Privileged access patios and gardens of Seville and Cordoba

This tour has been designed with the author of ‘Great Gardens of Spain’,who also escorts the tour.

The gardens selected are ones that she knows and loves from years researching for books. The tour is packed with exclusive access and visits to private gardens and patios of Seville and Cordoba that are not generally open to the public. Our guide has arranged for exclusive access to some of the most colourful and attractive ones. In addition she will take you to places that you could not visit on your own including a private stately home (with lunch). You will lunch in some of her favourite restaurants. You really will be treated to a local’s perspective of Andalucia.

Example Itinerary

Day 1

Flights from UK to Seville where you will be met by your tour leader, author of ‘Great Gardens of Spain’ and transferred to your hotel Casas de la Juderia, Seville. In the late afternoon take a fifteen minute walk to the gardens of Casa de Pilatos. one of the most intriguing buildings in Seville, an amalgam of Renaissance, Gothic and Mudejar styles. After browsing through the gardens it is time to take a short ride to a private home for a tapas dinner hosted by the owner who will also show you round his home and the charming patio garden. After dinner you take a ride back to your hotel.

Day 2

After breakfast we take a short walk to Reales Alcazares, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. We visit some of its impressive interiors – before a ninety minute tour of the extensive gardens; the most original representation of a truly Hispanic style – the Mudejar – a Muslim artistic expression adapted to the Christian world. From their Moorish origins, they underwent continual transformations, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. There will be time for a coffee break at the bar located in the garden. Afterward we visit a privately owned16th century private palace and its beautiful courtyard. Then time for a tapas lunch (included). After lunch we visit an impressive private palace, courtyard and sensual gardens. Dinner is in a private house in the outskirts of Seville.

Day 3

In the morning we drive to Peñaflor to visit a charming private garden, never open to the public but opened exclusively for us and hosted by the owner. From there we move on to Palma del Río for lunch at a palace and a private visit. The palace is an architectural gem that was hidden and in total ruin, after many years of careful restoration has finally been restored to its former glory, including its lovely gardens surrounded by XI century Moorish walls. The owner will take us around the house, including her spectacular painting studio, giving us an exclusive glimpse of the Spanish Culture and of an aristocratic way of living. Then we drive to Moratalla to visit the spectacular gardens of a private palace designed at the beginning of the 20th century by French landscaper Forestier. From there we transfer to Cordoba and check in at Casas de la Judería, Codoba before having dinner in a charming traditional taberna specialising in Cordovan dishes.

Day 4

In the morning we walk to the Mosque and where we see the Orange Tree Courtyard and the Mosque-Cathedral of Córboba, the most important monument in the Western Islamic world, and one of the most amazing in the world.. From there we move on to the Palacio de Viana and explore its magical patios and gardens. Finally before lunch we have privileged access to a privately owned monastery. This 15th century Hieronimyte Monastery has an impressive courtyard and gardens. This is an absolutely outstanding location and one of the highlights of our tour. Then there is time for a light tapas lunch before driving to the airport for your flights home.