Attracting visitors from all over the world, Andalucia is an autonomous community which is divided into 8 provinces.  Seville is its largest city, and the other 7 provinces include Huelva, Cádiz, Cordoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and Almeria.

From its fabulous beaches, lapped by the Mediterranean in the south, to the mountainous regions of Granada, and the barren landscape of Almeria, Andalucia offers visitors a diverse range of landscapes and scenery.

Malaga and the Costa del Sol are made up of coastal towns and communities along the Mediterranean coastline of southern Spain, which include Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Marbella, Mijas-Costa and Estepona.  Tourists looking for sun, sea and sand flock to these resort towns in their thousands, and there is no better place to spend your holiday than the Costa del Sol.

Once seen as a bucket-and-spade resort, Torremolinos has evolved into a cosmopolitan town that offers super accommodation at reasonable prices.  Benalmadena boasts a beautiful promenade and several seaside bars, restaurants and holiday accommodation.  The Sea Life Centre in the middle of town attracts visitors from all over the coast, and there is plenty to keep the kids entertained.  Fuengirola is the perfect holiday town for all ages.  This family resort has one of the longest promenades in Europe, lined with bars, restaurants and street cafés.  Sandy beaches and a range of well-priced accommodation keep tourists flocking to this vibrant town.  If you are looking to dine out in style, try the Portofino on the seafront, which is one of the best restaurants in Fuengirola.  The Steak Diane is delicious!

Mijas-Costa is an area that offers visitors a great range of holiday facilities and amenities, and is home to the largest urbanisation on the Costa del Sol – Calahonda.  Very much a home from home resort, Calahonda attracts tourists from all over Europe.  Brit bars, fish and chip shops and English supermarkets sit alongside Spanish tapas cafés and Chinese restaurants.  Just down the road, La Cala de Mijas boasts a great, sandy beach and a good range of fish bars and street cafes.  Los Delfines beach bar is one of the best in the area, and the prices are fantastic.  Try the paella or the fresh mussels with tomato and garlic sauce. Superb!

Marbella is the most upmarket resort on the Costa del Sol, and is home to the rich kid´s playground of Puerto Banus.  Fabulous beaches, superb restaurants and some of the finest accommodation in Andalucia.  For a special treat, try the buffet lunch at the Marbella Club Hotel, or stroll along to the Ocean Club in Puerto Banus, with its funky surroundings and luxurious sun loungers.  Nikki Beach attracts the jet set from all over the coast.  Chill out by the beach with a champagne cocktail and enjoy the music, or enjoy lunch or dinner as the Mediterranean laps the shore.  You won´t find better sushi anywhere.  Another superb restaurant is close-by on Golden Beach at Elviria.  The Beach House is a personal favourite.  The food and surroundings are unbeatable.  Try the fresh lobster salad, the fresh tuna salad niçoise or the chicken caesar salad – delicious.

Estepona is a quieter resort which has retained its Andalucian feel.  Whitewashed houses nestle side by side in the narrow streets of the town, and the beaches are sandy and safe.  Typical Spanish restaurants jostle for position next to English bars, street cafés and some fabulous tapas restaurants.  The Marina is the place to go if you want some serious nightlife, or simply to sit and watch the word go by during the long, hot summer days.

Moving inland, Granada is one of Andalucia´s most historical and interesting cities.  Home to the Alhambra Palace, built by the Moors in the 1300´s, this intriguing city attracts thousands of visitors every year.  In addition to the amazing monuments an architecture, the city boasts many fine restaurants and hotels.  My favourite restaurant in Granada is Cunini.  Just past the cathedral, in the Plaza Bib-Ramblas, you will find a small square.  Cunini is situated here, and has been attracting lovers of Andalucian food for over 50 years.  It is both a restaurant and tapas bar, and is always packed with diners.  Advertised as a ´Marisqueria´, the seafood at Cunini is superb, and this is the best place I have been to sample typical Andalucian fare.  A completely separate tapas menu is offered between noon and 4pm.  Try the habas con beicon or the fabulous home-made croquettes.

Places to stay in Granada are plentiful, and you can either pay for luxurious boutique hotels such as  the Casa del Capitel Nazari Hotel, or choose cheaper and more comfortable accommodation in one of the city´s many hostals.

Jaén is one of Andalucia´s least known provinces. It is also one of the least populated – the whole of Jaen has only 628.000 inhabitants.

The fact that for years it was one of the least visited provinces in Spain owes much to the terrible roads that once surrounded the province. Since the new motorways have been built, and local roads improved, more and more travellers – from Spain and other parts of the world – are starting to discover the delights of this beautiful and singular province. One of Spain’s most important rivers, the Guadalquivir, crosses Jaen, adding to its attractive landscape and fertile lands.

The Cazorla and Segura mountain ranges are visited by tourists all year round, who are attracted by the area’s natural beauty and wealth of flora and fauna which thrive in its more remote areas. The province has four large natural reserve parks.   For a totally different experience away from the coastal areas of Andalucia, Jaén is well worth a visit.

