Sevilla & Granada — Moorish Andalusia

SVQ is 10 km from the centre — EA airport bus to Plaza de Armas (35 min, every 30 min) or a flat-fare taxi (day or night). Sevilla taxis are licensed and meter-honest.

Restored 19th-century palacete in the Santa Cruz quarter, 4 min walk from the Cathedral. 33 rooms around an azulejo-tiled inner patio, rooftop terrace with view of the Giralda, free afternoon tea served daily. hotelcasa1800sevilla.com

UNESCO 1987 — the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe, Mudéjar architecture grafted onto an earlier Almohad fortress. The Salón de Embajadores (Hall of Ambassadors) has the carved cedar dome that the Game of Thrones crew filmed for Dorne. Gardens contain the original Bath of Doña María de Padilla. Book the 09:30 timed slot 30 days out. or with Cuarto Real Alto. alcazarsevilla.org

Built for the 1929 Ibero-American Expo in Sevillian Regionalist style — a 200-metre semi-circular plaza with a navigable canal you can row on (/ 35 min) and 48 ceramic-tile alcoves, one for each Spanish province. The most-photographed plaza in Spain. Free. Most atmospheric at golden hour.

World's largest Gothic cathedral by volume, built on the site of the city's main mosque after the 1248 Reconquista. The Giralda (105 m) was the mosque's minaret — climbed by 35 ramps (not stairs, so the muezzin could ride a horse up). Christopher Columbus's tomb is here. catedraldesevilla.es

Working flamenco peña (community hall, not tourist-show) in a converted 18th-century coal yard — free entry, you buy drinks. Two performances a night (21:30 + 23:00), order tinto de verano + tapas while you watch. Real cante jondo, the audience is locals. Calle Levíes 18.

Casa 1800 Sevilla hotelcasa1800sevilla.com

1904 churrería on Calle Méndez Núñez — molinillo (the small narrow churros), thick hot chocolate, espresso doble. Locals on stools at the bar, mid-morning. Across the river in Triana.

Renfe AVE Santa Justa → Granada — 2h35, 5 daily if booked 14 days out, walk-up. Wide reclining seats, food carriage, panoramic views of the Andalusian campo (sunflowers + olive groves April–June). Book on renfe.com or via Trainline.

Sister hotel to the Sevilla property — restored 16th-century palacete at the foot of the Albaicín, 25 rooms around a stone-arched patio. Walk up to the Alhambra mirador in 12 minutes from the door. hotelcasa1800granada.com

UNESCO 1984 — Moorish Spain's finest surviving palace complex (built 1230–1492, the last gasp of Al-Andalus). Three sections: Alcazaba fortress, Nasrid Palaces (the muqarnas-domed Hall of the Two Sisters, Court of the Lions, Patio de los Arrayanes), Generalife summer gardens. Nasrid Palace requires a TIMED slot — book 90 days out at tickets.alhambra-patronato.es. Allow 3 hours total; ideal afternoon slot is 15:00 (late-day light on the stucco).

The Albaicín lookout the city built for the Alhambra view. The Sierra Nevada behind the palace, the Alhambra walls lit gold for the 20 minutes before sundown, Spanish guitar buskers performing every evening. Get there by 18:30 in summer, 17:00 in winter. Free.

Granada has the last true free-tapas-with-drink tradition in Spain — order a beer and a generous plate comes with it. Los Diamantes (4 branches, the Calle Navas original is the best) does seafood: fried calamari, octopus, prawns. Stand at the bar; order 4 rounds = full dinner. barlosdiamantes.com

Hotel Casa 1800 Granada hotelcasa1800granada.com · AI hotel ratings: hotelist.com

Tiny terrace café 200 m up the hill from Mirador de San Nicolás, locals' coffee spot — best Alhambra view in the city is from the back wall. Open from 09:00, tostada con tomate, café del tiempo.

Hillside above the Albaicín where Granada's Romani community has lived in cave-houses for 500+ years. The Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte preserves 11 of them as ethnographic exhibits. The same neighbourhood has the zambra cave-flamenco shows at night (Cuevas Los Tarantos, Venta El Gallo) — but day-time the area is quiet and beautiful.

Walk down through the Albaicín to Plaza Bib-Rambla, the old Moorish market square (now flower stalls + tapas cafés). The Granada Cathedral (Renaissance, completed 1561) is one block north — adjoining is the Capilla Real, burial chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Granada's most respected seafood institution, since 1944 — fritura de pescado (mixed fried fish, the Andalusian classic), arroz negro, oloroso sherry. Plaza Pescadería 14, behind the cathedral. marisqueriacunini.es

AVE Granada → Sevilla Santa Justa 2h35, then EA bus or taxi to SVQ airport — total ~3h30 city-centre to gate. Latest train back is 18:50, arriving Sevilla 21:25 — workable for late EU departures only.

—