Cordoba Itinerary, 1 day + a couple of hours next morning

Hi NJ, Check the opening hours of La Casa Sefarad - it's the Jewish museum and across the street from the synagogue. Last time I visited the museum, they offered a guided tour in English at a modest price. The guide was very good. There's not a lot to see at the synagogue. Also look for the statue of Maimonides. The one time I was at the Mezquita around that time, it seemed to me that it kind of emptied out around 1 pm - lunch break for the tours and tourists I guess. It was nice. Binoculars are good to see the intricate detail, especially the Qibla and the wooden beams in that area. Also, it can get pretty cold inside, even on a warm day. Skip the audio guide, but it might add to your visit if you pick up a guide book to the Mezquita at one of the nearby shops. It's also a nice souvenir.

I enjoyed the horse show. There was very limited seating, so see if you can get tickets in advance. It looks like you can book here but they aren't selling for April yet. Palacio de Viana is the best place to see patios. The Hamman experience is at 10 am, 2 pm, 4 pm and 10 pm. If you want to take photos, you'd have to do it before the Hamman, sunset's not till almost 9 pm, so not much "after dark" time. Cordoba is magical (in my eyes, anyway) after dark. The outer walls of the Mezquita are quite beautiful too, and the small alleyways in the Juderia.

Thank you Chani,

I am glad we are staying overnight and would get to enjoy Cordoba in the evening. Do you know if Hamman also needs to be reserved in advance? It sounds like it is not a priority but could be an option in the event of bad weather.

How much time would you recommend to budget for the Palacio de Viana visit? I wonder if we could do that the next morning before we leave but would need to time the train ticket accordingly.

The official website also mentions Alcázar Viejo district, between the Alcázar and the parish of San Basilio. Are those private houses or are they actually open for tourists to see?

If you skip the guided tour of the living quarters, an hour for the patios is enough. It's over a km from the Mezquita, so how long it takes to walk from your hotel and back (to get your luggage). It looks like they don't open until 10 am.

AFAIK, private homes are just that . . . private. You may be able to see some of the patios from the street.

we did an evening walking tour of Cordoba with Arte de Cordoba. It was fabulous! We were the only 2 people in our group, we were there mid April as well. Booked in the early afternoon at the T1 near the bridge for a tour that evening.

I enjoyed that tour too, but since the OP was looking for something that would take them off their feet, I didn't mention it. . The Horse Show or the Hamman. If you do want to take that tour, you should book in advance. While you can show up and pay on the spot, if no one else has booked, there won't be a tour.

When I was in Cordoba in May 2016, probably still now, you could enter the Mezquita for free between 8:30 and 9:30 am. Then at 9:30 they ushered you out as mass was to begin. As far as I know there are not tours offered during that time, and the free entry did not include going up the tower, but it was a nice time with relatively few visitors in the very large building. I also enjoyed the museum in the tower just across the bridge from the Mezquita area. It had a number of very nice dioramas (?) about the history of Cordoba, focusing a lot on how Christians, Muslims and Jews lived and cooperated together in the heyday of Cordoba. I stayed in a lovely small apartment near the Mezquita, called Mi Casa en Cordoba. The owners used to have a ceramics business, and the old residence, now divided into a few apartments, is beautifully decorated with ceramics.

Last time I was in Cordoba - before Larry's visit, I did go to the free hour at the Mezquita. There was a line of dozens of people at the main entrance, which I joined. When the doors were opened, I saw people pouring in from other entrances as well. There were no groups but a great many visitors. Also the organist was playing almost until 9.30 and I found the music very much detracted from my enjoyment. I have no idea if that happens often.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. We are staying at the Hotel Caireles which is close to the Mezquita. I kind of want to start with the Mezquita to make sure we have enough time to spend there. Casa De Sefard seems to be open until 6pm and Palacio de Viana until 7PM. Alkazar opens early in the morning. So maybe we can do something like this (no horse show in this plan):

Mezquita and the area around it - 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, Lunch - 2:00 to 3:00 pm

Palacio de Viana - 3:30 to 4:30

Casa De Sefard, Synagogue and Juderia 5 to 7:30

Dinner - 8 - 9

Night walk or night tour (the tour you mention starts is from 9 PM to 11 PM, we can probably make it if we eat near the meeting place)

There is actually a Hammam session at midnight so that might be an option or just sleep at this point.

Morning - quick breakfast, then go to the Alkazar (or we might decide to skip it and take another walk) - 9-11:30 or 12 PM

Train to Madrid and from there to Toledo - 1 PM or 1:30 PM - this is actually a key question, we'd like to have some time in Toledo before it gets dark. 12:30 train seems like it would be too early but either 1 PM or 1:30 PM seem OK. What do you all think?

I also found this option for seeing patios (this could be an alternative to going to Palacio de Viana):
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187430-d4164568-Reviews-Los_Patios_del_Alcazar_Viejo-Cordoba_Province_of_Cordoba_Andalucia.html
Does anyone know and can recommend this tour?

I was underwhelmed by the Alcazar in Cordoba (as opposed to the wonderful Alcazar in Sevilla). The big draw is the gardens, which had just been pruned back when I was there in February on my first trip. The horse show is next to the Alcazar, so you may want to visit the gardens afterward (I think there's a sound & light show) - there may be some nice views from the ramparts of the Alcazar. Just so you know, 8 pm is early for dinner. There's nothing I can recall that's near the meeting place on the "far side" of the bridge, so you'll need 10-15 minutes to walk there after dinner. When I took the evening tour, it ended at the Plaza de la Corredera. From there it was about a 10-minute walk (or 5 minutes from the Templo Romano) to Plaza de San Miguel and one of my favorite restaurants, Taberna La Montillana, opposite the church. 11 pm is on the late side for dinner, with most people starting between 9.30-10.30, but not out of the ordinary. Also check the times for the synagogue - it only takes 10-15 minutes to see (there's not much, but it's interesting) but it is NOT part of La Casa de Sefarad and it have very limited hours. I found this website which says it's closed for repairs. BTW, the synagogues in Toledo are better preserved and more interesting.

What can I tell you, there are a lot of interesting things to see and do in Cordoba!

Thank you for the website, I emailed them about the synagogue, hopefully it is going to reopen soon.
As far as meal times, I guess I still have something to learn. I thought most restaurants open at 8 pm for dinner. Does 8 pm being early mean that should we decide to go on the evening tour we would have to plan to have dinner at 11 PM or does it mean we'll just have limited options before the tour?

And thank you so much for the restaurant recommendation

Mostly it means a quick dinner, I think. There will be places open all the time where you can get good food.

Great, thanks Chani

And I did get this reply from the Cordoba24 company: "The synagogue is currently closed and is supposed to re-open by the end of June 2018. A specific date has not been determined yet."

Don't get your hopes up ☺ But if you want to see medieval synagogues, there are 3 in Toledo. ARe you still planning an overnight there too?