Córdoba's events calendar comes alive in May, just before the real heat of the Andalucian summer arrives.

May starts with the patio festival. A lot of the older buildings in the town centre in Córdoba have a central patio, a feature of Cordoban houses that was inherited from the Romans but proliferated by the Moors. Patios were a shaded area which could be, and still are, decorated to keep cool but look attractive at the same time. Water features and flowers are the norm, with jasmine and orange blossom being the main plants you will find in these wonderful peaceful areas. Approximately 50 patios take part in the patio festival and some even open during siesta time.

Once the patio festival is over it's time to party Cordoban style at the Feria de Mayo. Held at the El Arenal fairground, the annual Feria de Mayo sees the Cordobeses come out to shake their gladrags in style. You will soon get used to the sight of Cordoban men in the traditional hat and Cordoban women dressed in Flamenco dresses, dancing to Sevillanas with their friends, chatting and catching up over a glass of the local Manzanilla sherry and tapas. Initially a celebaton of Nuestra Señora de la Salud (Our Lady of Good Health), the Feria de Mayo is now the place to be seen and to meet friends for locals and foreigners alike. Local groups hire casetas (stands) and play Flamenco and Sevillanas music for those who want to dance like a local, and serve traditional food throughout the day and evening.

For those who like the pomp and circumstance of a festival, there is a horse parade and firework displays as well as traditional gypsy costumes aplenty on show for Andalucia is the homeland of Federico Garcia Lorca's Romancero Gitano or gypsy ballads. We also recommend a walk along the Guadalquivir River, the fifth longest river in the Iberian Peninsular and the second longest in Spain and a visit to Córdoba's mezquita, a Catholic cathedral/mosque which holds a mass every morning at 9.30 am and twice a day on Sundays.

If you own a holiday home on the Costa del Sol, Córdoba is very easy to get to on the AVE train from central Malaga. With a travel time of less than one hour, you can be in central Córdoba before lunchtime! 


Sources:

Mezquitadecordoba.org/cabildo-mezquita-cordoba.asp

Andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/patios.htm

Cordoba24.info/english/