A Trail of Three Cities

Highlights were the Seville and Cordoba hotels for character and service respectively. No rain! Alhambra visit, but.... The night before the visit I thought the Inntravel instuctions in the file were ambiguous - I only took the file, not the letters, invoices etc... I spoke to Granada Travel who, like the Guide on the day of the visit, seemed to expect that we would have a voucher. As it turned out, it didn't matter, but your instructions could perhaps be improved in this respect. Also, a website like Trailfinders "Viewtrail" would be useful.

The beautiful buildings & monuments were the high point. Three beautiful cities!!

This was a great trip, and even though the weather was a bit colder and duller than we'd hoped, the cities are amazing... especially Seville. All the travel arrangements worked like clockwork and even changing the timing of a train was done quickly and efficiently by the Inntravel office back in the UK, with new tickets emailed to us and then printed out by the Hotel in Seville. Food wise we ate at La Mata very near the hotel (Las Casas de la Juderia...amazing!) which was good and then on the second night we went, quite late, into Las Teresas, which is just 5 minutes from the hotel and ate at a great, crowded bar hung with hams, tapas... and of course very inexpensive. For lunch in Seville we had a beautiful leg of lamb in La Malvaloca on a plaza. Euros 22 for two! The next day, great and inexpensive standing tapas in La Fresquita (we had tried the night before but it was full to busting and it is tiny!) In Cordoba we did eat at El Churrasco and it was OK, but pricey and obviously aimed at tourists. The next evening we went to Taberna Gongora (about 2 minutes from the hotel... Palaccio del Bailio) and whilst we had to stand and wait for about 15 minutes they had a system and did take names for the next free table... again great and inexpensive... glass of Fino Euro 1! In Granada (Palacio Patos) we actually ate twice, lunch and evening, in the hotel restaurant: excellent. The other evening we ate, pretty late, at Tabernas Masquevinos, which we found up a little alley up off one of the main shopping streets! Buzzing, busy and excellent... and again very inexpensive... with the end of meal coffee on the house! And of course then there's the Alcazar, the Mesquite and so on.... beautiful architecture, tiling, intricate details from the Islamic influence. Not to mention all the amazing patterned cobbles we found in all 3 cities. Will definitely return (when it's sunnier!)

Granada - we loved everything about Granada and Hotel Casa Morisca was very good. 3 nights were perfect. Spent most of 1st day in the Alhambra and our 2nd day took the walking tour around Sacromonte. Pre-booking Alhambra is essential and best to get there as early as possible before the crowds arrive.

Cordoba - we booked 3 nights in Cordoba but actually only needed 2 nights as everything is very close together. The quality of our room in Hotel Llave de la Juderia was poor so would recommend the better class of hotel offered by Inntravel.

Seville - very busy and much bigger than other 2 cities. Took a Red City Sightseeing tour when we arrived to get a feel for the city. Essential to pre-book Real Alcazar. The EXPO29 gardens are beautiful and very peaceful after the busy area around the Catheral and Palace. Recommend a vist to the palace at Plaza Pilates with guided tour of the rooms which are still used by the family. May need to pre-book the tour - we were lucky that there was availabilty on the English tour when we arrived. Hotel Las Casas del Rey de Baeza was fabulous with a wonderful restaurant - a bit of luxury at the end of a very busy week.

It was the first time we had used Inntravel and the holiday lived up to our expectations. All hotels were in great locations and walking distance to all major sites and super restaurants. We used all the walking notes provided and they were invaluable and allowed us to see places we wouldn't have done on our own. We had 2 super meals in Cordoba at Casa Pepe and El Churrasco (the latter appeared quite formal but staff were very knowledgeable and friendly). Be warned, in Granada we tried to book El Trillo but they would not accept a telephone booking, even by our hotel and would only take online bookings and we had to provide full credit card details. We declined and hotel staff were very surprised too and recommended Estrellas San Nicholas which was delightful. Our tour (organised by you) to the Alhambra was fabulous and there were only 5 people in our group, which was great. Our young female guide Del Carmen Paredes Cruz was very knowlegeable and friendly. We will definitely consider using Inntravel again. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in all three cities. Your walks were excellent, enabling us to feel we had seen as much as we could in the time available. Highlights for us were visiting the mezquita in Cordoba and the guided tour of the Alhambra in Granada which was just wonderful. Although we would usually avoid a group tour, in this case it made the day so much more enjoyable, and we still had time to ourselves at the end to revisit the gardens and take in all we had seen!

