Things to do — Andalusia

Andalusia offers an experience that makes it one of Europe's richest destinations. The Alhambra of Granada is the non-negotiable centrepiece: the Nasrid palace — its chambers hung with stalactite-like muqarnas of marble and plaster, its Generalife gardens a masterpiece of Moorish garden design — is considered one of the supreme masterworks of world architecture. Book your Nasrid Palaces time slot (limited to strict two-hour windows) months in advance.

In Seville, the cathedral-Giralda-Alcázar trilogy anchors the visit. The Gothic cathedral (the largest in the world by volume) houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The Alcázar, a royal residence still used by the Spanish royal family today, is a Mudéjar masterpiece. The Plaza de España (1929), whose neo-Baroque colonnaded arc frames a canal, is one of Europe's most spectacular public spaces. The Triana district, on the western bank of the Guadalquivir, is the birthplace of Sevillian flamenco: its tablaos, ceramic markets and fried fish tapas bars make it the most authentic Seville experience.

In Córdoba, the mezquita-catedral — a forest of 856 bicolour columns of jasper, porphyry and marble beneath which Visigoths, Umayyads and Catholics have each left their mark — is unique in the world. The Jewish quarter (Judería), the flower-filled courtyard houses (Patio Festival in May) and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos complete a city that was, in the tenth century, the largest and most cultivated in western Europe.

Flamenco runs through all of Andalusia but lives differently in each city. In Seville, professional tablaos (Casa de la Guitarra, El Palacio Andaluz) offer daily performances. In Granada, the Sacromonte cuevas (Gypsy cave dwellings above the Albaicín) offer a more intimate and sometimes more authentic experience — zambra gitana is distinct from classical Sevillian flamenco. In Jerez de la Frontera, the cradle of 'jondo' (deep) flamenco, the peñas flamencas (private flamenco clubs) allow visitors to attend evenings of rare intensity.