Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022.

So this is – or rather was – it. Six day in Andalusia. As is now somewhat traditional, we try to find some themes and topics, some observations we have or had. 

1: Avoiding summer scorching heat

With climate change heating up traditional summer tourist destinations in Europe, with the Mediterranean Sea being a popular destination, we did see quite significants crowds.

The main landmark sites were busy. Booking a ticket and a time slot was and is paramount. Are people now avoiding Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Italy, France and Spain in the summer? Perhaps not. But people have fund their way to these countries in autumn as well. 

Seville was really crowded. It really is popular. The week we were there we knew three duos also being in Andalusia. Others had been just the week before or after. 

2: Andalusia by train is doable, but…

We took many trains and two buses. All the rest we did on foot. Despite the extend of Andalusia, it is doable to roam the region on rail. Danny looked up train schedules via Deutsche Bahn (yes indeed!) and booked most via Train Online. The Renfe booking site is not customer friendly.

But, there’s a major but.

Not only can train journeys be long, trains are irregular. Andalusia is not Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain or Belgium. Don’t count on having a train every fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes or even every hour. 

Travelling by train in Andalusia means good planning, as you have to combine train schedules with booking historic sites. Not always easy.

3: The kindness of hotel staff

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have often felt service and kindness in hotels have gone down. Sometimes dramatically, sometimes underwhelming, sometimes underperforming to its potential. Montcalm Royal London House – City of London, Pullman Stuttgart Fontana, Hotel Kapellerput, Mercure Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Dali Hôtel Perpignan, Neméa Appart’Hôtel Toulouse Concorde, Hotel Imperial Karlovy Vary spring to mind. 

Not so in Spain, and certainly not so in Andalusia. While Eurostars Palace in Córdoba made each of its five stars shine, the four-star Posada del Lucero in Seville and Barceló Málaga really made an effort. The complimentary bottles of cava helped. We also witnessed the return of pillow-top chocolates. 

Those are nice touches which we will remember. And they show heartfelt hospitality is still present. 

So?

The 2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour was high-paced but we didn’t feel tired of this high pace. The hospitality and fair weather motivates us to go for seconds. Perhaps next time in Basque Country aka Euskadi.

2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour

1. PRELUDE | Visiting Gibraltar in 2013.
2. REVIEW | Eurostar Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris in 2023.
3. PARIS | Restaurant Le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon.
4. REVIEW | SNCF TGV inOui from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Barcelona-Sants.
5. REVIEW | Hotel Barcelo Sants.
6. INTERMEZZO | Spain saw a surge of Belgians visiting in the first quarter of 2024.
7. SPAIN | Renfe Sala Club or Club Lounge at Adif stations.
8. REVIEW | Renfe AVE in Premium from Barcelona-Sants to Córdoba.
9. SPAIN | The Mezquita or Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
10. CÓRDOBA | The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos or Castle of the Christian Monarchs.
11. REVIEW | Hotel Eurostars Palace Córdoba.
12. ANDALUSIA | Half a day in Córdoba.
13. TRAINS IN SPAIN | Iryo in Infinita class from Córdoba to Seville.
14. ANDALUSIA | Real Alcázar of Seville.
15. ANDALUSIA | Seville Cathedral or Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla.
16. REVIEW | Hotel Posada del Lucero in Seville.
17. ANDALUSIA | Half a day in Seville ft. Plaza de España and Las Setas or Metropol Parasol.
18. TRAINS IN SPAIN | Renfe Avant regional ‘local’ train on high speed lines.
19. GRANADA | The Alhambra and the Generalife.
20. REVIEW | Hotel Catalonia Granada.
21. ANDALUSIA | Granada on Día de la Hispanidad.
22. INTERMEZZO | Spain demands your personal data before you travel there.
23. ANDALUSIA | Málaga ft. the Alcazaba and the Cathedral.
24. REVIEW | Restaurante Matiz, Málaga.
25. REVIEW | Hotel Barcelo Málaga.
26. REVIEW | TUIfly Fly Deluxe Málaga to Antwerp.