Mesquite was just fabulous. Recommend getting there, and the Alhambra, first thing to avoid the crowds even in October.

We all thoroughly enjoyed visiting the three cities. Though in terms of WOW factor, nothing could beat our entry into the Mezquita in Cordoba, early on the Sunday morning, hardly anyone yet inside the building, and just trying to take in the magnificent internal vista across the magic space of the Mezquita interior. Magical, amazing, wonderful, spellbinding.... At the Alhambra, the guided tour you had booked us on, in advance, was excellent, our guide, Antonio Zappata, bought the complex vividly to life, and put everything into context in terms of history, and its place in time. The tour lasted - what felt like a short - 3 1/2 hours, there were only 5 of us - all English - plus the guide which we felt was so lucky!  So that was number two on our list. All in all a memorable trip.

One recommendation for eating. In Seville the hotel recommended ‘El Contendor’ in C/San Luis 50 phone 954 91 63 33. Its description was "Stunning food, great food, and wonderful concept. You will enjoy for sure!" And that was absolutely true. The food was very original, excitingly presented, not classic, but innovative. Not your usual Iberian Ham etc.  But for us definitely the meal of the trip. For foodies, a must!!

The main thing I would suggest is that if any forward ticket booking is going to be involved do it using a proper keyboard in the UK when you will probably have a better chance of overcoming the inevitable hurdles.

1 day too little in Seville, really need 3 nights/2/2. Suggestion for Cordoba - the Equestrian School for those interested in horses, €21 for premium show ticket includes watching training and early entry to see horses before the show.

In Seville we went to the restaurant opposite our hotel, The Altamira, which provided a simple meal with friendly service which we felt was good value. In Cordoba we particularly enjoyed the Alcazar and we found the Bullfighting museum fascinating. We enjoyed a good value meal at the El Choto next door to the hotel and a particularly good, if more expensive meal, at the Casa Pepe. In Granada we enjoyed an excellent meal at the Negro Carbon. The food and service was superb but it was not cheap and you need to like beef!

The tour of the Ahlambra was excellent, the guide was very good. You need to wear good walking shoes as it is something of a marathon but well worth it!

Cordoba is our personal highlight; the Mesquita is outstanding especially the illuminated night tour - this will remain in our memories always (no photos allowed, fair enough). Also the Light and Sound night tour of the Alcazar gardens was quite magical. Cannot recommend these 2 events' highly enough. Book on line before leaving home. 

Again in Cordoba, we became fans of the Bodegas Mesquita restaurants...a small 'chain' of 3 in Cordoba only. Excellent food, excellent value and friendly waiters. No outside eating areas though.

In Seville, do NOT eat at the Altamira which is situtated in the plaza close to Las Casas de la Juderia. Expensive, unfriendly waiters, poor food. I notice (too late for us) another review makes the same comment. 

We found that the only time we needed to use a taxi was to reach the Hotel Casa Morisca in Grenada. The others were within walking distance from the station. 

A general reminder to book visits to the prime 'must see' places such as The Alhambra on line several weeks (at least) before departure. 

We feel Inn Travel staff deserve praise for responding  to queries e.g. do the hotels have kettles in their rooms? You did not know so contacted the hotels and I received a prompt (positive) response. 

