A 10-day trip to Córdoba, Spain

Córdoba is defined by its astonishing historical density. At its height in the 10th century, it was the intellectual and cultural capital of Islamic Spain and Western Europe, an epicenter of philosophy, medicine, and architecture. Today, its historic center spans labyrinthine whitewashed alleys, quiet residential courtyards decorated with cascading geraniums, and the extraordinary Mezquita-Catedral—an 8th-century forest of two-tiered Moorish arches framing a 16th-century Renaissance cathedral nave. While most travelers brush through on a four-hour day trip detour between Madrid and Seville, Córdoba rewards those who stay overnight to experience its tranquil stone plazas and quiet tapas taverns after the day crowds retreat.