Around the Mezquita-Catheral, Córdoba

Northwest of the Mezquita-Catedral, in Plaza Don Jerónimo Paez, is the Archeological Museum in Cordoba, with Iberian objects, including sculptures of lions and a relief depicting a stag-hunt from Almodóvar del Río, Roman and Early Christian antiquities and a large collection of Moorish art, including a bronze stag of the 10th century and finds from Medina Azahara.

Opposite the southwest corner of the Córdoba Cathedral stands the Bishop's Palace, built in the 15th century on the ruins of the Caliph's palace and rebuilt in 1745.

South of the Bishop's Palace in Córdoba is the Triunfo de San Rafael, a tall column erected in 1765 bearing a statue of the Archangel Raphael.

Beside the Triunfo rises the Puerta del Puente, a Doric triumphal arch (16th century) at the end of the 16-arched Puente Romano over the Río Guadalquivir in Córdoba. The bridge was originally built after Caesar's victory over Pompey, and a Moorish bridge, 223m/244yd long was later built on its foundations.

Across the Puente Romano from the Torre de la Calahorra we turn left and come to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. Some parts of the massive walls and towers date from Moorish times, but most of them were built when Alfonso XI strengthened the fortress in the 14th century. It contains a number of very fine Roman mosaics. Around the Alcázar, within the walls, are beautiful gardens, with ornamental pools and fountains, which are illuminated on summer evenings. In front of the main building is a square called the Camposanto de los Mártires, said to have been the place of execution of Christian martyrs.