A Trail of Three Cities

An enjoyable holiday and well supported with your information and bookings. We did take a taxi on arrival in Malaga to the rail station as we did find the instructions a little confusing (mainly the many alternatives!). We continued to use taxis whenever we arrived at a new location. We booked an extra day in both Seville and Granada which worked out fine. The two nights in Cordoba were sufficient for us.

HIGLIGHTS: Alcazar in Seville, Mesquita in Córdoba & Alhambra in Granada, not to be missed. Inntravel's suggestion of going to the Alhambra the day before to pick up tickets did not work for us - tickets only available on the correct day. In Seville, Granada & Málaga we enjoyed using the "Hop-on-hop-off" bus to get a first impression of the city as a whole. 

The tour guide (Anthony) of the Alhambra was very good.  We were the only English speakers but he went out of his way to involve us and provided so much interesting information. Tabersus tapas bar by the Mezquita and Roman bridge in Cordoba was very good.  We also went to the Royal stables for the equestrian show which was very enjoyable.

We had an excellent city break with Inntravel. The self-guided walks gave us a sense of each city and took us through places that we would have probably never seen otherwise. Recommendations were good, the hotels were particularly good. Our favourite city was Cordoba but only by a margin. We'd hope to use Inntravel in the future.

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday and felt the combination of the three cities worked perfectly. Travelling by train was straightforward and very enjoyable as Inntravel had done all the hard work for us.  We booked an extra night in Seville and were pleased we did as there's so much to see there. Of the three hotels our favourite by far was Llave de la Juderia in Cordoba which has the most delightful and helpful staff and wonderful breakfasts. But all three hotels were very well located for the main sites, with plenty of restaurants nearby.

We made good use of the walking routes which helped us find places we might have missed such as the little synagogue in Cordoba and the amazing Plaza de Espana in Seville. We prebooked The Alhambra in Granada and the Cathedral in Seville which was probably a good move, but were able to turn up at the Mezquita and the Alcazar in Cordoba and get tickets with hardly any queues. Both these last two were just amazing. The gardens of the Alcazar in particular were unexpectedly beautiful. The Horse and Flamenco show in Cordoba was also very enjoyable and we booked on the day. We walked nearly everywhere (wear good shoes - the cobbles are very attractive but hard on the feet!) but in Granada to save the walk up to the Alhambra we used the red shuttle bus and found that for 1.40 Euros each we got an excellent sightseeing tour as the bus works on a circular route. We enjoyed it so much we took another shuttle bus up to the Abadia del Sacromonte and again had a very good 'tour' of the Sacromonte area. 

In Seville we really got into the tapas way of eating, visiting lots of different bars and restaurants in the central area. Our favourite was Las Teresas on side street - a bit chaotic but good fun. In Cordoba we tried El Churrasco. Quite formal but pleasant and knowledgable staff and if you are a big meat eater the mixed meat platter is worth sampling! We also tried two of the three Casas Bodegas in Cordoba which are a little more modern looking and made a nice chance. In Granada the hotel booked Las Estrellas de San Nicholas for us which is the perfect spot to watch the sun go down over the Alhambra. 

We were lucky with the weather. We had one day of rain but the rest of the week we enjoyed sunny, mild days - perfect for enjoying three beautiful cities and particularly the orange trees, and patios full of flowers and greenery. 

Highlight was the Alhambra in Granada, but take a guided tour

Some of the notes are out of date, particularly in relation to recommendations for bars and restaurants, eg Los Manueles in Granada had apparently been closed for 20 years! , though it had been succeeded by another of the same name in a different street. Many restaurants offer their menu only by a QR code on mobile phone. Not all sites recognise over 65 discounts for non EU citizens;this seems to be a particular problem in booking online. The tour of the Alhambra is very worthwhile, but you need to allow three and a half hours.

The location of all three hotels is extremely good. We used Seebybike cycle company in Seville, an excellent find at a reasonable cost. The highlight was the location of the hotel in Granada with magnificent views to the Alhambra.

Our 5th fantastic Inn Travel holiday, but our first 'journey' holiday.  We did all the walks which were varied and interesting. The train travel was easy. We pre-booked the Alhambra, got a taxi up but walked back down. The hotels were all good. March was a good time to go for the oranges. Weather was ok, a few rainy moments but a lot of sunshine too so we could sit outside to enjoy a drink and the free tapas.  We will definitely be doing more city rail breaks.

This was our first trip abroad after Covid, and our first with Inntravel. We were initially nervous about both but have to say that this trip was just great, and we can not hesitiate in recommending Inntravel to anyone for the first rate service. We were short on time and would have loved longer in each place especially Seville. It was brilliant to have the travel documents, history, maps, walks, helpful advice, and travel booked for us. Our highlights were Seville in general with the smell of the orange blossom, and the squares, windows, food, and ambiance. The Mesquita in Cordoba is stunning, as is the Alhambra. Our tour with Granada Tours was well worth the money. We ate in little tapas bars and enjoyed the experience, especially when we got the hang of portion sizes. La Bartola in Seville was recommended by the hotel and was fun with great tapas. 

