Travelling by train to Córdoba is easy. The city is in the premier league of Spanish destinations, its status based first and foremost on the Mezquita. That is the name of Córdoba’s celebrated mosque turned cathedral. For many visitors arriving from the north, Córdoba is an excellent first taste of Andalucía. It is a city with an extraordinary Islamic history, and a particularly fine range of buildings evidencing a continuity of settlement going back to the Roman period. The 2000-year old bridge over the River Guadalquivir is a 'must-see' sight; from there many visitors continue to the Moorish-era watermills, the former Jewish quarter and a fine suite of palaces in the Old Town. All in all, a town not to be missed and most definitely a good place to spend a day or two.

With the development of high-speed rail links, it is now perfectly feasible to make a day trip to Córdoba from the Spanish capital. Two dozen trains each day speed from Madrid to Córdoba, the fastest taking just 102 minutes for the 345-km journey. Even the slowest trains from Madrid reach Córdoba in under two hours.

Seville and Málaga are both less than an hour away by the fastest trains. And there are twice-daily AVE trains from Barcelona to Córdoba, taking less than five hours for the journey. Córdoba is also reached by direct trains from Valencia, Cádiz, Algeciras and Zaragoza. In short, no other city in Andalucía can boast the same wide range of connections. In late 2019 or early 2020, a new direct service will be launched between Córdoba and Granada (replacing the existing train + bus option). This will make it easily possible to combine a trip to Córdoba with a side visit to Granada.