Andalucía

If the Nasrid builders of Granada's Alhambra proved one thing, it was that – given the right blend of talent and foresight – art and architecture can speak far more eloquently than words. With the snow-dusted Sierra Nevada as a backdrop, this towering, hilltop Moorish citadel has been rendering visitors of one kind or another speechless for a millennium. The reason: its harmonious architectural balance between humankind and the natural environment. Fear not the dense crowds: the Alhambra is an essential pilgrimage, and lively Granada is an equally evocative place to explore.

The 15th-century constructors of Seville’s cathedral wanted to create a church so big that future generations would think they were mad. They gloriously succeeded. Only a bunch of architectural geniuses could have built a Gothic masterpiece this humongous: it's the largest in the world. Offering greater subtlety and more intricate beauty is the adjacent Alcázar, still a palace for the Spanish royal family, and a spectacular blend of Christian and Mudéjar architecture. The two buildings sit either side of the Plaza del Triunfo in ironic juxtaposition.

One of the world's great works of Islamic architecture, Córdoba's magnificent mosque is a grand symbol of the time when Islamic Spain was at its cultural and political peak, and Córdoba, its capital, was western Europe's largest, most cultured city. In the Mezquita's interior, mesmerising rows of horseshoe arches stretch away in every direction. The most intricate surround the gold-mosaic-decorated portal of the mihrab (prayer niche). While most Córdoba visitors rightly make a beeline for the Mezquita, you'll find the old city that grew up around it just as fascinating.

The lofty, white-peaked Sierra Nevada ('snowy mountains') backs one of Europe's most striking cityscapes, Moorish Granada, and hosts Andalucía's only ski resort. Much of this rugged mountain range is protected by the 859-sq-km Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada, a high-altitude world best uncovered on unforgettable hikes that include the chance to scale mainland Spain’s highest peak, 3479m Mulhacén. The scattered white villages beautifying the mountains' southern slopes are known as Las Alpujarras and are famous for their ancient craft-making, agricultural fertility, meat-rich cooking, hiking and horse-riding opportunities, and flat-roofed, Berber-style houses.

A figurative biodiversity ‘island’ in the Río Guadalquivir delta, the Parque Nacional de Doñana is one of only two national parks in Andalucía (and 15 in Spain). Along with its abutting parque natural, it forms one of Europe’s largest, most important wetland sites. Long a blueprint for eco-management, the park's assertive environmental policies have set precedents on balancing the wonders of the natural world with tourism and agriculture. Aside from offering multiple nature excursions, the park is a precious sanctuary for deer, wild boar, migrating waterfowl and endangered Iberian lynx.

Like all great anguished music, flamenco has the power to lift you out of the doldrums and stir your soul. It’s as if by sharing the pain of innumerable generations of dispossessed misfits you open a door to a secret world of musical ghosts and ancient Andalucian spirits. On the other side of the coin, flamenco culture can also be surprisingly jolly, jokey and tongue-in-cheek. There’s only one real proviso: you have to hear it live, preferably in its Seville–Jerez–Cádiz heartland.

Habitual Costa del Sol–goers may not have heard of Tarifa, Bolonia or Zahara de los Atunes, but Andalucía’s west-facing, wind-lashed Atlantic coast is wilder, blissfully less developed and far less crowded than the southern Mediterranean littoral. Kitesurfers, horse riders and happy wanderers abound on the Costa de la Luz, though there’s plenty of room to laze on broad sweeps of fine blonde sand with Morocco fading into the background. The coastline's towns – activity-mad Tarifa and whitewashed Vejer de la Frontera – are a Morocco-flavoured delight.

Spanish cuisine might have gone molecular in recent years, but there’s no getting away from the basics. Tapas define Spain’s style of eating as much as its type of cuisine – a long, drawn-out smorgasbord of tasting and savouring that can go on well into the night. Seville claims Andalucía's most creative tapas, although Málaga, Granada, Cádiz and Vejer de la Frontera might beg to differ. Granada, Almería and almost every bar in Jaén province are some of the few places in Spain that still serve recession-busting free tapas with every drink.

