there is a cute blue dog with a sad look (1993). In general, the exhibition is a lot to look at and look at, there’s Kees van Dongen and Roy Lichtenstein, it’s not too much of a waste of time.

But still, time was running out, and I had the sea - and other museums. How not to go to the Picasso Museum? Or rather, to both Picasso museums: the artist was born in Malaga, so there is a fairly large museum dedicated to his work, and the Casa Natal house-museum. In the Picasso Art Museum, despite the fact that Malaga is his homeland, there are almost no very early works and generally no works from the “blue” or “rose” period of the 1900s. Among the very youthful ones I remember are “Girl with a Doll” (1896-97) and “Woman at the Dance Hall” (1899) - but they were created, naturally, already in Barcelona, ​​where, by the way, there was a lot of early Picasso, enough for several halls :

Just a little bit of cubism and extremely insignificant examples of it. Wonderful portraits of little Paolo - "Paolo on a Donkey" (1923-24), "Portrait of Paolo in a White Hat" (1923) and Olga Khokhlova - "Olga in a Mantilla" (1917), "Olga Sitting" (1923), where Khokhlova is in The blue dress is barely outlined, but absolutely amazing. More things from one of my favorites - although they are all favorites, I adore Picasso - periods, "abstract surrealism", the wonderful "Swimmer" (1932). But the beautiful, and yet somewhat monotonous works of the 1950-70s predominate, the endless “Bather” (1971), “The Artist with a Green Face (1967), “Jacqueline Sits” (1954), “Clone in Brown and White” ( 1950), the delightful "Suzanne and the Elders" (1955), the hilarious "Musketeer" (1972), "Bather with a Cat" (1964), etc. The lack of chronological order in the exhibition is understandable - otherwise the gaps would be obvious, the lack of entire decades, the most important in the artist’s work. But the quantity and quality of the works are still impressive. The sculpture and ceramics are good and varied, the miniature “Bathing Bull” (1957) is especially charming. And this is only the permanent exhibition, and in addition to it, the gallery has a grandiose exhibition on two floors. tracing the connections of Picasso and his influence (maybe mutual) with German fine art of the 20th century. Two chronological milestones - Picasso exhibitions in Germany at the beginning of the century and after the Second World War. Aesthetic parallels are demonstrated in thematic sections on works, including. outstanding and in considerable quantities, Kirchner, Nolde, Rotluff, Peckstein, Dix and others. The idea of ​​the exhibition is either not entirely clear, or I was not able to delve deeply into it, but the main thing is that the works themselves are amazing. The works of Kirchner and Nolde are excellent, but Otto Dix, whom I discovered only a few years ago in Switzerland and Austria, is especially good: the stunning “Woman in Gold” (1923), “Portrait of Martha Dix” (1926), etc., and “ My friend Alice" - German expressionism in all its inimitable grin (the grin here must be taken literally), and this is not a local collection, Dix, for example, from Stuttgart. And what a wonderful August Macke and his “Head of a Woman in Orange and Brown” (1911), on parallels with “Portrait of a Woman” (Olga) by Picasso himself, 1922-23. “Two Spanish Women” (1929) and “Portrait of Naila” (1934) by Max Beckmann are simply superb. Otto Müller is responsible for the “working” theme; Picasso is represented here with lithographs. But how beautifully the nude room is built, where Picasso is presented in the company of Kirchner, Peckstein, Rotluff, and all the works are first-class. Circus-themed items are included in a separate subsection: “Pierrot - a caricature self-portrait” by Macke, “Two Acrobats” by Kirchner (by the way, from the Davos museum, where I had a chance to visit, but there is a small permanent exhibition there, everything is taken to exhibitions), graphics by Otto Dix from 1922 and even the series of “circus” lithographs by Kandinsky (1911) has not been forgotten! And in the second gallery - Picasso and the “old masters of the north”, in particular Cranach Sr. ("Venus and Cupid"), Cranach Jr. (“Portrait of a Woman” - from Madrid Thyssen-Bornemisza), the eternal “Lucretia” - and Picasso’s endlessly but incredibly varying motif “replicas” to them - “Lucretia”, “David and Bathsheba”, “Venus and Cupid”, etc. etc., and here the connection between Picasso and Cranach is more clearly visible than, in my opinion, between Picasso and German expressionism.

And in the house where Picasso was born and his foundation is located, on the ground floor there is a small exhibition from the collection (from the graphics I singled out for myself “Cat” and “Bull”, both 1936), on the second there is a historical and memorial exhibition, as far as In such cases we can talk about memorialism. The last time 19-year-old Picasso visited his parents' house was in December-January 1900-1901. with my friend Casagemas, who soon committed suicide - I was at his personal exhibition in Barcelona last winter:

After which, as I understand it, Picasso did not return to Malaga until the end of his life - only perhaps in the form of a bronze monument sitting on a bench in the corner of the square next to his home. The exhibition of the house-museum includes a couple of children's photographs, a three-year-old Picasso and a seven-year-old with his sister (cute child), a supposedly authentic key and lock to the house door, items of clothing, photographs of Malaga at the end of the 19th century - well, in general, not very exciting , but informative at its own level.

