Southern Spain is a land of contrasts. Savage peaks soar over passes that are snow-bound in winter, plains are harsh and arid in summer but mellow in the winter and are well-watered by spring rivers.

The cities reveal the magnitude of past achievements through the greatness of the architecture and the brilliant elaboration of decoration. Andalucía was a bountiful Roman province, the scene of highly sophisticated Umayyad and Nasrid princedoms and a major province of the most powerful nation in sixteenth-century Europe. The artistic riches are immensely varied, though the unique distinguishing mark is the heritage from eight hundred years of rule by Muslims from North Africa and Arabia.

Córdoba became the capital of al-Andalus and the largest city in Europe, market for all the luxuries of East and West and scene of Europe’s most splendid court until its fall to the Reconquistadors in 1236. The mosque, La Mezquita, was one of the largest anywhere, and arguably the most beautiful; Christian conversion in the sixteenth century created within it one of the largest cathedrals.

Granada was the last Islamic princedom in Spain, only falling to the Christians in 1492. The concatenation of palaces and gardens of the Alhambra, with its cascading domes and gilded decoration like frozen fireworks, is one of Spain’s most enthralling sights.

Although millions of tourists pour through Málaga Airport every year en route to the Costa del Sol, very few set foot in the old town. The narrow streets, palm-lined squares and seafront promenades conserve a wealth of Moorish, Gothic, Baroque and late-nineteenth-century monuments. Birthplace and childhood home of Pablo Picasso, the city boasts a major collection of his works, rivalling those of Paris and Barcelona.

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