Andalusia is the part of Spain the Moors held longest, and the three cities that anchor a week here — Seville, Córdoba, and Granada — each hold one of the great surviving monuments of Al-Andalus: the Giralda and the Alcázar, the Mezquita, and the Alhambra. They sit in a rough triangle in the south, and Renfe links them well enough that a car is pure liability. The high-speed line puts Seville and Córdoba 40 minutes apart, and the AVANT regional service runs on to Granada in about two and a half hours.

I did it in mid-March, when the orange trees in Seville were in blossom and the heat was still months off. Seven days, all on the rails.

Days 1–3: Seville

Three nights in Seville, the Andalusian capital, because it is the richest of the three and the natural base. The Catedral de Sevilla is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, built on the site of the great mosque, and its bell tower — La Giralda — is the mosque’s minaret, climbed by ramps rather than stairs so the muezzin could ride up. Next door, the Real Alcázar is a working royal palace still in use, its Mudéjar courtyards and gardens layered over centuries; book ahead, as it caps entry.

Spend a full day in the centre and another wandering: the tangled lanes of Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter; the Plaza de España, the half-moon of tiled pavilions built for the 1929 exposition; and the Triana district across the river, the historic potters’ and flamenco neighbourhood. See real flamenco at a tablao or, better, at the Casa de la Memoria, the intimate cultural venue in the old town that runs nightly shows without the dinner-theatre packaging, and eat your way through the tapas bars of the centre — Andalusia is where the tapas tradition runs deepest. Nights here are long and start late.

Where to sleep frames the city. The grand option is the Hotel Alfonso XIII, built between 1916 and 1928 for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition and reopened after a full restoration in 2012, sitting directly opposite the Alcázar with 151 rooms under Moorish-revival tilework — the address every visiting head of state has used for a century. The atmospheric mid-range choice is Las Casas de la Judería, eighteen restored townhouses in Santa Cruz stitched together around sixteen tiled courtyards, five minutes’ walk from the cathedral and a far gentler bill. Either way, base yourself inside the old centre so the monuments are a stroll, not a taxi.

Day 4: Day trip to Córdoba (40 minutes by AVE)

Córdoba is the easy day trip — about 40 to 45 minutes north on the high-speed line, frequent departures. The reason to come is the Mezquita-Catedral, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, whose forest of red-and-white double arches over hundreds of columns is one of the most extraordinary interiors in the world, with a Christian cathedral dropped startlingly into its centre after the Reconquista. Go early before the tour groups.

Then the old town: the whitewashed lanes of the Judería, the flower-filled patios the city is famous for (the patio festival runs in May), the Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir, and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos with its gardens. Córdoba folds into a long day, but if you would rather not rush the Mezquita, stay the night and pick the train up the next morning — the city after dark, once the day-coaches have gone, is a different and quieter place, the Mezquita’s outer walls and the bridge floodlit and empty.

A practical note on the rail logistics, because Andalusia’s network rewards planning: the AVE and AVANT services share the same high-speed track between Seville and Córdoba, so departures are frequent and you can be flexible on the day-trip timing. The longer leg on to Granada runs on the AVANT regional product, which is comfortable but less frequent — book a specific train rather than assuming turn-up-and-go, especially on weekends. All three stations (Sevilla Santa Justa, Córdoba Central, Granada) sit a short taxi or walk from each old town, so you never lose much time on the transfers themselves.

Days 5–7: Granada

Take the AVANT on to Granada, around two and a half hours from Seville through Córdoba, and give the city three nights — it is the climax and it deserves them. The Alhambra, the hilltop palace-fortress of the last Nasrid sultans, is among the most beautiful buildings on Earth and the single most important booking of your trip: the Nasrid Palaces have strict timed entry that sells out weeks ahead, so reserve through the official site the moment you have dates. Allow at least half a day for the palaces, the Generalife summer gardens, and the Alcazaba ramparts.