On principle, I decided not to go to the local Alcazaba (and there is one in any more or less old Andalusian city), much less climb the mountain to the Gibraltar fortress - maybe this is interesting, but the point is to climb it yourself, and if going by bus is not interesting at all, it’s just a waste of time. It would be better, I thought, to sit longer under a palm tree on the embankment, fortunately there were soft, free beds there. But of course, there is also a branch of the Paris Pompidou Center in Malaga, next to the creatively called “art senal” (something like an art market). Of course, I went there and stayed there for at least another hour and a half: the center, dug deep into the shore, is not visible from afar, but I couldn’t get out of there quickly - it’s interesting, although nothing seems extraordinary, plus they provide a free audio guide in any language, including Russian. The main exhibition, formed on the basis of the collections of the Parisian main museum, is divided into five thematic parts, and it is no coincidence that Picasso is everywhere, strengthening the museum’s connection with Malaga. Part 1 - "Metamorphoses" - concerns primarily the portrait genre. Along with the sculptural “Head of a Woman” by Picasso (1931) and the pictorial “Hat with Flowers” ​​(1940) by Picasso, there is “Portrait of Dora Maar” by Antonio Saura, where Saura develops the destruction of the image, that is, she acts consistently in the spirit of Picasso, but only goes even further . From afar, without prompting, I recognized the kitschy “Stravinsky” by Erro (1974) - it was recently shown at an exhibition at the Pushkin Museum, here, in addition to it, there are two more works by this same Erro, and the second is dedicated directly to the image of Picasso and plays on it. “The Moroccan Woman” by John Curren received increased attention in the exhibition space, although in my opinion it is a nonsense little thing - a woman with three gutted fish on her head, quite traditionally painted on canvas. The second part, “Self-Portrait”, is perhaps the most interesting and rich in standing objects: Eduard Aroya - “Spanish Caballero” (a man is depicted in a black dress with a long train, an incredibly colorful and plastically expressive, dynamic image; in the composition, a shoe on stiletto heels - apparently the dream of the Spanish caballero); self-portraits of Zoran Muzic (189), Francis Bacon (1971), Raoul Dufy (1948), the huge and chic “Self-Portrait as Neptune” by Kees van Dongen (1922), Frida Callot (1938), the colorful shemale “Joella” by Ed Paschke (1975 ). Conceptual, but not very exciting section 3 “The Man Without a Face” (from the classics of the avant-garde - Léger, Chirico, Picabia, but nothing outstanding, and I can’t even say a good word about Bruce Nauman’s video performance). The powerful, but typical for Joan Miro, sculpture “Woman” and the funny bronze half-cat by Tom Sachs called “Helo, Kitty!” I didn’t quite understand the idea, but I appreciated the material embodiment of George Segal’s “Movie House” installation - a white plaster ticket taker in the red box office of the cinema. 4th section - “Political Figure”, or, if translated literally, “Political Body”, which will be on topic: once again I came across a video performance by Sigalit Landau, where she is naked on the seashore twirling a hoop made of barbed wire. The rest is less impressive, although a lot of space is occupied by the performance, or rather, its fruits, by Anette Messenger “The Guests” (1971-72) - stuffed dead birds in children's undershirts, placed in glass display cases. Among the works of more “traditional technique” in the section is “Woman Object” by Peter Clasen, a fragmented image created with an airbrush. The final section “Figures in Fragments” again attracts with big names - and very high-quality things, regardless of the curatorial concept. What is the value of the sad woman alone in the flower-decorated ribbons “Figure and Flowers” ​​by Picabia (1935-43), “Three Young Maenads” by Max Ernst, Victor Brauner, Willem de Koonning, of course, Picasso, Tapis, Duboffet, two pieces by Magritte, and a prominent, memorable statue of Thomas Schutte from the Great Spirit series - a silvery figure in a tense pose. I saw Christian Boltanski’s installations from a selection of assorted second-hand clothes in Paris and was immediately skeptical, but here is a large installation, continuing the theme of “spirit,” by Kader Attia “Spirit” (2007), consisting of 102 silver figures, or rather, empty hoods and robes in a prayer pose (either Jewish or Mohammedan) looks impressive. The leitmotif throughout the exhibition is Tony Oursler's work "Switch" (1996), with "talking" video projections of faces onto empty spherical blanks - "heads". The permanent exhibition is accompanied, as in decent houses, by a temporary exhibition - an excellent photographic project of photographs from the 1920s-40s, also distributed thematically, from the life of workers to aesthetic nudes. Authors - Marianne Breslauer, Dora Maar, Hermann Krull - his photographic portrait of the young Andre Malraux from 1930 is very good; wonderful nudes of Ernie Landau, Yvonne Chevalier, Lauro Albin Guilo - male and female.

