We're trying to figure out our daily schedule for visiting Seville (5 days). From everything we've read we would like to emphasize attending the 3 Sevilla Walking Tours offered by Concepcion and her crew. However, that would limit our options to visit Cordoba on Sunday, Dec. 29. My guess is that it would be better to tour the Mezquita in Cordoba on Monday Dec 30 and just skip the 3rd Sevilla Walking tour of the city. (Just take the Cathedral and Alcazar tours)
Any suggestions?
This is a link to the operating hours of the key sights in Cordoba. It is for November. I don't know how much things might change in December, or what sort of impact there will be from the holidays. There definitely were reductions in operating hours in Cordoba during Holy Week 2019.
You should go to the individual websites of the places you want to see; those usually do a good job of documenting regular closures (Christmas Day, Easter, etc.). Unfortunately, in my experience--not limited to Cordoba--websites are not necessarily updated to reflect plans to open late or close early.
Based purely on what I see at the link provided, Sunday looks like a much, much better day to go to Cordoba. A great deal is closed on Monday. However, at the end of the year...
The Mezquita is open on Sunday, but closed for several hours in the middle of the day for services. It's open from 10 to 6 on Monday. If you're looking at a day trip to Cordoba, where the Mezquita is by far the most important sight, you'll have more flexibility scheduling Monday than Sunday. Also it may be less crowded Monday than on the weekend.
Another consideration: We would like to attend "Christmas at the Patios" in Cordoba which doesn't begin until 6:00 pm. That could make for a long day on our feet if we arrive too early in the morning. It might be better to arrive Cordoba around 11:30 on Sunday, see a few of the other sites, walk through the Jewish quarter, and then see the Mezquita when it opens in the afternoon, wander through Christmas at the Patios, have dinner, and take the late train home.
How does that sound?
Truthfully, it sounds like too short a visit. But if it allows you to cover what you want to see, that's what matters. Do keep in mind that you will be able to rest your feet during the 45-minute train trip in both directions.
You're probably right, Acraven. Especially when you allow time for meals. Are you familiar with Cordoba? Can you recommend what you would try to see on a Sunday in the winter there? Do you have any recommendations of places to eat?
On my last visit to Cordoba, 3 years ago, I had dinner at Casa Rubio in the Juderia, about a 6-7 minute walk from the Mezquita. I liked it enough to go back. There seemed to be a lot of locals.
Some of my favorite sights in Cordoba: Torre de Calahorra (museum and rooftop views), Palacio de Viana (paios), Casa de Sefarad (Jewish ethnographic/history museum). Skip the audio guide for the Mezquita. Binoculars will be useful to see the intricate detail work, including the ceiling beams.
If it's a topic that interests you, the archaeological museum is good (and not huge, so doesn't take much time). It's on a nice "loop" walk from the catedral that would be roughly catedral to plaza de Jeronimo Paez (with patios), to pl. de la Corredera, then via pl. del Potro down to the river and then back along it to the catedral. Lots of cafes and restaurants along the way and attractive streets and smaller museums.
However, with your limited time, you might instead consider seeing those parts that fit between the railway station and the catedral. So the area around the alcazar, Patios de San Basilio, and Juderia?
Given the time of year, I wouldn't make a beeline to see the alcazar gardens specifically. Nor the patio "gardens" during the day - I suspect the Christmas at the patios event is based around it being dark with displays lit.