We loved this holiday. All arrangements made by Inntravel worked out impeccably. The hotels were quirky yet comfortable with extremely helpful staff. Train and bus travel was perfectly organised. The walking tours were interesting to do and allowed us to discover much more of Seville, Córdoba and Granada than if we had been trying to do it on our own. We would recommend that anyone doing this holiday lets Inntravel book the Alhambra tour. It was quite gruelling but worth every step!

We would also recommend the following restaurants: El Rinconcillo in Seville - just a few steps from Las Casas del Rey de Baeza. An old, traditional tapas bar with great food and used by the locals. El Trillo Restaurante in Granada - fantastic views of the Alhambra and wonderful food but be sure to book first to ensure a table on the roof terrace. Casa Pepe in Córdoba - again, book first (they accept online booking) otherwise you won’t get a table on the roof terrace overlooking the Mesquita.

Delighted with hotels selected by the company,ideally situated to make walking in the old, interesting parts of the cities easy . We were very pleased that we extended the holiday by a day so that we had plenty of time in Granada to enjoy more than the amazing Alhambra.

Emphasising that the Alcazar closes from 14.30 on Sundays till Tuesday 8.30 would be helpful. We travelled to Cordoba on the Sunday and were so relieved we notice in the folder in time not to miss it. We left our luggage at the hotel and walked straight there.

Tips - the EA Bus from Seville railway station to the airport on the last day took barely ten minutes, so we would recommend that v the taxi! 4 euros...Sunday...maybe there’s no traffic on a Sunday and the driver needed his lunch! We bought a ticket for the Alcazar Córdoba, at 1000 in the morning...there were three of us in the queue...it was Sunday...and then went off for a wander and coffee and then went back at 12.30 and skipped the massive queues! 5 euros for a shady sit before tapas.

Highlights include the Tapas bar Cafe Bar Teresa’s, we just sat and chatted to the bar tender using our google translate ...very limited conversation going on but fun, and we loved the Rinconcillo tapas bar. We stood drinking and eating Tapas while they chalked up our spending on the counter ...a definite highlight... stand like a local.

Wow factors...the moment we walked into the Mezquita Córdoba, you have to go into it to fully experience, it's one of those places where photos cannot capture the 'Wow'. The Alcazar gardens in both Córdoba and Seville, peace, calm and shade in the afternoons. The roof top pool in Seville; sun, swim, drinks served and a gentle breeze with the inevitable siesta snooze :-)

A must see is the Horse & Flamenco show at Caballerizas Reales de Cordoba. 

If possible book the Mirador Room at Casa Morisca Hotel in Granada - Alhambra view is stunning, well worth the upgrade.

We had an excellent holiday and visited all our planned sights. The extra days in Sevilla and Granada were very useful and enabled us to explore without rushing. An unexpected highlight was the Plaza de Español in Seville, which was quite spectacular. Advance booking for the Alcazar in Seville would have avoided a lengthy queue. The Mesquite in Cordoba with its Cathedral surpassed my expectations, it was quite breathtaking. Los Diamantes in Granada for excellent local fayre and atmosphere at lunchtime. If you are vegetarian then I suggest researching suitable restaurants prior to leaving home or the hotel.  

I have just returned from an extended version of the Trail of Three Cities trip combined  with the Ronda and the Grazelema Sierra short break.  