This is not all that one could see in Malaga - there is even a Russian Museum there, somewhere on the outskirts, but within the city limits! But it was necessary to finally get out of the ground into the light, into the air. Even though the Mediterranean Sea is not the Atlantic, and in Malaga I did not experience again the same enchanting feeling that in Cadiz, and the Malaga promenade is rustic, designed for simple pastime, and the beach, as far as I can tell, is not the best of its kind - all the same sitting by the mall with the lighthouse on a bench under a palm tree is much nicer in Malaga. But Malaga touched me precisely with the combination of resort and aesthetic, creative - an incredible number of museums, there are also architectural monuments, and yet, unlike Seville and Granada, which, like old prostitutes, sell former beauty that is long gone, Malaga does not pretend to be anything , this is a normal resort town, but you want antiquity - there it is, on the mountain, you want art - even if it bursts. I almost burst - the museum life in Malaga turned out to be more intense for me than in Madrid, and in Malaga there was also the sea!

I returned to Cordoba with the feeling that I had not had enough time in Malaga, and although I was terribly tired, and it was still evening, the warm Andalusian night from Saturday to Sunday still suggested the continuation of the program. So, as soon as I sat down, I immediately picked up and went to the center of Cordoba, which I had not seen at all during the two previous days I “lived” in the city. The hotel’s location, just as convenient as in Seville, is exactly halfway between the station and the center (and it’s ten minutes - either there or here in both cases), which allowed me to quickly get to the main historical and architectural landmark of Cordoba - the Mezquita Cathedral-Mosque. The next morning I appreciated Mezquita in daylight, but in the dark it seemed unrealistically huge to me - they write that the Seville Cathedral is the second largest after the Vatican St. Peter's, but, apparently, Mezquita is simply not considered, or is considered according to some other criteria , because in terms of total area, and including the courtyard, it definitely surpasses the Seville Cathedral. And a bell tower rises straight from the Moorish building - in the morning I heard it calling for mass, but at night, naturally, the bells did not ring, and in the silence, in the semi-darkness, the structure seemed absolutely fantastic. I also went out to the Roman bridge over the same notorious Guadalquivir, which, by the way, unlike Seville, in Cordoba, at least, “makes noise,” albeit due to the locks, thresholds, or whatever is installed under the bridge. In addition, in the area of ​​​​the Roman bridge, the Guadalquivir in Cordoba is three times wider than in the center of Seville - another thing is that this width is more than relative, the river has become so shallow (judging by the Cordoba landscapes of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries in the local art museum, even a hundred years ago, everything still did not look so hopeless), which flows in streams past trees that have long risen above the current and are overgrown with trees - it seems, among others, birches! - the islands, along the embankment, everything is completely silent, and the preserved (or perhaps reconstructed for the surroundings) wheel of an ancient water mill, if it came into motion, would mow down the weeds. I walked across the entire Roman bridge to the opposite bank to the tower and back (by the way, the bridge is pedestrian and there are benches along it - everything for the happiness of a person), looked at the shadow of the mill wheel, looked for the neck of a broken bottle, sat near the Alcazar and the back streets of the Jewish quarter - again similar to Seville, in Cordoba the most picturesque, with narrow passages, low white houses and cobblestone pavements, this former “ghetto” area, and in Cordoba there is even the building of the only synagogue that survived the expulsion of the Jews. Khuderia (Jewish Street, that is) led me back almost to the shelter.

