Cordoba or Seville in mid January?

That is a popular day trip.

Hard to pick. Sevilla is a BIG city. Cordoba is magnificent, I was there in November and I still found the patios lovely and the Mezquita, wow! I think Cordoba deserves more than a day, but 3 days might be a bit too much. There is a lot to do in Sevilla, but personally, I don't think anything there is as grand as the Mezquita, but it all depends on your personal tastes. Lately, I've been wondering when people like yourself have limited time, could it be a better choice to stay in Cordoba and do Sevilla as a day trip?? Again, just comes down to personal tastes. I would suggest you watch some of the tv shows on this website.

Sevilla with a day trip to Córdoba. To me, Cordoba is worth a full day at most to see the main sights, but I’ve been there a half dozen times. Both are worth visiting.

Which do you like better, strawberry or hazelnut? Brahms or Bizet? Either is good, with a day trip to the other. For me, Sevilla has a big city feel, bustling and busy. Cordoba is quieter, especially in the evenings, and the medieval center is more well-preserved. While Sevilla has more sights, there are enough good ones in Cordoba to fill a couple of days. Good food and wine are easy to find in both. Most patios are private, I believe. You can see beautiful ones at Palacio de Viana.

You can do a patio tour in Cordoba, but we were able to see quite a few. Typically we couldn't go in, but you could see enough to admire the courtyard. Owners seemed to not mind peeking as they seem a point of pride

I appreciate the replies but has anyone been there in January?

I would look at the weather data for the last few years to decide. I was there in November, I felt that was moderately close to your request.

It’s been years, but I lived and hour south of Sevilla, near Cadiz, for just short of 4 years. Can’t say there’s much of a difference in weather that time of year since they are fairly close together.

I've been to both cities 3 times in the last 5-6 years, twice in February, once in March. My guess is that there's not much difference between January and February, except that days are a little longer. It doesn't get really cold, so flowers survive. The orange trees were full of fruit. There's much more to Cordoba than patios with flowers. And the patios can be nearly as charming without the flowers, there will be lots of greenery in those planters.

If you do end up staying in Cordoba and want to take a day trip to Sevilla, I strongly recommend that you purchase your tickets to the Sevilla Alcazar in advance. Also if you want to go to the Sevilla cathedral, go to the Church of the Savior first, the lines are shorter and the ticket is a combo with the cathedral and then you cut the line at the cathedral. Don't make the mistake that January will not be busy at Sevilla's Alcazar. We thought that about November and ended up in line for more than hour at the Alcazar. I feel that if you have advance purchase tickets to the Alcazar you would have enough time to do both the Alcazar and the cathedral in one day and still have some time to wander around the Jewish quarter and perhaps stop by the Plaza Espana