Upon the recommendation of fellow Inntravel customers I met on a previous trip, I extended the stay in Seville to four nights and the stay in Granada to three nights, and I am very glad that I did.  Particularly in Seville there is so much to see and absorb that a two day stay would easily leave one running full tilt the whole visit without the time to slow down to get some feel for the Andalusian lifestyle.  As someone raised on a very Anglocentric view of European history and culture, it was fascinating to see an entirely different perspective, and I would urge people like myself starting with only the most rudimentary knowledge of Spanish history to read up on it before the trip to gain the most from the experience.  As has been my previous experience with Inntravel trips, the accomodations were an important part of the experience, each one unique and a reflection of its city.  In Cordoba I literally had a room fit for a queen, even though I was a solo traveler, as I stayed in the same room that was Queen Sofia's when she visited Cordoba a few years ago.  The transportation arrangements went without a hitch, although there was a bus connection for part of the trip between Cordoba and Granada due to construction of the AVE line to Granada.  For travelers making the bus connection from Granada to Ronda or Ronda to Malaga as I did, it is worth mentioning that it is well worthwhile showing up a the bus station  with a time cushion before the scheduled departure, as bus schedules  and departure lanes are not necessarily posted at the stations, and the buses may not have any signs indicating their destination, thus requiring a bit of extra time to figure out the logistics of the journey.  The bus stations were the only situations where I was happy to have at  least some rudimentary  Spanish, as the hotel staff  and railway ticket agents to a one spoke much better English than I spoke Spanish.  

Ronda and the Grazelema Sierra provided a very nice, if brief, contrast to the cultural excitement and bustle of the cities.  Even though Ronda has many day-tripping tourists at midday, it becomes much more peaceful at night so that one can appreciate its traditional appeal as a romantic, cliff top destination.  The Grazelama Sierra is a young range of jagged, limestone peaks, which even in somewhat imperfect weather conditions provides a seemingly endless series of spectacular views, ranging as far as the Mediterrainean with good visibility as I had on my second day.  Even though I walked  almost nonstop my two days there, I could easily have spent another day to cover all the places I would have liked to have seen.  

As a repeat customer, I am quite sold on the Inntravel experience, as the quality of the notes and choice of accomodations and recommendations are second to none in my experience, and all of the transportion logistics now on several trips have gone without a hitch.    There is almost no way that as a first time traveler to southern Spain that I could have created a similar itinerary on my own, and I look forward to returning for future trips.  

Overall, a very good first experience using Inntravel. We will probably use them again for future trips.

Alberto in Cordoba hotel was excellent. The trip was a great success and we enjoyed the train travel

From our holiday in Southern Spain we will always remember the sunny squares, their fountains, the orange trees, and the tapas.  But for us our visit to the Mezquita in Cordoba was the highlight of our trip.  To enter into this amazing space, with a forest of columns stretching in all directions, and then in the centre of what was a mosque, a seamless transformation into a soaring cathedral.  It was an overwhelming emotional experience.  Such a beautiful building. 

For us the highlights of the holiday were the Mezquita in Cordoba which we found most impressive, and the walk to the Sacromonte in Granada to see that area and for the views of the Alhambra.

Tip 1, You will be walking a lot on cobbles stout walking shoes or trekking sandals are a must. Tip 2, buy your Alhambra tickets online and print them at home, this avoids the queue as you don't need to pick up the tickets. You could even enter by the Pueta de Justica and pick up an audio guide outside the Alcazaba. Tip 3, We found the audio guides very good and a much lower cost than the guided tours. If you go round in a group of more than 10 you will lose the sense of intimacy which is a feature of many of the palace rooms. Tip 4, We wished we had booked an extra night in Seville there is a lot to see in the city.

Personal highlight #1 - pork with whiskey tapas

#2 Cordoba - we found it friendly, and comprehensible (unlike Seville which just felt crowded, and confusing).  A third night here would be good.

#3 The Palacio de Viana in Cordoba - we wandered around the patios enjoying the peace and the beauty, to the sound of tinkling fountains - heavenly.

The quality and location of the hotels was a real highlight. We enjoyed the walking tours which took us to parts of the old cities we'd never have found. 

We have had holidays organised by Inntravel before so we knew that everything would be straightforward. This holiday was particularly nice as the hotels were so conveniently sited. The walking notes were all excellent. The thing that has struck us on all the holidays is that Inntravel has obviously walked these routes themselves and tested some of the recommended restaurants. So well done and keep up the excellent standards.