In the morning I took a slightly more roundabout, but also comfortable route in the same direction. In the rather large courtyard of Mezquita, people gathered for mass, then went to the cathedral-mosque itself - it is unusually spacious, but I was even more surprised that there was someone to accommodate, thousands and thousands of believers came to the Sunday service, it is not often that you see this in Europe, if there is no special occasion or holiday. But the Spaniards, I noticed, like to organize holidays for themselves, but when they don’t have enough reasons, they come up with them. For example, in the spring, in Cordoba there is a competition for the “best patio” - something like “our patio is competing for the title of a courtyard with an exemplary culture of life.” Having walked around the walls of the Alcazar, I found myself on San Basilio Street, where I just discovered the champion patio in the competition of the outgoing year. The best Cordoba patio 2015, however, did not delight me too much - the walls hung with flower pots, fans, some accessories, the overly rich, obviously excessive decor rather put me off; plus a bunch of nativity scenes on the eve of Christmas, my eyes hurt. Well, of course, the 2015 patio is attached to the souvenir shop - nevertheless, people, and it seems that the locals, in any case, definitely not foreigners in search of Andalusian exotica, but their own, Spaniards and Spanish-speaking visitors, came to stare at the champion patio in groups, I was photographed, so although any visitors from the street were allowed into the courtyard for free, the owners, one must think, are not going broke. I also drew attention to the considerable number of monuments to Arab figures from the times of the Caliphate scattered throughout the central part of Cordoba - but the monuments, of course, are fresh, from the heat - there is little admiration for migrants, Europeans also, in retrospect, pay tribute to “peaceful Islam” ", despite the fact that the Muslims invaded the Pyrenees, the West Goths lived and lived somewhere around this, and seized foreign territory for centuries, until the Spaniards managed to recapture the peninsula - however, no one is erecting new monuments to the Catholic kings, well the old ones are not yet they are removed from their place (I am silent about Franco, and the Spaniards are silent, as if his half-century of rule did not exist), and statues of various Mohammeds in turbans are erected on every corner, both plaster and metal.

I really wanted to spend the last day in the air, especially since Cordoba, in my understanding, is not rich in museums (that is, preferably artistic and modern in content), unlike, say, Malaga, and not to mention Barcelona and especially Madrid; But it started to rain, and physical exhaustion did not allow further walks on the cobblestones - I went, almost against my will, to the local Cordoba Museum of Fine Arts. The most interesting building in the museum is perhaps the building, which can be assumed to have been a monastery “in a past life”, judging by the architecture in the Moorish style and the partially preserved frescoes on the walls of the staircases. You can’t look at the meeting without tears. The room is dedicated to “Baroque in Cordoba” and “Mannerism in Cordoba.” There is Baroque on the ground floor, and it still looks like something, the gigantic canvases by Antonio del Castillo Saavedra are interesting, especially memorable is “St. Paul Calling St. Fernando,” where the apostle, as expected, is a barefoot bearded man on a cloud, and here is Fernando, crowned, in lace trousers, with a sword, with a mustache and beard in the latest baroque fashion, he does not at all look like those whom you imagine as saints, but looks like a cartoon character like Baron Munchausen; mannerism is second, and this is just a laugh, the painting of the 19th century is even more trenchant - almost all of it is made locally. Livelier than the rest is the hall of the 20th century, well, that is, modern art - a complete disaster, three and a half works, some kind of imitation of Dali and abstraction, but very good, an extensive set of sculptures by Matteo Inurria Lainoso, and life-size nude figurines, mostly women , and portrait busts, and a composition with a sleeping young man in the center of the hall. The main “star” of the collection is the Cordovan early modern painter Jose Rafaelo de Torres, his personal museum adjoins the general art museum through one patio, but with a separate entrance, and in the collection of the museum of fine arts there are several of his canvases, with images of women in different emotional states and different degrees of dress: the one who is sad with love - apparently, she is married and her mother-in-law is entertaining her little grandson, while in love with someone, and obviously not her husband, the mother turns black with sadness, dressed in all Spanish severity; and the two naked girls on the other canvas, on the contrary, are carefree and naked.

Having once again walked around the Guadalquivir embankment north of Alcazar and made sure that the semi-stagnant river there is even greener, and its banks are depressingly overgrown, I was already quite on the way back to the hotel to pick up my things and move to the station, and returned to the square where the main “movement” was observed at night. (in addition to the avenidas, local youth also walked there in crowds and had fun) and where something like a “collective farm weekend fair” operates. The day before, I talked there with a seller of wine, sausages and cheese from Galicia named Ivan. I also clarified - maybe Juan? No, he assured me that it was Ivan, although he does not consider his name Russian; I know that the name Ivan is common in France, but I’ve never heard of it in Spain either. One way or another, the young man came to trade family products and goods of friends for almost the entire December and from morning to evening he offers Andalusians food from Galicia - he says that he was not unsuccessful. He himself comes from Santiago de Campostela, as the poster on the tent with the image of the famous cathedral reminds us, and he conducts a tasting very skillfully - I tried several of his liqueurs and something like grape vodka, as well as cheeses the night before, and bought them so that at the same time, I’d like to have a snack, one sausage (I didn’t have enough change for 1 euro - Ivan gave it to me for 80 cents), so I wanted to finally, maybe buy a small wheel of cheese, you can’t eat real cheese in Moscow anymore... Then I thought, What if they take it away at the airport - you never know what you can expect from the Russians? In general, I didn’t buy it, despite the fact that an 800 gram head of homemade cheese cost him 8 euros, while in the supermarket packaged factory cheese of the same size is twice as expensive. Well, it’s even more inconvenient to carry sausage, although you won’t find such sausages in Moscow either. I also snatched a tasting sample of pineapple liqueur onto the path (pineapples, however, do not grow in Galicia, producers receive a ready-made cream preparation, I specifically clarified this), and crawled for my belongings.

