The very best of Andalucia (part 1)

Over the coming months we'll bring you insider knowledge and advice from local experts to help you get the most out of your holidays. In the first part of my interview with Andalucia expert Ben Cooper, we talk practicalities and five experiences you shouldn't omit from your Andalucia holiday hit-list. And they probably aren't the five you were expecting...

Ben has studied in Granada, lived in Seville, and opened an award-winning backpackers' hostel in Malaga. These days he visits and writes about the region, particularly for Tertuliaandaluza.com, a fantastic source of in-depth information and cultural goings-on in the region. There's no better guide to this unique part of Spain.

TravelEden.com: Let's get an obvious one out the way first. Many villas in Andalucia which are listed on TravelEden.com are out in the peace and quiet of the countryside. Do we need to speak Spanish to get by here?

Ben Cooper: A little never hurts. The Spanish, and those from Andalucia especially, are such good hosts that if you’re friendly, and try to get a few basic words out, you’ll generally find them to be kind, patient and helpful. So, no, there's no need to be an expert.

TE: What would you consider the five umnissable sights for anyone on a two-week trip to Andalucia?

BC: I’m going to go with five things that are unmissable to me. (You don’t need me to tell everyone to see Granada’s Alhambra, Cordoba’s Mezquita, or the Barrio de Santa Cruz in Seville, after all.)

1. The Museo Picasso, Malaga

Set inside a beautiful old palace (the Palacio de Buenavista), Malaga’s Picasso Museum has one of the most interesting and thoughtfully put-together collections of this Spanish artist’s work.

2. Fried fish in Malaga

Beyond its famous museum, incidentally, Malaga is an absolutely cracking town: a million miles away from the high-rises of much of the rest of the Costa del Sol. Its crumbling Old Town offers excellent shopping, a pretty wild nightlife scene, a fine old Moorish fortress, a great food market… Best of all, though, it’s got some of the finest spit-and-sawdust fried fish joints in the whole of the region. For my money, it just doesn’t get any better than calamaritos fritos (baby squid) eaten standing up at the bar and washed down with an ice-cold beer or two.

3. The sherry bodegas of Jerez

Lovely, cool old bodegas filled to the brim with thousands of barrels of top tipple. What’s not to like? (And don't forget their vinegar, too--TE.)

4. The white villages

One of the most striking of all Andalucian sights is when you turn a curve in a mountain road and are stuck by this flash of white against a brilliant blue sky. There are dozens of beautiful examples. My favourites in Granada Province are Alhama de Granada and Montefrio. Photo Credit: Paco Pena

5. Seville’s neighbourhoods

Seville is magnificent, across all of its very different neighbourhoods. As you head west into Santa Catalina and beyond into the Macarena, it gets increasingly 'lived in' and (slightly) less beautiful. But the pay-off is that they're real neighbourhoods that are full of bars, little old shops and life. Things to see? It’s packed with churches (Santa Catalina, San Luis, San Marcos, Santa Paula...), but really it's all about wandering around a faded, cracked pile of palaces, churches and grand houses.

TE: Another practical one: can we get about Andalucia on public transport, or is renting a car essential?

BC: It depends where you’re trying to get to. As a general rule, trains in Andalucia aren’t the best option. Buses, however, run all the time, are fast, and remain reasonably priced. For example, to get from Granada to Seville or Malaga by bus only takes a couple of hours (you can check out Alsina Graells for times and fares). And both journeys are on the scenic side, too.

Of course, if you want to get way out into the countryside, a hire car’s probably going to be necessary. But even then, there’s usually a twice-daily bus route from the villages to the major towns and cities.

In the second part of our interview, Ben runs us through his perfect day in Granada, and passes on advice for photographers and foodies staying in Andalucia.