Cordoba Day Trip - Timing for Mezquita and Flower Patio Festival

Wandering around checking out the various patios is fun, but it can be really exhausting in the heat. I might try to do that early and treat the cool Mezquita as a refuge.

Thanks for the input. I’ll be there in 10 days from now and while I know weather is unpredictable and can change, it shows temperatures in the high 60s, so I’m thinking it may not be too uncomfortably hot - unless it feel a different in Spain. I remember last time I was in Athens, the high was 70 which normally feels nice but there it felt HOT!

The other aspect is the patio lines may get longer as the day goes on, whereas the mezquita kinda plateaus shortly after opening. Do you have patio association tickets?

Uhhh..no I do not lol I didn’t know I needed tickets. I was under the impression that you just walk around where they have the patios and view. What are the tickets for exactly and how do I get them?

When we were there in 2023, you didn't absolutely need tickets because there are tons of places to visit that just work on a donation. However, there were some patios clustered in the area kinda near the Mezquita that are part of the neighborhood association. These included some previous winners of the contest so I feel like they might have some good ones. We waited too long and they had sold out so I can't give you my personal opinion.

It's possible that they have gotten rid of this reservation/ticket thing as is mentioned on here https://www.amigosdelospatioscordobeses.es/patios-a-concurso-2019/

Here is a link w info and maps. I expect you could also search google maps. https://patios.cordoba.es/en/welcome/

I would double check their website cause when we were there they didn’t open till after 5. They were open early then closed for the afternoon .

Thank you so much Chris for all that information, I will look into all of that!

Made the decision to do patio festival first to not feel rushed, will see anything else we want after and do lunch then end the day with the Mezquita. Figured it’ll possibly be less crowded late afternoon and is a set point with a known distance to the train station so we can ensure we’re there on time for our train. Appreciate everyone’s input!

I would double check their website cause when we were there they didn’t open till after 5. They were open early then closed for the afternoon

I think it’s really dependent upon the heat. Córdobans have a healthy respect for the midday sun and lately it’s gotten worse as the impact of climate change starts to become impossible to ignore.

Just coming back to report that our trip was super successful! The amount of time we booked was appropriate to keep the day leisurely.

• We walked from the train station to the San Basillio area for the flower patio festival. WAY too many people and felt it wasn't worth our time to wait on the insanely long lines. We went to a patio further away that was okay, but ultimately just didn't feel worth our time so we decided to just walk around the city - crossed the roman bridge, wandered through the Jewish quarter, saw the calle de flores. Was a little disappointed we didn't really get to see the flower patio festival much as that was part of our reason for the day trip. In hindsight, should have just booked a ticket to the Viana Palace.
• We then had lunch at Restaurant Demasco - one of our favorite meals of the whole trip! Insanely delicious and very cute interior with plants everywhere. Was nice to escape the sun for a bit too.
• Had purchased Mezquita tickets for 2:30pm, spent close to 3 hours there! Did the self guided audioguide which was helpful to give context what we were looking at. Very beautiful place with lots of historical, cultural, and religious significance. There were definitely a lot of people there, but not too many to take away from our enjoyment The place is huge, so people are spread out enough. I'm assuming crowds would be worse in the morning. We enjoyed being there during the late afternoon.
• Meandered for a little after but then made our way back over to the renfe train station. Had some time to kill so we sat in the park.

Overall we enjoyed our time in Cordoba, but we found the crowds to be almost intolerable. We felt like how we felt in Santorini or Venice, just stuffed into tiny streets with tons of people. Appreciate everyone's advice and help. Hope this report can help others who are currently planning.

Thanks for reporting back, dkinny23! I'm sorry you weren't able to experience the patio festival, but it sounds like you were still able to enjoy the rest of the city.

Hearing about the crowds makes me happy with my decision to spend 3 nights there when I visit in November. I should be able to walk those narrow lanes in the early morning and late evening without the crush of people. I appreciate the restaurant recommendation too - I've added it to my list! And I will be sure to get the audioguide at the Mezquita as well.

Sure thing! Hope you enjoy your trip!

The restaurant is a Syrian / middle eastern restaurant, so not your typical Spanish tapas by the way! Something different, but we figured a place with such Muslim influence would be the perfect place to try something like that. Definitely didn’t disappoint! We got there around 1:30pm (slightly before the general Spanish lunch rush) and it was empty. We almost changed restaurants cause of how empty it was, but it got more and more filled and by the end of our meal they had to turn people away because they had no more tables!

The audio guide is a little confusing since it doesn’t correlate with any signage in the mezquita itself, but it’s not impossible to follow. I personally like getting context for what I’m seeing, otherwise I’m just like “ooo that’s pretty” haha

Definitely early morning and evenings will be much more relaxing. Obviously do your trip however works best for you, but I personally feel 3 nights would be a little too much for Cordoba. It’s a very small city. I think overnight or two nights would be better. Just my opinion though