This is the most thoroughly researched adventure I have ever been on. Every detail of flights, trains, buses and walking routes was accurately documented. It is about as close to an invisible guide as you can get. The self-guided city walks enter nooks and crannies and illuminate shops, houses, parks and museums which you might miss. A few additional finds which I enjoyed were:

The Felix Revello de Toro Art Gallery in Malaga.

A climb up to San Miguel del Alto in Sacromonte, Granada.  The highest point.  Here not only the wonderful vistas of the Alhambra, but also, round the back a fountain where the hill-side dwellers can be found washing their socks.

A musician friend who had lived in Sacromonte, recommended a Flamenco Show in Granada at Jardin de Soraya. They change visiting artists every Monday and the female dancer, on her last night, threw her significant weight into her dancing shoes and produced a mesmerising performance.

Many people adjudge Cordoba's Mezquita as superior to Granada's Alhambra, mainly because the inside glories are still there. The gypsies that moved into the Alhambra for 350 years painstakingly stripped it out and flogged reachable tiles and mosaics. You may well stand a better chance of seeing a tile from the Alhambra in an antiques shop in Accrington than the Andalusian fortress! Arrive at the magnificent Mezquita by 8.30am and you have an hour to see if for free before paying visitors arrive.

Seville's Plaza de Espana should be in a walking tour because it is a magnificent edifice and the flamenco buskers are as good there as anywhere.

Finally, watch your back at traffic lights in Malaga. Whilst your attention is focused on the red countdown from 49' to green, the pick-pocket is behind you removing all the cash from your backpack. I know this from sad personal experience. The Malaga Police were documenting about 30 reported robberies a day in January.  

In conclusion, this was a memorable adventure which had been meticulously prepared by Inntravel.  I commend it and them to you.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Trail of Three Cities journey by rail followed by our Malaga City add-on.

This proved to be a very enjoyable and interesting tour of Spanish culture and architecture, and fulfilled a long held desire to visit these Andalucian cities. The spin that Inntravel added with their suggested walking routes took us to areas which we would not have found otherwise, but proved to be well worthwhile. The hotels were all excellent and in keeping with the itinerary and reflected the culture we had come to explore. A million miles away from the usual bland corporate chains. The staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. One update is that the synagogue in Cordoba has now opened (two weeks ago) and worth a stop off on the walking tour. We stayed three nights in each location and could not have done full justice to the cities otherwise - bear in mind though we did arrive at the Alhambra at 8:30 and did not leave until 16:00, perhaps other people would not get so involved! The weather was good overall with excellent weather in Seville, and rainy mornings but pleasant afternoons elsewhere even in November. The only negative comment we have is that some of the information in the notes provided by Inntravel could do with tweaking, but hopefully future clients can benefit from the updates we have provided to them. In conclusion an excellent holiday and one more destination off the bucket list!

We so enjoyed all of our holiday. The two nights in three cities made it feel like a much longer holiday, with the anticipation of somewhere new every couple of days. We left each city wanting more! Perfect.

We loved the whole Seville experience, and could have happily spent longer there. We delayed our train to Cordoba to give us longer, which we are so glad we did, as we walked to the Plaza de Espana, which was another real highlight. We found it an astounding omission from your walking notes, especially as this is the feature photo of the holiday on your website. Everyone visiting Seville should see this. It was magnificent. The Mezquita was the other real highlight. An absolute must, which helped to raise Córdoba up in personal regard, after loving Seville so much. In Granada, we found the Albaicín and Sacromonte walk an unexpected delight, that we nearly didn’t do, because we were pretty tired by the time we arrived. It was so worth the effort, and to be honest, the views of The Alhambra from this walk, were more enjoyable than visiting The Alhambra! After the wonders of The Alcazar in Seville, and The Mezquita in Córdoba, the busyness, the feeling of being rushed through The Alhambra, made it less enjoyable.

Overall it was a wonderful holiday, but I would prefer 4 star hotels for all stays with better facilities.