Wow - what an amazing trip! Thanks to Inntravel for excellent travel arrangements and finding interesting hotels and attractions to visit. The best of several we have been lucky enough to do.

Highlights were definitely the Soul of Cordoba at the Mezquita and the Horse show with Flamenco in Cordoba. So glad we booked the guided Alhambra tour. Although this seemed expensive the Guide was excellent, the group was small and we by-passed all the queues! The Mirador room in Granada was brilliant - book it if you can!

We really enjoyed the whole trip and it all flowed together beautifully. Each city had something different to offer but the location of all hotels gave us easy access to most attractions and a wide choice of restaurants. Thank you for a lovely holiday.

It was a most enjoyable and well organised trip. The hotels were very well chosen and in good locations. Travelling around by bus and train gave us a chance to practice our Spanish, which was one of our aims. The inntravel team were amazing organising everything so well for us at the last minute. I did forget to say earlier that the evening meal we had at the Casas del Rey in Seville was absolutely amazing. The only fault we could find was that the suggested walks were rather overly detailed and confusing and we didnt use them at all.

Seville was our favourite city. For tapas, we recommend the Catalina Casa de Comidas near the hotel in Plaza Padre Jeronimo. We did not think much of Il 3 de Oro which you mention. In Cordoba, we enjoyed tapas at Casa Pepe near the hotel.

We thoroughly enjoyed our six day trip to Andalusia. The hotels were excellent and the train travel was effortless. All three cities were wonderful and we only wished we could have stayed longer in each place. It was our first visit to Córdoba and Granada so they were particularly exciting. The Mezquita exceeded all expectations - similarly the Alhambra. In Córdoba we enjoyed lunch outside at Ordóñez in a quiet side street off Deanes, near the hotel and Mezquita. In Granada we had lunch at el huerto de Juan Ranas, cl de Atarazana 8, high up in the Albaicin which had a fantastic view overlooking the Alhambra, with the snow capped mountains behind. Perfect!

Our highlights? The Alcazar in Seville, the Mezquita in Cordoba, and the Alhambra in Granada

Super trip (a Trail of Three Cities with a Malaga city add-on), with lots of interesting places to visit. Particularly enjoyed the gardens in the Alcázar in Cordóba which one might be tempted to leave out having visited the Alcázar in Seville - we almost did.  Tip, as mentioned previously, to take the bus to Malaga airport if staying at the Hotel Molina Lario as the bus stop is only a couple of minutes walk from the hotel. If looking for tapas in Malaga we would recommend Nacalú just round the corner from the hotel. El Pimpi had a huge queue! PIn Cordóba, the Bodegas Mesquita is very good value. In Granada, Restaurante Arayannes and Restaurante Libanes Samarkanda are near the hotel and a change from tapas!

This is a holiday full of rich cultural experiences. Each of the three cities has two or three gems so it’s important to give each one sufficient time and energy. This may mean leaving out some of the lesser sites. The local accredited guides are excellent, saving time and providing a great deal of important background.

A great holiday from start to finish. We chose to have an extended stay in each of the three cities and would definitely recommend that so you can maximise all the city walking routes and have sufficient time to enjoy all the many other great aspects of each city from flamenco dancing to beautiful  parks to stroll in. These are three cities to immerse yourself in their history and relaxing environs! A great holiday thank you Inntravel!

The highlight of the holiday was the Mesquita in Cordoba, a remarkable and unique building. However, it took us little more than an hour to look around. The unmissable experience is the Alhambra at Granada. We arrived there just after 10 and didn't leave until nearly 4. The audio guide there is excellent, well worth the €6 fee, and is one reason that the visit took so long, but we'd have stayed even longer if the gardens had been in bloom. We booked the Nasrid Palace tickets for 13.30 and this timing was perfect. Take some snacks and a drink with you because there is a surprising (to the British!) lack of cafes inside the Alhambra grounds. Seville is a treasure with the cathedral and Giralda tower the highlight. We wouldn't bother with the Palais de Pilatos in Seville, too expensive for what there was to see. On timing: we went in January and it rained nearly every day, and almost continuously for all our time in Seville. Most days were very windy too. We think this is unusual in January because all three cities were busy with tourists but it is a risk. Of course there are no flowers in bloom so the gardens are dull in January, and all the gardens in Seville were closed throughout our visit because of heavy rain. Finally our restaurant tips: we're not into fine dining but we very much enjoyed the creative dishes and excellent service at Casa Catalina, in Plaza de Catalina, 5 minutes walk from Las Casas hotel in Seville, and also the Bodegas Mezquita in Cordoba which provided delightful Spanish dishes and a glass of Pedro Ximenez on the house to finish!

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 walk to the ruined farm house where we continued to catch a bus back to Grazalema.  A hard but stunning walk.  Los Diamantes tapas bar in Granada - really authentic experience.  La Regadera restaurant in Cordoba - modern Spanish cooking,  L'Azotea restaurant and tapas bar in Seville - the one close to the Cathedral - again modern, beautifully presented and tasty tapas.  Also, close to hotel, La Fresqui family run cafe - doesn't look great but super coffee, traditional tapas at a very low price.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our New Year Break in Grazalema with A Trail of Three Cities

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!