The price of the air ticket Malaga - Cordoba depends very much on time: the earlier you buy the plane ticket, the cheaper it will be. We found you the best price for an air ticket from Malaga to Cordoba that costs . Cost varies depending on the day. Therefore, it is very important to compare prices not only for one specific date, but also for neighboring days - in this case, you can find a much cheaper air ticket.

Don't forget to plan your return flight in advance - find air tickets on the route Cordoba - Malaga, and/or. View flight schedules for today.

Our Price Dynamics widget allows you to make such a comparison quickly and conveniently. View flight schedules and flight arrivals from Malaga to Cordoba and flights from Spain. Study the prices for the next two weeks and choose the best option that suits you both in terms of cost and time. Sometimes air ticketsMalaga - Cordoba round-trip tickets are cheaper than one-way tickets.

How to get to Cordoba

Cordoba, or as it is also called, Cordoba, is an ancient city; the first settlement was founded here during the times of Ancient Rome. Since then, many ancient Roman architectural structures have remained in Cordoba, but most of all, Cordoba is known for its sights built during the Cordoba Caliphate. Alcazar, Mezquita, Calahorra Tower and much more - that's why tourists go to Cordoba.

To get to Cordoba, you first need to fly into one of the major cities nearby. It could be Madrid or Malaga. The fact is that Cordoba itself does not have an airport, so you can only get here by land transport. Cordoba is located in the heart of the southern province of Andalusia, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, in one of the hottest areas of Spain.

How to get to Cordoba from Madrid

Between Madrid and Cordoba there are 400 km of travel. You can overcome them by train. Madrid and Cordoba are also connected by highway No. A-4.

By train

Direct high-speed AVE trains run between Madrid and Cordoba, so you can cover the 400 km distance in just 2 hours. Trains begin running on the route from 6 am at intervals of once every half hour. Trains depart from Madrid Puerta de Atocha train station. The last train leaves at 21.25 pm. You can check the schedule at the railway service . You can buy a train ticket either at the Madrid railway station or in advance on the website.

By rented car

If you have an international driving license, you can rent a car inexpensively to travel around Spain. If you are planning several trips at once, then will quickly pay for itself in comparison with public transport, the prices of which are not always humane. There are two ways to get from Madrid to Cordoba by car. The first is to immediately go onto highway No. A4, it is somewhat shorter and faster. The second option is to take highway No. A42 through Toledo, and then exit onto the same highway No. A4. The second way is a little longer, but you will have the opportunity to see the ancient capital of Spain - the city of Toledo.

Simone/Cordoba

How to get to Cordoba from Malaga

Getting to Malaga from Russia has recently become quite convenient after the launch . Malaga has its own international airport and is a convenient transport hub for traveling around Andalusia. You can get from Malaga to Cordoba by trains and buses. The distance between the cities is 160 km.

By train or bus

There are direct high-speed AVE trains from Malaga, the journey time is only 1 hour. Trains start running at 6 am, once an hour. The last train leaves at 8 pm. You can check the schedule at the railway service . You can buy a train ticket either at Malaga railway station or in advance on the website.

Buses from Malaga to Cordoba run 5 times a day, with the first departure at 9 am. Travel time is 3.5 – 4 hours depending on traffic congestion. Transportation is provided by the national bus carrier Alsa. On the site Alsa You can check the current schedule and purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are also sold at the Malaga bus station ticket office.

By rented car

If you have an international driver's license and driving experience, then such an option as , can be very useful, since you can get from Malaga to Cordoba by private car in just 1 hour 45 minutes along highway No. A-45 through the beautiful town of Antequera, which is also of tourist interest. You can find rental offices in Malaga in the city itself and at the arrival airport.

How to get to Cordoba from Seville

Often tourist routes to Seville and Cordoba intersect, because... Both cities are in relatively close proximity, and Seville can easily be visited on 1 day from Cordoba, as well as Cordoba from Seville. The distance between the cities is about 140 km. You can overcome them by all types of public transport.

By train or bus

The railway connection between Seville and Cordoba is very well developed. High-speed AVE trains depart from Seville's Santa Justa station three times an hour, starting at 6 am. The last train leaves at 21.35 pm. Travel time is about 40-45 minutes. You can check the schedule at the railway service . You can buy a train ticket either at the Seville railway station or in advance online.

Buses from Seville to Cordoba leave 7 times a day. The first flight starts at 8.30 am. Travel time is 2 hours. Transportation is provided by the national bus carrier Alsa. On the siteAlsa You can check the current schedule and purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are also sold at the Seville bus station ticket office.