We spent 2 nights in each city, but would recommend 3 in at least Seville and Cordoba just to take more time over the visits especially with temperatures in mid 30s to allow more relaxation time.

Would recommend using local restaurants if staying at Las Casas del Rey Baeza as the menu was quite limited and expensive. We would however throroughly recommend the Catalina Restaurant (Plaza Padre Jerónimo  De Córdoba, 12, 41003 Sevilla) which is a short (5mins) walk away. Good food, reasonably priced and very welcoming ... but do book if meal wanted at a specific time. We felt sitting inside might be preferable as there is a bus stop outside which appears to have a very frequent service.

In Granada the restaurant Las Estrellas, Mirador, St. Nicholas is expensive, but good food and fantastic view. We asked the hotel to book it in advance which gave us balcony table overlooking the Alhambra as the sun set and the illuminations came on. The slightly cheaper nearby restaurant, Mirador de Aixa served good food and has a similar overlook.

We had a wonderful time.

Well organised tour of the three great cities of Southern Spain on which you visit a number of great cathedrals/mosques and palaces that have passed between Christian and Moorish hands over the centuries.  The area is still a melting pot where influences of Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures on each other can be directly experienced.  Inntravel picked great hotels and provided lots of information to make our visit to the country very enjoyable.  Be sure to visit Christina Hoyos' Museo del Baile Flamenco in Seville and one of their "VIP" shows which are very intimate.  It's good to do more than one Flamenco show and we also saw shows at the excellent Tablao Flamenco El Areal and El Palacio Andaluz.   The latter was in a theatre and less intimate than the first two, but the dancing was good at all locations.  In Cordoba, we had an excellent guide who took us around the Mezquita.  The equestrian show at the Royal Stables in Cordoba was good fun.  In Granada, you had booked us onto a tour of the Alhambra which turned out to be essential for first time visitors.  Our guide was excellent.  We found that starting at 3.30pm gave us plenty of time for the tour and for wandering through the site afterwards.

A really excellent trip with superb organisation by Inntravel, meaning that the travel was stress-free and the hotels were very well situated with bags of character. Our highlights were visiting the breath-taking Alcazar in Seville, late-night tapas in the Victoria Park food market in Cordoba and the walk around the Sacremento district in Granada, which gave us a completely different view of the city from that most tourists see. A really memorable week. 

We strongly recommend the use of Inntravel - good value, well-researched and excellent hotels of character and quality in the heart of these charming old cities.  Excellent tips for restaurants, great walking guides revealing some of the "hidden gems" of these wonderful cities, all supplied with clear notes and advice.

An unexpected highlight was the flamenco show at the Museum of Flamenco in Seville. It was a much more genuine experience than some of the tourist-oriented shows to be found in the bars etc - quite astonishing. A culinary and cultural highlight was Pimpi's bar in Malaga.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers booked our self guided journey by rail A Trail of Three Cities with our Malaga City add on

Personal highlight was the football but obviously that wasn't included. However I think it demonstrates how helpful the staff are at all the hotels and the good choices Inntravel makes when picking these. The Mezquita and Alcazar in Cordoba were real favourites and just wandering around Seville using the walking notes was brilliant.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: One of the hotel hosts helped the customers secure tickets for a local football match.

Overall an excellent and well-organised tour on which we could take things at our own pace and at times to suit us. We found the walking notes to be particularly helpful, although the admission prices need updating.

The only gripe was the weather ciold and very wet in Spain! but possibly to be expected in early March

This was a really well planned holiday and we really enjoyed it. The walking tours were spot on and showed us parts of Seville and Granada in particular that we would not have seen had we not followed them. The train travel worked out very well - despite the replacement bus which was efficient and smooth. We had a really wonderful time. Thank you.