For a cherished memory of what the Spanish coastline used to look like before megaresorts gatecrashed the Costa del Sol, seek out Cabo de Gata in Almería province, a wild, rugged, golf-course-free zone, where fishing boats still reel in the day’s catch and bold cliffs clash with the shimmering azure Mediterranean. Considering it’s one of the driest areas of Europe, the cabo has abundant feathered fauna and scrubby vegetation. It’s also a protected parque natural, ideal for hassle-free biking and hiking, and home to some of Andalucía's most pristine beaches.

The gaditanos (citizens of Cádiz) are Spain’s great laughers and jokers. Here in the southern city of ancient barrios (districts) and the nation’s greatest Carnaval, nothing is taken too seriously. Even the locally concocted brand of flamenco, known as alegrías, is uncharacteristically joyful and upbeat. Sitting like a great unlaunched ship on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic, Cádiz also sports the region’s most romantic sea drive, its most expansive municipal beaches, a buzzing food scene and an unbelievable stash of ancient sights.

Spectacular Ronda teeters atop sheer-sided cliffs amid the brawny mountainscapes of Málaga province's Serranía de Ronda. This forever-popular white town has an embattled history infested with bandits, smugglers, warriors and rebels, and a weighty bullfighting legacy. Then there's its famous artistic connections with self-styled ‘rugged’ Hollywood types Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles, along with a newly invigorated flamenco scene and some truly excellent restaurants serving up hearty mountain cuisine and locally produced wines. Or just dust off your mountain boots and hike out into the hills.

There’s no stopping Málaga and its art renaissance. Until 2003 the city lacked even a museum devoted to legendary native son Picasso; now it's becoming an art heavyweight to rival Madrid or Barcelona. Recent openings include a gallery dedicated to locally born neo-expressionist painter Jorge Rando, and the long-awaited re-launch of the Museo de Málaga, exhibiting important Spanish works unseen for over two decades. Málaga has also developed its own free art space, Soho, embellishing a formerly rundown area near the port with giant murals and creative graffiti.

If Andalucía has a hallmark outdoor activity, it's kitesurfing, a daredevil white-knuckle sport given extra oomph by the stiff winds that enliven the choppy waters off the Strait of Gibraltar. The activity has lent a boho-cool vibe to the Costa de la Luz and its wind-battered southern nexus Tarifa, a whitewashed coastal town that often feels more Moroccan than Spanish. Windsurfing and kitesurfing outlets proliferate along nearby beachfronts, tempting the adventurous into the water, while, a little northwest, El Palmar has Andalucía's best board-surfing waves.

Choosing your favourite pueblo blanco (white town) is like choosing your favourite Beatles album: they’re all so damned good, it’s impossible to decide. Pressured for an answer, most people hunt down the classic calling cards: a thrillingly sited location, an evocative old town, a plush parador (luxurious state-owned hotel) and a volatile frontier history. The best examples lie dotted all over Andalucía, with two heavy concentrations: one in northeastern Cádiz province and the other in the mountainous Alpujarras. Tour them by bike, car or bus, or on foot.

These two outposts among the olive groves of Jaén province look more Italian than Spanish; it’s the perfectly intact Renaissance architecture that deceives you. Wealthy local nobility remodelled these towns in the 16th century, commissioning local architect Andrés de Vandelvira to design monumental, beautifully proportioned mansions, churches and civic buildings that helped to introduce Renaissance ideas to Spain. In 2003 Baeza and Úbeda joined the great monuments of Granada, Córdoba and Seville as Andalucian Unesco World Heritage sites, yet they get far less foot traffic.

In the sun-dappled vineyards of western Cádiz province, fortified white wine has been produced since Phoenician times, enjoyed by everyone from Christopher Columbus to Francis Drake. A distinctly Spanish product made for very British tastes, sherry is often considered a drink for mildly inebriated English grannies. But now, sherry is making a comeback and wine-lovers can dig deeper with tours, tastings, sherry-pairing menus and more. Savour its oaky essence in the feisty Sherry Triangle towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Only the sevillanos (citizens of Seville) could take the themes of grief and death and transform them into a jaw-dropping spectacle. Many cities around the world mark the Catholic feast of Holy Week, but none approach it with the verve and outright passion of Seville. Watch nightly processions led by various hermandades (brotherhoods; the oldest dating back to 1340), including hooded nazarenos (penitents), shoulder elaborately decorated floats through the city streets in an atmosphere doused in emotion and religious significance.