Sharon Mollerus/Cordoba

Cordoba Hotels

There are many hotel offers in Cordoba, from the most luxurious ones with views of the old city to modest but cozy apartment hotels. For a stay of 1-2 nights, 2-3 star hotels are also quite suitable, however, the pricing policy of Cordoba hoteliers allows you to stay in a “four”.

Hotel Cordoba Center, 4 stars

This Cordoba hotel is one of the most popular in the city due to its convenient location in the center of the city's main attractions. There are numerous restaurants and cafes nearby, and the main tourist attractions are within walking distance. The hotel features an outdoor pool with city views. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel. Paid private parking is available next to the hotel (reservation is not required).

The hotel offers its guests different categories of accommodation from standard rooms to superior and junior suites. Inside you can find air conditioning, safe, hairdryer, minibar, telephone, TV, radio. Depending on the room type, the price may include breakfast, half board or full board (check when booking). The hotel received the best ratings for the cleanliness and comfort of the rooms, as well as for the presence of a panoramic swimming pool.

The front desk is open 24 hours a day. Check-in is from 15.00, check-out is until 12.00. You can find out more about availability and hotel costs for specific dates on the booking website Booking.com.

Eurostars Conquistador, 4 stars

This Cordoba hotel is located in the city's historic district, within walking distance of the Mezquita, one of the city's main attractions. The hotel features a traditional patio. Wi-Fi is available throughout the entire territory free of charge. The hotel has its own restaurant serving local cuisine. Paid private parking is available nearby.

The hotel has single and double rooms, as well as junior suites. Some rooms have views of the Mezquita. In the rooms you can find a TV, telephone, air conditioning, hairdryer, minibar, safe. Breakfast, depending on the room type, can be included in the price or paid separately. Half board option is also available. The hotel received the best reviews for its location and cleanliness of the rooms.

There is a 24-hour front desk. Check-in is from 14.00, check-out is until 12.00. You can find out more about availability and hotel costs for specific dates on the booking website Booking.com.

Hesperia Cordoba, 4 stars

Hotel Hesperia Córdoba is located on the Guadalquivir River, opposite the Alcazar Fortress. The hotel offers its guests an outdoor rooftop swimming pool, a restaurant-bar and free Wi-Fi throughout. Private paid parking is available nearby. Luggage storage is available.

The hotel offers standard rooms, superior rooms and junior suites. Some rooms have views of the historic city center. The rooms have air conditioning, hairdryer, minibar, safe, telephone, cable and satellite TV. Breakfast, depending on the type of room, can be included in the price or paid additionally. The hotel received the best reviews for its location and cleanliness of the rooms.

Booking.com.

La Boutique Puerta Osario, 3 stars

This boutique hotel is located near the historic center of the city, within walking distance of the Mezquita. There are also cafes, restaurants, shops nearby, the railway station is located 1 km from the hotel. The hotel has its own bar. Wi-Fi is provided free of charge. Paid private parking is available on site (reservation required).

The hotel has 27 standard category rooms, inside of which you can find a refrigerator, telephone, minibar, radio, air conditioning, TV, hairdryer. Breakfast, depending on the type of room, can be included in the price or paid additionally. The hotel received the best ratings from guests for the cleanliness of the rooms and the work of the staff.

The reception is open 24 hours a day. Check-in is from 14.00, check-out is until 12.00. You can find out more about availability and hotel costs for specific dates on the booking websiteBooking.com.

Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie/Cordoba

Sights of Cordoba

Cordoba (Cordova), along with Seville and Granada, is a major tourist center of Andalusia. There are many sites here that are associated with the city's Moorish heritage, as the Caliphate of Cordoba was located here during the early Middle Ages. But what is most surprising is that earlier historical sights have also been preserved in Cordoba - the first Cordoba settlement was formed here during the heyday of the Roman Empire.

The Alcazar, the Mezquita and the Roman Bridge are considered the golden triangle of Cordoba attractions, but this is not the only interesting place in the city. You should definitely visit the old part of the city, the so-called Jewish Quarter, climb the Calahorru Tower to see the city from above, and admire the splendor of the Merced Palace.

Alcazar Palace

The Alcazar, or Fortress of the Christian Kings, is a palace complex that became home to Spanish royalty for many centuries and was previously the residence of the Caliphs of Cordoba. In its scope, the Cordoba Alcazar is in no way inferior to the Seville one and consists of the castle itself, as well as a park, which in itself is a miracle of landscape design.

