

During my first trip to Cordoba I visited a place I had never heard of before: Medina Azahara. It is one of the 4 World Heritage Sites in the city and – for me – a must-see in Cordoba.
This archaeological site is located less than 15 km from the city. It can be reached by car – there is a car park for visitors – and by public transport. With both you will have to use the shuttle service from the car park that will take you to the main entrance of Medina Azahara.
On this page you can check the buses that go from Cordoba to Medina Azahara. The average price is 9€.
Entrance to the archaeological site of Medina Azahara is free for EU citizens. If you are a citizen of another country, the visit will cost you 1.5€.
Medina Azahara can be visited on your own or in a guided tour. Personally I would recommend you to choose the last option. In this kind of place it is very easy to miss some of the history or details if you visit it without a guide.
When I visited it, I did it with a guided tour. In fact, for this kind of places I prefer to have an expert who knows the history of the place. Otherwise you just end up seeing the remains of something that you don’t really know what it was or what it is.
The guided tour costs 22€ and includes the transfer from Cordoba to Medina Azahara, the shuttle service and the tour with a guide.
The timetable varies depending on the time of year. But all year round it is closed on Mondays.
In summer the opening hours are from 9am to 3pm, and in winter they are extended until 6pm. In case you didn’t know, in summer it is possible to visit Medina Azahara at night. They say it is a very special visit, but I haven’t been there yet to confirm it.