Medina Azahara (the Radiant City) was the administrative capital of the Córdoba Caliphate, built at the foot of the Sierra Morena 8 km west of the city. This UNESCO-listed complex includes the partly reconstructed Salon Rico, whose polychrome arches in pink and white marble give a clear sense of the original scale. An award-winning museum (Aga Khan Prize 2010) provides essential context before you walk the ruins.
A Lost Caliphal Capital
Caliph Abd al-Rahman III began constructing this capital in 936 to make the Umayyad Caliphate's power visible in stone. More than 10,000 workers spent 25 years building what was intended as the western world's most ambitious city. Seventy years after completion, civil wars reduced it to rubble. Plundered and forgotten, it disappeared beneath fields for nearly a thousand years before excavations resumed in 1911.
The Salon Rico and the Museum
Excavations have uncovered the Salon Rico, a reception hall whose polychrome arches in pink and white marble show the ambition of the original design. The sculpted capitals are the most refined examples of Andalusian Caliphal stonework to survive. The archaeological museum, awarded the Aga Khan Architecture Prize in 2010, holds ceramics, sculptures, and architectural fragments from the palace. The terraces look out over the ruins and the surrounding plain — at its peak, the city housed around 10,000 people.
Planning Your Visit from Córdoba
Allow 2 to 3 hours for the museum, the ruins, and the terraces. For transport and a guide from the city, book an organised excursion to Medina Azahara. Back in Córdoba, the Hammam Al Ándalus occupies a 9th-century building and runs Arab baths using methods from the same era. Families can also combine the visit with AguaSierra water park in Villafranca, 20 minutes away.
Practical Access Information
Shuttle bus required from the visitor centre to the archaeological site (€3, included in the tourist bus fare). Daily tourist bus from Paseo de la Victoria in Córdoba: €10 adults, €5 children (book at autobusmedinaazahara.com). By car, free parking at the visitor centre. Bring a hat and water in summer — there is no shade on the site. Closed on Mondays. Entry is free for EU citizens, €1.50 for other nationalities.