Seville is a magical city and is my favourite Andalucian province. A quick glance at a map of Seville will show you a city divided practically right down the middle by the Guadalquivir River. You’ll find the majority of the action on the eastern bank in the neighbourhoods of La Macarena, El Arenal, the centro, Santa Cruz, and María Luisa. However, don’t miss the western bank barrios, especially Triana, as they offer up a less-touristy and certainly unique atmosphere of their own.  This passionate city is home to the world´s largest cathedral – Catedral de Santa María de la Sede.  Situated in the Santa Cruz area of Seville, the cathedral was built in 1402 and construction continued into the 16th century. Its central nave rises to a height of 42 metres.
The interior, with the longest nave in Spain, is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold. In the main body of the cathedral, only the great box-like structure of the choir stands out, filling the central portion of the nave. It is also dominated by a vast Gothic wall of carved scenes from the life of Christ. This incredible altarpiece was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.

The Santa Cruz area of the city is vibrant and busy, and offers visitors some of the finest tapas bars in Spain.  Just opposite the Cathedral on the north side, take the narrow street to the left and you will find Robles Tapas Bar and Restaurant.  The salmon and artichokes in olive oil, the wild mushrooms with garlic butter and the home-made paté with melba toast are delicious.  Prices are reasonable, and if you can stand the heat, visit Seville in summer when many of the hotels offer special rates.  Another great time to visit is in April for the annual Feria de Abril, where the streets come alive with colour, song and dance.  You will discover the essence of Spain in every corner of Seville.  Visit the many flamenco bars to experience a true taste of Spain.

Known as the Pearl of Moorish Spain, Cordoba is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Cordoba owes much of its beauty and charm to its Moorish past, when it once reigned as the centre of art, culture, medicine and science. It once stood as the capital of Al-Andalus, which was Moorish Spain at its glorious height. Cordoba’s baths and palaces were famous for their grandeur and luxury. Cordoba was also the first city in Europe which had street lighting. Cordoba was, and still is a cosmopolitan city that reigns supreme in Andalucia.

Its unique buildings and outstanding architecture attract visitors to Cordoba from all over the world. The grand and majestic Mezquita is the most magnificent example of Moorish architecture in Spain. Its elegant arches and marble columns are a formidable statement of the past glory of Al-Andalus and Cordoba’s role in it. There is also the mihrab. This unique set of mosaics were a gift from the Emperor of Byzantium and are said to signify the direction of Mecca. This intriguing city was once hailed as the Mecca of the West.  Today´s Cordoba is a fascinating, open and cosmopolitan city that offers visitors an intriguing insight into the days of Moorish rule.  Modern shops, restaurants and bars sit alongside stunning monuments and architecture,that sets Cordoba apart from other Andalucian cities.

In the later part of the 20th Century, Almeria enjoyed massive economic growth with tourism, and also with the advent of intensive farming and the growing of fruit and vegetables, which are still the biggest money earners for the region.  Much of the agriculture is situated in the west of the region, where visitors will see field upon field of plastic greenhouses, which produce tons of fruit and vegetables.  Seventy per cent of the food grown is exported to other parts of Europe, and the UK is one of the biggest importers.
Also around this time, several spaghetti westerns were filmed in Almeria. Its dry, dusty landscapes, including the Tabernas Desert, made it the perfect location for films such as, A fistful of dollars, and The Good, the Bad and theUgly.  The driest region in Europe, Almeria has over 330 average days of sunshine per year. Lawrence of Arabia was also shot here in 1962.

But there is much more to Almeria than agriculture and a dry landscape. The prettiest streets to stroll along are ‘Las Ramblas’, the ‘Paseo de Almería’. A walk around the San Nicolás Salmerón Park is also very pleasant. Las Ramblas go all the way to the port and the Almadrabillas Beach.

Tourists who visit Huelva are attracted to the city by the temperate climate and the beautiful, natural environment around the city.  The commercial harbour of Huelva is one of the leading ports in Spain, mainly due to the shipment of ore from the Río Tinto. The tuna and sardine fisheries and the fish canning industry also make important contributions to the town’s economy. Huelva also has fishing, shipbuilding, oil refining, and more recently, summer resort industries. Huelva has very hot summers and mild winters. The average annual temperature doesn’t vary much: 17ºC in the valleys, 16ºC in the mountains and 18ºC on the coast. It rarely rains on the coast, although it sometimes rains in the mountains.

In recent years Cádiz has grown in popularity as a holiday destination especially among families seeking good weather, gorgeous long sandy beaches and fewer crowds than thebusier Costa del Sol. As a result the number of hotels, apartments and other services has risen over the past few years, and the standard is generally excellent. Cadiz, along with Tarifa, is popular with surfers, as it is one of the few places in Spain to offer great weather and high waves. And for visitors who want to explore the province, and enjoy a taste of real Spain, the white villages dotting the inland mountains are stunning.