Andalucía

Andalucía is the southernmost territory of Spain and the part of the Iberian peninsula that is most quintessentially Spanish.  The popular image of Spain as a land of bullfights, flamenco, sherry, Federico García Lorca and ruined castles derive from this spectacularly beautiful region.  The influences that have washed over Andalucía since the first paintings were etched on cave walls here more than twenty-five thousand years ago are many - Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, and Visigoths all came and left their mark.  The most influential invaders of all were the Moors, who ruled the region for seven centuries and named it al-Andalus, they have left an enduring imprint on Andalucian culture and customs.

Andalucía's manageable size makes it easy to take in something of each of its elements - inland cities, extensive coastline and mountainous sieras - even on a brief visit.

The region's eight provinces take their names from the provincial capitals which are both compellingly individual cultural centres and vibrant cosmopolitan beehives in their own right.  Seville, Andalucía's stylishly exuberant capital city, home of Carmen and all the cliche's of the Spanish south with beautiful quarters, major Christian and Moorish monuments, fine museums and extraordinary festivals at Easter and at the April feria.

Granada whose Alhambra palace has a fair claim to be the most sensual building in Europe, whilst at Cordoba too, the exquisite Mezquita, a former mosque, is another breathtakingly beautiful building left behind by the Moors.  Málaga boasts a fine Moorish Fort and a new museum stuffed with artworks by its famous son, Picasso, and further down the coast sea-locked Cádiz, is one of the most atmospheric cities of the south and Andalucía's seafood capital.  The cities of Huelva, Jaén and Almería all have sights well worthy of a visit.  Inland small-scale towns and villages, once grand, now hardly significant, are an Andalucian forte.