Traveling to Andalusia for 4 nights

As you are well aware, 4 nights is only 3 days and not very long for a visit to that part of Spain.

That portion of Andalucía isn’t known for regular wine, but for sherry you definitely need to go Jerez de la Frontera. From Jerez you can visit the white towns as a day trip. Arcos de la Frontera is only 30 minutes from Jerez and Ronda 1.5 hours. Maybe just lodge in Jerez for the 4 nights/3 days and day trip to other places.

Among the four, I've been to Ronda and Cordoba. I can't remember anyting memorable other than the Mezquita-Cathedral in Cordoba, but I remember I was fascinated by Ronda. Lovely little town with a beautiful bridge and gorgeous sunset. A little on the touristy side, though I doubt it would be crowded in February. Ronda, Arcos and Jerez are reasonably close to each other and with a car you may consider squeezing in two cities, like Arcos and Jerez? I'd consider four days to be too long for any single one of those cities, but maybe not if you prefer a laid-back trip.

Cordoba is amazing. Beautiful white buildings with patios in the old Jewish quarter. On a river with a lovely bridge. The mezquita is quite unique, basically a Catholic church dropped inside a mosque. I consider Cordoba along with Granada and Sevilla "must see" cities in Andalusia. Three days is perfect for Cordoba. Have you been to Granada?

Cordoba has quite a long list of sights in addition to the Mezquita and is a lovely place to spend several days.

• Juderia: whitewashed lanes, pretty squares and spring flowers

• Plaza de Las Tendillas: Lovely square, uphill in the Juderia. Charming fountain and Art Deco architecture.

• Traditional patios in Juderia, San Lorenzo Quarter, and Barrio San Basilio. Check streets Calleja del Indiano (off Calle Fernandez Ruano at Plaza Angel Torres) and Calleja de Flores (off Calle Blanco Belmonte), Badanas, Montero, San Basilio, Manrique and Deanes.

• Palacio de Viana, Plaza Don Gome 2: Furnished 17C mansion with 13 beautiful patios and delightful garden.

• Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos: 14C fortress with enchanting Moorish-style gardens and fountains, valuable Roman mosaics. I've read the gardens are more interesting than the fortress itself.

• Caballerizas Reales (Royal Stables): Horse shows, maybe 2-3 evenings a week.

• Archaeological Museum, Plaza Jeronimo Paez 7: Excellent; includes Moorish artefacts upstairs (dozens of ceramic well heads from palaces) and “stunnningly refined” Roman mosaics. In lovely Renaissance mansion with magnificent gateway. Mudejar ceiling over staircase.

• Plaza de los Capuchinos/Plaza de los Dolores

• Plaza de la Corredera: Four-story, porticoed. 16C (SE corner) and 17C houses. May have daily morning market.

• Casa de Sefarad, Calle Judios 14: Small-but-interesting Jewish-heritage museum.

• Sinagoga, Calle Judios 20: Medieval.

• Capilla de San Bartolome: Gothic, first post-Reconquest church, built by Moors.

• Patio Leyenda, Casa de las Cabezas, Calle Cabezas 18: Furnished house with four patios.

• Casa Guadameci Omeya, Plaza Agrupacion Cofradias 2: Decorated-leather museum.

• Callejon de las Flores: tiny, flower-bedecked alley, one of city’s most charming corners

• Casa Arabe, Calle de Samuel de los Santo Gener 9

• Casa Andalusi, Calle Judios 12: Restored 12C house, Visigothic basement with mosaic floors, gorgeous flower-filled fountain.

• Plaza del Potro: Austere square with pony fountain.

• Museo Julio Romero de Torres, Plaza del Potro 1: Single-artist museum.

• Museo de Bellas Artes, Plaza del Potro 1: Not large but worth a quick look. M. Inurria sculptures and Zurbaran paintings.

• Roman bridge: Runs from Puerta del Puente to Torre de la Calahorra.

• Museo Vivo de Al-Andalus, Torre de la Calahorra, Puente Romano: 14C building housing ethnographic museum.

• Centro de Creacion Contemporanea de Andalucia C3A, Calle Carmen Olmedo Checa: Contemporary art.

• Jardin Botanico, Avenida de Linneo

• Jardin Zoologico

About 7 miles outside the city are the ruins of Medina Azahara, whose palace is the second-most complete remnant of the caliphate.

Man, acraven is good! I will add a couple things now that my memory is refreshed. The RS guide has a walking tour that was excellent, also the pretty Jewish synagogue is free.

Another vote for Cordoba. The Mezquita is unbelievably incredible. And, the food there is amazing. For us, Arcos and Ronda were disappointing.

Thanks for the responses. This is super helpful.
I agree with Jaimeelsabio - 3-4 days is definitely not enough. But unfortunately, that's all the time we have - maybe I can add another day to my trip.
Jules - No I have not been to Granada, and when I looked at the video, for some reason it didn't click with me too much.
Looking at the other comments about Cordoba, I'm inclining towards spending a couple of nights at Cordoba to explore the city and maybe 2 nights at Ronda to just relax.

Between Faro and Jerez or Sevilla is Sauci winery, Calle Dr. Fleming, 1, 21710 Bollullos Par del Condado, Huelva, Spain. I have it on my to visit list the next time we’re in that area.

A couple other sights en route on my list are Dolmen de Soto de Trigueros and Niebla castle, and a Roman bridge in Niebla.

So many things to see, so little time.

With your time, I wouldn't split between two cities. With two nights, you'd have just a bit over a day for Cordoba. We spent half a day in Ronda, that was more than enough. I guess you might consider stopping at Ronda for a night on the way to or from Cordoba. It does add to the drive time.

While Cordoba is nice, if that is all you want to see, skip the car and take the bus and train.

Another option for the limited time you have is to spend a couple nights, or three, in Cadiz, enjoy the food and city, plus the sherry houses on the mainland. With your other night, drive to Ronda and the White towns, stopping somewhere along the way.

Just a driving (or bus/Rail) hint, going from Portugal to Cadiz or anywhere in Southern Andalusia, pretty much requires going through Seville, the river plain from Seville to the coast is mostly undeveloped national park with no through roads. Might be some neat things to see there though.