Wished we had one day longer in Seville, so much to see! Could perhaps have cut short our stay in Granada by one day to compensate. My wife loved the Alcazar in Seville. The flower festival in Cordoba was wonderful. I felt really rushed going around the Alhambra, whizzed round when I would have loved to have been able to stop and stare! Your guided walk around Sacramonte (Granada) was truly wonderful! But hated the little tourist train in Granada, so bumpy and uncomfortable and the commentary didn't work properly. Don't take this tourist bus after a good lunch as you will regret it!

Despite the wide age range of our party (22 to 64) we had a great time. We could have enjoyed more time in each location. Apart from the obvious highlights, we enjoyed Placa España and surrounding gardens in Seville (hugely impressive if not the oldest thing we saw), Mercado Victoria in Cordoba (lively atmosphere, great choice of tapas at reasonable prices, few tourists) and the Royal Chapel in Granada (insight into history and culture). You recommend taxis from Palacio de los Patos to Place Nueva in Granada but it is easily walkable - maybe 7 minutes and flat. We used the circular train in Granada to get around. There are plenty of stops including the Alhambra and it costs 12 euros for 2 days unlimited use which we thought very reasonable. Maybe some comments on tipping practice would be helpful. The travel was perfect, allowing time for breakfast before departure and arrival just as rooms were ready.

A wonderful holiday from start to finish! 

Although not normally used by Inntravel Las Casas de la Juderia in Seville was excellent, a very quirky unusual hotel with the best breakfasts of the holiday.

In Granada an excellent fondue restaurant with amazing views of the Alhambra - Restaurante El Agua, Placeta Aljibe de Trillo.

A truly amazing holiday, as usual, everything was well organised and explained and having taken many Inntravel holidays we are never disappointed with your choice of hotels - always something a little different!.  Thank you.

If you thought Spain was the Costas, you really should take this trip to these very old cities with very new, and individually exciting experiences.

We loved Cordoba most of all. The Mezquita was extraordinary. We went early but you need to make it clear that free early entry is from 8.30-9.30 only and we were asked to leave at 9.20am as a service was due. The building re-opened at 10.00am however we were happy to pay and go back later in the day (5.00pm was lovely & quiet) until closing time. The visit to Palacio de Viana was an unexpected surprise, beautiful courtyards with flowers and so peaceful.

The trip up to Sacremonte in Granada was fascinating and we enjoyed our visit to the Alhambra but it is very busy even in the evening.

We enjoyed all the sights in Seville but in particular the Casa de Pilatos which was quiet and not obviously on the main tourist route. The Flamenco demonstration in Casa del Flamenco was extraordinary & quite emotional. The smaller audience created an intense atmosphere and the courtyard setting was perfect. The performance was greatly appreciated by the audience. Altogether an excellent holiday!

The accommodation was of a uniformly high standard, each hotel with its own individual character and located in a historic part of the city. A welcome refuge from the blistering heat each afternoon. The Mesquita in Cordoba and of course the Alhambra palaces were highlights, but wandering the small streets and lanes was great fun as well.

All the hotel rooms were very good. We enjoyed the central location of the hotels in Granada and Cordoba. The breakfasts, particularly at Las Casas del Rey Baeza in Seville were excellent. The swimming pool in Seville was a lovely way to cool down after a hot walk around the city. The walking guides were a good starting point to explore the cities, particularly around the Albaicin in Granada. We were a little disappointed with the time of our tour of the Alhambra. The time of the tour, 5pm, was not confirmed until about a month before the holiday. At this point the day tickets had sold out. We would have preferred to visit early in the morning and walk round at our own pace. 

The staff in Customer Services are so helpful. Communication amongst them seems very good and as soon as we gave our reference number they can update where we are and answer our questions. Very impressed.

My personal highlights: The Mesquita in Cordoba, Flamenco in Granada, Flamenco in Seville

Tips: If you want  to linger like we did for 6 hours in the Mesquita and the Real Alcazar don't bother with a guided tour - buy a guide book from the surrounding shops at the Mesquita and one from the Alcazar gift shop.

