History & Tapas Walk, Córdoba

Combine the historical sites of Córdoba with the city's tapas culture. With the help of a private, local guide (and a food enthusiast), you'll move from site to site, stopping to taste three of the city's signature dishes—all popular snacks with the locals. Pair your tapas with regional wine and beer and learn about the buildings, history, and events that shaped Córdoba's history.

Explore the city of Córdoba and learn about its food culture on this fun and tasty walking tour. Regional gastronomy is a great way to dig deeper into a city's culture and past, and you'll join a local on the hunt for Córdoba's most traditional bites. Along the way, stop to admire the architecture and some of the most important monuments in the city. Your guide will share all the historical details of these places and how they relate to the city's food.

You'll start back in Roman times, strolling down Paseo de la Ribera to Puente Romano, the city's beautifully preserved bridge built in the 1st century BCE. Córdoba has a long Roman history and several relics and ruins dating to that time, including a temple, mausoleum, and forum. To commemorate this period, you'll try the city's famed dish mazamorra, a traditional chilled soup. It might hint at gazpacho or salmorejo, but it has an entirely different taste, as it uses blanched almonds, garlic, and bread to create flavor and consistency. You'll often find it topped with olives or hardboiled eggs as a garnish. 

Next, make your way to the city's Mezquita Catedral, a unique structure with a mosque and cathedral in one. In the 8th century, the Muslims captured Córdoba and much of the Iberian Peninsula, called Al-Andalus. Nearly every major city had a large mosque, but when the Christians reconquered Spain, the new rule tore down many mosques and replaced them with their religious buildings. Córdoba decided to keep its mosque and build the cathedral atop and around it, so you can enjoy both structures. 

Locals often sit and eat tapas on the terraces in front of and around the Mezquita. Join them by indulging in a dish called berenjenas califales (eggplant with honey). It's common to find this dish throughout the country. Still, each region prepares it a little differently, and sometimes, even restaurants in the same city put their own spin on the recipe, topping it with cheese, for example. This dish pays homage to the country's history, as the Muslims introduced eggplant to the area. 

End your tour in Plaza del Potro, a beautiful square with a 16th-century Renaissance-style fountain. Here is where you'll learn about the subsequent rulers in Córdoba's history, the Christians. While listening to the country's Reconquista stories, you'll enjoy a traditional dish introduced during this period of Christian rule, rabo de toro (oxtail). Of course, you'll pair all your tapas with drinks like local and regional wines and beers.