Madrid /Cordoba/Seville

Probably the Alcazar in Sevilla.

Alcazar of Sevilla, Sevilla Cathedral, Mezquita in Cordoba, Prado and Royal Palace in Madrid. For the most famous places, it tends to be easier to pre-book tickets even if it’s not 100% necessary outside of the major tourist season. But, you might really prefer to have flexibility and you can take your chances. The Alcazar of Sevilla is probably the one place I would recommend getting advance tickets the most highly.

I am in Madrid now (09NOV2024).
Was just in Sevilla and Córdoba.
A bazillion Spanish tourists everywhere.

Madrid:
Palacio Real
Prado
Reina Sofia

Sevilla:
Alcazar

Córdoba:
Mezquita

P.S. Buy train tickets at least 5 days in advance.

There were two long lines before 10am this morning at the Royal Palace of Madrid, one for ticket holders, which moved quickly through a ticket scan and security scan. If you're buying the timed ticket for the guided kitchen tour, allow extra time on arrival for the lines.

The second line, for ticket buyers, appeared to move much more slowly. Presumably tickets were still available and it would have saved time to buy online, even if just the night before. Or perhaps even the morning of, if that's still possible.

At the Mezquita-Cathedral in Cordoba this morning, there were 100 or so people clustered near the entrance waiting for the free entry at 830am. It took about 10 minutes to walk across the patio garden (with everyone snapping photos) and go through a light bag check before entering. With everyone quickly dispersing, it was peaceful for the 35 minutes until guards began shooing visitors to the exits before Mass. I followed the RS self guided tour in its entirety during that time.

All that to say that you can visit for free, with no ticket required, during the free period - though the Christian Church, chapels and treasury are closed during that time.

ETA: 3 hours later, 1230pm, and there are hundreds and hundreds of people milling about in the (no fee to enter) courtyard of the Mezquita. My paid visit is 2 days from now; we'll see what the interior is like then.

Tickets for the date of my visit (in about 10 days) to the Royal Alcazar in Sevilla still show as generally available, with just a few late afternoon timeslots sold out. Tomorrow shows just 1 available timeslot.

You can see available timeslots for each day:
https://realalcazarsevilla-tickets.org/en/

Don't miss day trips from Madrid to Toledo and Segovia.

Just quick question.

Is it worth going to Cordoba Sunday? Or is it better to stay in Seville Sunday and go on a Friday to Cordoba?

Also, would love to know which Flamenco show you would suggest

Thanks a bunch

We were in Cordoba on a Sunday. My recollection is that we got to the Mezquita at 8:30am and were the first ones there. We had the Mezquita mostly all to ourselves for about an hour. There was enough going on in the town for it to be interesting. I do recall we had to plan a bit to get dinner on Sunday and the following Monday night.

In Seville: book ahead the Cathedral, especially rooftop tour, and the Alcazar.

In Cordoba, September 2023, we bought Mezquita tickets online a day ahead with no problem.

In Madrid, this September, we walked right into Reina Sofia mid-afternoon.

Just walked in to the Granada Cathedral...2 cashier desks, 1 for each person arriving to buy a ticket.