The interior of the Alcazar has been perfectly preserved; here you can see the Mudejar style typical of the local area in the decoration of the premises, mosaic paintings, and Gothic galleries with sculptures and bas-reliefs. The Alcazar gardens stretch over several hectares; here you can find cascading fountains, flowering alleys, sculptures and much more worthy of tourist attention. The doors of the fortress are open to visitors every day except Mondays.

gonzalo castan/Alcazar

Mezquita

The Mezquita is also called the Cordoba Cathedral Mosque. And although today it is a Roman Catholic cathedral, before the Reconquista it was really a mosque, which was later rebuilt by order of the Spanish kings. As a result of historical vicissitudes, the mesquita can safely be called a shrine of different cultures.

The Mezquita is famous for its architecture, this is a place that is definitely worth entering, because all the most interesting things are located inside. In Mesquite you will see a huge number of white and red vaults, which are supported by numerous pillars. It is now hardly possible to attribute the Mezquita to any one architectural style, since due to constant reconstructions, traditional oriental motifs, Romanesque style, Byzantine elements, and Gothic examples are mixed here, which is why the building is considered one of a kind and, of course, , an outstanding historical building. In the Mezquita you can literally study the complex history of southern Spain. The Mezquita is open to visitors daily from 10am.

gotardo gonzalez/Mezquita

Roman Bridge

The Roman Bridge appeared in Cordoba during the Roman Empire, which explains its name. Located on the Guadalquivir River, the city simply needed a reliable crossing, and it was then that the 16-arch bridge spans were conceived. The length of the bridge is neither more nor less than 250 m. The Roman Bridge is considered an iconic landmark of Cordoba, along with the Mezquita and the Alcazar, and today it is completely pedestrian. On one side the bridge leads to the Mezquita, on the other to the Calahorra Tower. In the evening, the spans of the bridge are illuminated and create a single composition with the illuminated Mezquita illumination. Sunset and night views of this place are considered postcard-worthy and are depicted in many guidebooks to Spanish Cordoba.

harvey barriso/Roman Bridge

Jewish Quarter

If you want to find the remains of the old city in Cordoba, then go to the Juderia district, or, as it is also called, the Jewish quarter. Here, in the narrow streets of the area, you can see the preserved medieval features. Also attracting attention are numerous arches and patios (Andalusian courtyards), and in the center of Juderia there is a synagogue building, the oldest in Spain. The streets of the area, winding here and there, will ultimately lead you straight to the Alcazar. And in May, many patios in Cordoba host the so-called flower festival, when cozy white courtyards are decorated with floral arrangements and put on public display (to the delight of tourists). Thus, the courtyards compete with each other in the most elegant decoration.

nicolas vollmer/Huderia

Calahorra Tower

The tower is an example of a Middle Ages building and was originally erected as a defensive structure. The tower, despite the fact that it dates back to the 12th century, has survived to this day in excellent condition, and today it houses a museum of three cultures and an excellent observation deck offering views of the Guadalquivir River, the Roman Bridge and the Mezquita.

The Museum of Three Cultures tells about the life and work of famous residents of Andalusia during different periods of the region’s existence. The museum is open daily from 10 am. You can also climb to the very top of the tower, although you will have to walk neither more nor less, 78 steps, but the views from the tower are worth it.

harvey barrison/Calahorra

Merced Palace

Located in Cordoba, Spain, the Merced Palace will surprise you with its splendor and festive decoration, but this is not surprising, because the building is made in the Baroque style. Over the past centuries, the building has undergone changes more than once, incl. and as a result of fire. What we see today is the result of restoration in the 18th century. The facades of the building were completely restored, while the restoration of the interior continues to this day. Despite this, inside the palace you can see collections of paintings by prominent artists of the Middle Ages, engravings, sculptural works, as well as images of views of Cordoba. You should definitely take a stroll through the courtyards of the palace, where you can find many interesting things, for example, unusual sundials or carved fountains.

turol jones/Merced Palace

Excursions in Cordoba

You can also explore the main attractions of Cordoba and learn something new about its history and features during an organized individual excursion, because Cordoba is, neither more nor less, a city of three cultures. During , which lasts 3 hours, you can stroll through old Cordoba, walk along the Roman Bridge, see the Royal Palace and the Mezquita with its orange orchards. At the end of the excursion you will be able to taste wine at one of the best wineries in the city. The tour is individual, designed for 1-5 people, conducted in Russian, lasts 3 hours. You can find out about other interesting walks in the cities of Andalusia on the excursion booking website .

