36 Hours in Córdoba, Spain

No visitor should skip the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its blending of Muslim and Christian architecture, and its seemingly infinite forest of columns (some 850) and red-and-white horseshoe arches. Go at lunchtime (Spaniards eat late) on Friday when there may be fewer people. Construction of the mosque, once the world’s second largest, began around 786, recycling materials from the Visigoth Basilica of San Vicente, which it replaced. The mosque became a cathedral when the Christians conquered the city in 1236, and a massive chapel with soaring ceilings combining Gothic and Renaissance styles was inserted in 1523. (Tickets, 13 euros, or around $14, plus €3 for the bell tower. Purchase tickets online to avoid lining up.)

If you didn’t climb the 191 steps of the mosque-cathedral’s bell tower, the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, the 14th-century castle next door, has shorter towers with similar views above the city’s red-tile roofs. Built on the site of a Roman fortress on the river Guadalquivir, the Alcázar was a Spanish royal residence and later, a military installation and a prison. A statue amid the garden’s soaring cypresses and fountains commemorates a meeting between Christopher Columbus and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, whom he convinced over several years to fund his plan to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic. Parts of the Alcázar are being restored, but visitors can see the gardens as well as galleries with large sections of Roman mosaic floors discovered around town and now hung like pictures on the walls. (Tickets €5; credit card only.)

Having knocked off Córdoba’s two biggest monuments before dinner on Friday (and before the weekend crowds appear), restore yourself with an aperitivo at Restaurante Almudaina, a local favorite. Enjoy crisply fried ham croquetas (€15) and a glass of sherry (€3.50) in a two-story atrium dripping with vines that feels like an indoor garden, or at the charmingly compact, tile-encrusted bar. Or, if weather permits, take a seat on the terrace, where you can watch the lights come on to illuminate the Alcázar and other historic buildings as night falls.

Walk across the Guadalquivir on the honey-colored stone Roman Bridge with its rhythmic repetition of arches. It’s been heavily restored and rebuilt, especially in the 8th century. Across the bridge is the fortified tower, Torre de la Calahorra, which houses a small museum about Córdoba’s multicultural golden age with an engaging audio guide and models of buildings, like the Alhambra palace in Granada and a typical Córdoban patio house. It’s worth the admission (€4.5) just for the rooftop’s view across the river toward the mosque-cathedral and city. Nearby is C3A (Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía; free) a contemporary arts center that opened in 2016. The current exhibition, “Remedios” (until March 31), explores individual, societal and environmental repair and healing, with works by Marina Abramovic, Olafur Eliasson, Jenny Holzer, Brad Kahlhamer and others.

Get a taste of Córdoba by hopping around to three bars and cafes in the Judéria. The tiny Bar Santos has the town’s most famous tortilla española, a six-inch thick omelet that looks almost like a wheel of cheese, (tapa-size slices, €2.80). Nearby, El Churrasco, with its wood-fired oven, has wafer-thin fried eggplant (€9.80) that comes with salmorejo, a thicker version of gazpacho, or a drizzle of honey. The bar at Casa Pepe de la Judería is packed with people enjoying mazamorra, an almond soup served here with cubes of sweet quince paste (€12), and other tapas. Instead of fighting the midday scrum, book a table on the patio or in the warren of pretty rooms upstairs to eat wintry Andalusian fare like oxtail, roast pork or luscious tuna from the Strait of Gibraltar (lunch for two, about €80).

While daytrippers might only see the mosque-cathedral and the Judería, Córdoba’s real center for locals is around Plaza de las Tendillas, a large square full of shops and restaurants. (Although it feels like a new part of the city, Christopher Columbus actually lived nearby in the late 1480s.) Start your visit at Palacio de Viana, a 15th-century noble palace expanded and rebuilt over more than 500 years. It features 12 beautifully designed traditional patio gardens that function almost as outdoor rooms. The palace closes at 7 p.m., but is especially magical at twilight. Near the palace, El Cristo de los Faroles, a statue of Jesus surrounded by a cluster of elegant lanterns, also makes an evocative visit after dark.

Córdoba’s Plaza de la Corredera, a grand public square that offers wide-open space amid the city’s zig-zagging streets and lanes, is lined with compact bars and cafes whose seating spills outside. In the cooler months, stay warm by heading to a nearby string of indoor bars along the Calle Diario de Córdoba, a short stretch of a main road that winds down to the river. The dimly lit La Bohême feels like a cozy living room, while the neighboring Último Tango, though larger and darker, is still conducive to intimate conversation. Things get more boisterous a block north on Calle Alfaros where El Automático draws the city’s art crowd. Finish at the brightly lit Casa Cuba, where live music might erupt on any given night and mojitos cost just €5.

Taberna La Cuarta, a stylish Spanish bar and cafe that’s open from the early morning until after midnight, is one of the best places to grab a simple breakfast in Córdoba. Even better is that it places diners in front of the ruins of a Roman temple. With that view plus a cafe con leche (€1.50) and a toasted half baguette, topped with freshly grated tomato, jamón Ibérico and a drizzle of olive oil (€3.50), one gets a satisfying double dose of the city’s historic and culinary appeal.

Among the great and enduring (or at least revitalized) traditions of both the Roman and Islamic cultures is the appreciation of thermal baths. The Caliphal Baths (€3), a small but informative underground museum, has recovered and recreated some of the chambers of the former royal hammam, explaining how central bathing was to local culture. A 10-minute walk away, pamper yourself like a caliph at Hammam Al Ándalus with 90-minute bathing sessions that can include various massage treatments (sessions start at €40). Or head just 15 minutes outside the city to explore the 10th-century archaeological remains of Medina Azahara (€1.5, plus €3 shuttle bus to the ruins) the sophisticated palace complex built by Abd al-Rahman III, the first Caliph of Córdoba, when al-Andalus, the Arabic name that eventually evolved into Andalusia, rivaled the great courts of Damascus and Byzantium as the most powerful and prestigious of their era.