Patios Cordobeses — Attraction in Córdoba

One of the more beautiful areas in Cordoba is the patio gardens. Every Spring the town celebrates the Patio Festival. The Patio Festival in Cordoba Spain is a tradition that began in 1918. However, during the Spanish civil war it had been interrupted and became reintroduced in the 1950s. The festival is intended to make hidden treasures available to the public. Furthermore, it is to honor the residents’ efforts to retain these traditional places.

Since 2012, the Cordoba Patios have been part of the world cultural heritage and the area was deemed an UNESCO world heritage site. During the festival, people are welcome to enjoy courtyards of incomparable beauty, packed with trees and flowers, fountains and accessories.

While we didn't get to see the patio festival itself, there were still clues and beautiful patios all around town. Some were more extravagant than others and maybe that was premeditated or maybe some flowers on other patios had died off throughout the summers heat. Either way, the Cordoba Patio Festival is just one of the many reasons to come to Spain and Cordoba.

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Cordoba is a large medieval walled city whos ancient core remains fairly original. The old town is really old! A maze of narrow cobbled streets filled with shoed in restaurants, shops and homes barely wide enough for a car to drive down. In early November while we were there the temperature was about 18 degrees and while there where lots if tourists it was not overcrowded. Its a very pedestrian friendly city but you do have to dodge the odd scooters weaving through the streets. We enjoyed wondering around and peeking through the open doors into the private courtyards of the residents often drawn by the distant sound of trickling water from a courtyard fountain. The area of Patios Cordobeses is one small district that has a concentration of residents some of which have decided to let you cross their doorway and enter into their courtyard gardens to admire their pride. It is worth visiting to see how the cordoba...

Must see during their annual patio festival in the first half of May! Those participating in the competition will deck out their patios in hundreds of potted and hanging plants, fountains and wells, and other decor and open their patios to the public. The competing patios are free to visit and were open between 11am-2pm and 6-10pm in 2023.

This particular route (Alcazar Viejo) is very popular, since it is a route of 12 patios in close proximity to each other and the alcazar and mezquita as well as mostly ADA friendly, and thus is extremely crowded! We visited around 11am when they opened and certain patios had lines of 15-30 minutes to get in. As we were staying in Cordoba for several days, we got to walk through some other routes and it was much more enjoyable to visit the patios between 6-8pm since the sun was still out, it was less crowded, and the...