Below the hill, the old Moorish quarter of the Albaicín climbs the opposite slope in a maze of white lanes; the Mirador de San Nicolás at the top gives the postcard view of the Alhambra against the snow of the Sierra Nevada behind it, best at sunset. Across the ravine, Sacromonte is the historic cave-dwelling Roma district and the home of the raw, fast zambra style of flamenco — see a show in one of the cave venues.

Granada keeps a tradition the other cities have largely lost: order a drink in many bars and a free tapa arrives with it, unbidden and included, so an evening of bar-hopping along Calle Navas or in the Realejo can genuinely feed you. Spend the last day unhurried — the cathedral and the adjacent Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) where Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs who completed the Reconquista here in 1492, lie in their marble tombs; a soak in one of the hammams modelled on the old Arab baths; a last climb to a mirador — then ride the rails back out the way you came.

For where to sleep in Granada, the romantic splurge is the Parador de Granada, a state-run hotel inside a 15th-century convent within the Alhambra walls themselves — the only way to be on the hill after the gates close, and booked far ahead because of it. Down in the Albaicín, a string of carmen guesthouses (the traditional walled houses with private gardens) give you the view of the floodlit palace from your own terrace for considerably less.

The booking that makes or breaks the trip

It bears repeating because so many people get it wrong: the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces are the single most important reservation of the week, and arriving in Granada without one is the classic Andalusian mistake. Daily numbers are capped, entry to the palaces is by a strict half-hour timed slot, and in high season the slots are gone weeks ahead. Book through the official Patronato de la Alhambra site the moment you have firm dates; if it is sold out, a small allocation goes to guided tours and to the Parador and certain hotels, which is one more reason to consider staying on the hill. The Alcázar in Seville and the Mezquita in Córdoba also reward an advance ticket but are more forgiving day-of.

On timing, the iron rule of Andalusia is to avoid high summer. Seville and Córdoba sit in the Guadalquivir basin, one of the hottest places in Europe, and July and August routinely break 40°C — the courtyards that make these cities magical in spring become ovens, and many locals decamp to the coast. Aim for March to May or late September into November, when the orange blossom or the autumn light is out, the evenings are made for the long, late Andalusian dinner, and the monuments are walkable in daylight rather than survivable only after dark.

What it costs, roughly

Renfe is cheap and the bargain of the trip: Seville–Córdoba runs from single-digit euros if booked early, Seville–Granada from around €20 on AVANT. Six nights of accommodation is the main spend, and Granada and Córdoba both undercut Seville. Food can be very inexpensive — Granada’s free-tapa custom genuinely lowers your dinner bill — and the fixed costs are the monument tickets: the Alhambra, the Real Alcázar, the cathedral, and the Mezquita, none of them large individually but worth booking together in advance. Travel in spring or autumn; the summer heat in this corner of Spain is not a thing to test.

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Frequently asked questions

How are Seville, Córdoba, and Granada connected by train?
Seville to Córdoba is about 40–45 minutes on the high-speed AVE/AVANT line. Seville to Granada runs around 2.5 hours on Renfe AVANT services, passing through Córdoba. All three are firmly on the rail network — no car needed.
Do I need to book the Alhambra in advance?
Absolutely. The Alhambra in Granada caps daily numbers and the Nasrid Palaces have timed entry slots that sell out weeks ahead. Book through the official Alhambra ticket site as early as you can; do not turn up hoping for a same-day ticket.
Is the Mezquita of Córdoba worth a whole day?
The Mezquita-Catedral itself is a couple of hours, but Córdoba's old Jewish quarter, the Roman bridge, and the patios reward a full day or an overnight. Many people day-trip it from Seville; staying a night lets you see it without the coach crowds.
When is the best time of year for this trip?
Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–October). Andalusian summers are punishing — Seville and Córdoba regularly top 40°C in July and August — and many locals leave. The shoulder seasons give you the courtyards and the long evenings without the heat.