Advise on itinerary for 8 nights southern spain

I would get straight on a high speed AVE train after your short flight from Paris, and head to Cordoba for the first night. Pick up your hire car in Cordoba, then Granada (2nts), Ronda (1nt), Seville (4nts). You could even lose a night from Sevilla and stay in Arcos after Ronda.
Oct 7 Cordoba
Oct 8 Granada
Oct 9 Granada
Oct 10 Ronda
Oct 11 Arcos de la Frontera
Oct 12 Sevilla
Oct 13 Sevilla
Oct 14 Sevilla

So you think Cordoba's worth an overnight? Will consider. Yhanks

I love Cordoba and recommend it overnight. The highlight is the Mezquita and if needed you can just see that and walk through the old town in a daytrip. But it's much better in the evening when all the tour groups have left.

The above itinerary would also work better with a car as you wouldn't really be backtracking to Sevilla at the end of your trip when you've already been there. And no backtracking from Cordoba to the White Hills (they are in opposite directions from Sevilla).

I would leave more time in the White Hills since that is a main reason to have a car.

Just a reminder that to legally drive in Spain requires the International Drivers Permit.

My thoughts are pretty much the same as djp and Douglas. Go directly to Cordoba - it's less than an hour by train from Seville. Of all the places I visited, Cordoba was my hands-down favorite in the evenings. I'd even consider 2 nights there, then going to Granada first thing in the morning on Day 3. Another benefit of going straight to Cordoba is eliminating one hotel change.

It looks like you could even take a 9 a.m. train to Granada (2.25 hours). You won't use the car while you're in Granada anyway. From there, rent a car to drive via Ronda to Seville. Instead of one night each in Arcos and Ronda, stay 2 nights in Ronda, visiting Arcos on the way to Seville and spending a full day in Ronda.

Day 1-2 Cordoba
Day 3-4 Granada
Day 5-6 Ronda
Day 7-9 Seville

You don't want to split your time in Seville. So if you need to round trip to Seville for some reason (we flew into Seville and out of Madrid ourselves in a similar trip but we had 2.5 weeks) then finish in Seville.

So fly into Seville and head immediately by bus to Ronda and spend two nights; head by train to Granada and spend two nights using the full day for the Alhambra and do the town center the afternoon of arrival and then head to Seville for the last 4 nights and do a day trip to Cordoba.

This way you don't waste as much time moving towns -- every move and check in check out sucks up about half a day. When you fly in, go ahead and use that first travel day to get to your furthest destination. 3 hotels in 8 days is plenty.

You could of course spend a night in Cordoba and just have 3 in Seville, but you can see the Mezquita in a few hours and for so short a trip, I think that is enough. I will say that the Mezquite was the best thing we did in our 2.5 weeks. You can see some of our snapshots of Ronda, Seville, Cordoba and Granada here: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/spain/ We really loved all the places you will be visiting; hope you have a great time.

Thanks everyone. Still figuring it out but appreciate greatly your suggestions.

Make sure you purchased tickets to the Nasrid Palace in Alhambra before you go!! Check RS book for recommedation. First, check ticketmaster.es ( that's the cheapest). If not available, buy a combo 'Bono Turisco' ticket that covers other site you will not be able to visit in short time. And as last resort, buy group tickets..

We stayed at the La Casa de la Trinidad hotel in Granada, it is located in a nice pleasant Trinidad square area with modern, clean room. It is a less expensive option than the NH Hotel , which is located on a busy street.

In Seville, we found online 54 euro flamenco and dinner special at the Tablao El Arena near the arena , but you have to mention the discount or book online, otherwise it is about 75 each. Except the uncomfortable chair , it is a very fantastic show with very talented dancers.

Hope this helps.

You don't have a ton of time but I liked spending one night in Cordoba. If nothing else being there outside the most crowded part of the day is really nice.

We stayed at Hotel Hesperia Cordoba. It was perfect for someone with a car, plenty of free/safe parking around the hotel and a short walk, across a pedestrian-only Roman bridge, to the old center and Mesquita. Great view and night photos from the roof of the hotel.

I chose Ronda over Arcos and wasn't disappointed. It seems like there are more sights and options in Ronda.

Granada is a great place. Two nights only gives you time to see the Alhambra (takes a full day) - there are lots of other sights but your time is limited. Plan on an evening Sambra performance in a cave home.

We stayed at Pension Zurita. It's a nice little budget place. I'd definitely stay there again. A parking garage is a couple of blocks away.