La Casas de la Juderia, Cordoba. Courtesy of the hotel.

By Ann Abel

Córdoba, the second city of Spain’s sultry Andalusia region, may not get all the attention of its more famous neighbor, Seville. That’s fine: Córdoba—which still attracts its own fair share of visitors, to be sure—dazzles with its interwoven layers of history.

During the more than 800 years that southern Spain was under Moorish rule, Córdoba—which in medieval times also, remarkably, embraced Christianity and Judaism—was the Rome of its time. In the 10th century, Córdoba was biggest city in Europe. It had more than 80 libraries, one of which had 400,000 books. This was at a time when 2% of the population could read.

There’s countless proof of this in the city’s literature, architecture and culture. It’s home to four UNESCO sites, including its garden courtyards and its gigantic mosque-turned-cathedral, more than any other city in the world. It also has one of the most creative restaurants anywhere … continue reading

Ann Abel is a travel writer and editor and was a senior editor at ForbesLife. She writes for Forbes, Departures, Conde Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Hemispheres, Brides, Modern Bride, Well + Good NYC, and other print and online publications.”In the name of lifestyle journalism, ” she says, ” I’ve gotten a tattoo in Bora Bora, been bitten by a massage therapist, and flown small aircraft above three continents.” She lives in Lisbon.