You set out to overcome the distance from Barcelona to Cordoba. Who among the motorists does not dream of getting to their destination as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost? One way to achieve this goal is to have information about the distance between the starting point and the final destination of the route. Our map will help you find the shortest and most optimal route between Barcelona and Cordoba. If the average speed of the vehicle is known, the travel time can be calculated with a small error. In this case, knowing the answer to the question how many km are between Malaga and Cordoba - 0 km. , the time you will spend on the road will be approximately 0 hours 0 minutes. Working with the map is very simple. The system itself will find the shortest distance and offer the OPTIMAL route. The route from Calella to Barcelona is shown in the diagram with a bold line. On the diagram you will see all the settlements that you will meet on your way while driving. Having information about cities, towns (check out the list of settlements along the Milan - Cordoba highway at the bottom of the page) and traffic police posts located along the route, you will be able to quickly navigate unfamiliar areas. If you need to find another route, just indicate FROM and WHERE you need to go, and the system will definitely offer you a solution. Having a ready-made map from Barcelona to Barcelona and knowing how to get through difficult junctions, you can always easily answer the question of how to get from Barcelona to Barcelona.

Panoramas
Panorama of Malaga and Cordoba

Driving along a pre-planned route is a way to eliminate problems that may arise in unfamiliar areas and overcome the desired section of the road as quickly as possible. Don’t miss out on details; check the map in advance for all complex road forks.
Don't forget a few simple rules:

• Any driver traveling long distances needs rest. Your trip will be safer and more enjoyable if, having planned your route in advance, you decide on places to rest. The map presented on the site has various modes. Take advantage of the work of ordinary Internet users and use the "People's Map" mode. Perhaps you will find useful information there.
• Do not exceed the speed limit. Preliminary calculation of time and a constructed travel route will help you stay on schedule and not exceed the permitted speed limits. This way, you will not endanger yourself and other road users.
• It is prohibited to use substances that cause alcohol or drug intoxication, as well as psychotropic or other substances that cause intoxication while driving. Despite the abolition of zero ppm (now the possible total permissible error when measuring blood alcohol levels is 0.16 mg per 1 liter of exhaled air), drinking alcohol while driving is strictly prohibited.

Good luck on the roads!

My friend lives in Spain, namely in Malaga. For several months she could not persuade me to come to her for a few days. And last summer I finally bought a plane ticket and flew to Spain for two weeks. I settled in her apartment, but now from Malaga and traveled further around this country. I was also in Cordoba. You can get there from Malaga as follows:

By train

To travel from Malaga to Cordoba, you can use train transport. Thanks to this option, you can be on site within an hour after departure (plus or minus five minutes). The route is operated mainly by trains of the AVE and AVANT categories. You can read more about this transport and the features of traveling with it in Spain in
The first train leaves from Malaga María Zambrano railway station (Explanada de la Estación, s/n) at 06.45, and the last one available for boarding is at 20.15. The interval between departures of this transport is from half an hour to one and a half hours.
The entire schedule can be viewed in detail on the Renfre carrier website.
Arrival in Cordoba at the railway station, which is located at Glorieta de las Tres Culturas, s/n.

Train ticket prices

The fare starts from 25 euros, but there are offers that are twice as expensive.

Purchase

There are three ways to buy a ticket for rail travel in Spain:

• you can contact the nearest ticket office at Malaga train station;
• You can buy a ticket yourself at special terminals, of which there are many located at Malaga station;
• a certain time before travel, for example, a few days, you can buy an electronic ticket on the official portal of the carrier. But you must print it out before boarding the vehicle so that you have something to show to the controller.

By bus

To travel to Cordoba from Malaga, you can also use passenger buses. This area is served by ALSA. You can get there in two to four hours, depending on the route you choose and the number of stops the buses make along the way.

Typically, there are more buses available in the afternoon than in the morning and evening. The first flight departs at 09.15, the last at 19.30. The interval between departures is from half an hour to several hours, so I recommend checking the bus schedule before the trip. You can also find it on the carrier’s official website.

Buses depart from Malaga bus station (Paseo de los Tilos, s/n), and arrive in Cordoba at Av de la Libertad, S/N.

Bus ticket prices

A bus ticket can even be bought for 5-6 euros, but there are offers that are also several times more expensive.

Purchase

• You can pay the fare directly to the driver;
• You can buy tickets at the bus station - either at the ticket office or at a special sales terminal;
• You can issue electronic tickets in advance on the carrier’s portal.

By car

Another option to get to Cordoba is to travel by car. If you have your own car, then it will not be extra effort - refuel and hit the road along the wonderful Spanish highways. If you don’t have a car, you can rent one. I’ll say right away that in Malaga I didn’t come across any companies where you can rent a car. But I looked at many on the Internet and, by the way, found good options at affordable prices.

The A-45 highway runs between the cities, which is worth traveling along. These 160 km can be covered comfortably by car in two hours.

I want to tell you that in Spain the toll for using the autobahns is being waived. In this case, we can say that we are “lucky”, the road is of regional importance, and therefore no toll is charged. You will have to spend money only on the fuel you need. There is also one more point: if you have not traveled through Spain on your own by car before or have not used such modes of transport for a long time, then you need to familiarize yourself in detail with the peculiarities of driving in this country. All the necessary information can be found