Flamenco: We were in search of 'non-touristy' flamenco and we think we found about as close as you can come in Seville. We happened to pick up a flier for 'La Esencia del Flamenco’ in 'T de Triana' taberna at Calle Betis 20. Book online using Eventbrite, buy at the door or reserve over the phone, 18 Euros including drink every Friday and Sunday. This show aims to reproduce the 'home party' flamenco that used to happen but is not available at the bigger shows. We were literally 5 feet from the performers who were happy to take questions and have photos/videos with the audience during and after. The Tapas at the bar were excellent too. Highly recommended if you want the 'real thing' but you have to be prepared to sit in the back of a non-air conditioned room for an hour.'

This was a great city sightseeing tour with lovely hotels (Seville and Cordoba hotels upgraded). We highly recommend the Noor restaurant in Cordoba; this is a unique and ethereal combination of atmosphere, art on the plate and great food - book well ahead. We walked straight into the Alhambra at 08:15 (no queues for those with tickets) so could easily have taken an earlier slot at the Nazrid palaces and so have avoided the build-up of tour groups by 09:30.

During our visit to Cordoba the annual May "Patio Festival" was underway. This is where many courtyards are open for veiwing at certain times of the day. This was both a good (very nice to see the ones we visited) and bad thing (it drew in many more visitors and Cordoba was so crowded). We think a guided tour of The Alhambra is essential - we would have missed so much left to our own devices and focussing on the guide distracted us from the crowds.

1. The view into the church from Las Casas De la Juderia has been blocked off.

2. In Cordoba the Mesquita appears no longer to be free first thing in the morning, however the crowds were comparatively lower so remains best time to go and visit.

3. In Sacromonte in Granada there is a museum devoted to cave dwelling way of life, just off your walk. Highly recommend it and the bar in it is the cheapest we found anywhere.

4. In Seville Alcazar we found the guided tour very good and it jumped the queues but otherwise suggest you recommend booking in advance over internet before visit as crowds very large.

5. Coeliacs should ask for Gluten free beer, not available everywhere but surprisingly often and the varieties we were served were good ("sin gluten"). In particularly at Levies Tapas (turn right out of Las Casas de la Juderia, less than 5 minutes walk) and excellent tapas and service too.

6. Avoid the open air restaurant just in front of Las Casas de la Juderia, poor service and food.

7. In Cordoba we enjoyed visiting Casa Y Patio Andulasia, suggest you add to your tour.

The accommodation provided was always brilliantly centrally located. Every day had highlights but Alcazar in Seville, Mezquita in Cordoba and the Alhambra were superb and the Passion processions in Malaga were the icing on the cake.  

All went very smoothly thank you. I was confused about trip to Alhambra and if our tickets were only valid for the morning because our tour was in the morning. Turned out that we could stay inside after tour too. This would be good to tell people as well as being able to use voucher as ticket and not having to exchange for tickets.

Top tip to buy tickets for cathedral in Seville at El Salvador Church about 5 minutes walk away as a dual entry ticket. A small extra price to pay to avoid the huge queues. Also buy tickets for Real Alcazar online to completely skip the queue for €1 extra/ ticket.

Must visit La Bartola tapas opposite Hotel in Seville and La Montillana about 2 mins away from Hospes in Cordoba. Amorica for organic chocolate sorbet in Seville. I could go on!!!

In common with others, by the time we reached the Alhambra, we had seen some wonderful Moorish delights. This took the edge off the Alhambra, with its hectic groups and over-crowding making viewing very unpleasant, and the feeling that you were looking at reconstructions designed to milk the flood of tourists to the maximum. Did not feel this in Seville and Cordoba. I even wonder if the tour would be better starting in Granada. But this was a thrilling week. It does require reasonable fitness to enjoy to the full: we did 8 or more miles every day tramping the pavements. But very rewarding, even given my caveats on the Alhambra.

I thought my general knowledge was ok! But was blown away by the main sights in the 3 towns especially Cordoba and the mosque, I had just not appreciated the history of this area.