Andalucía

If you had to pick just one region to attempt to explain Andalucía in its full, complex beauty, it'd probably be Cádiz province. Lying in wait across Spain's southernmost province are craggy mountains, oceans of olive trees, thrillingly sited white towns (Arcos, Vejer, Zahara de la Sierra), fortified sherry, festivals galore, flamenco in its purest incarnation, the font of Andalucian horse culture, and a dreamy blonde-sand coastline, the uncommercial Costa de la Luz, sprinkled with surfer-cool towns like Tarifa.

Packed in among all this condensed culture are the expansive Sierra de Grazalema and Los Alcornocales natural parks, covering an unbroken tract of land from Olvera in the north to Algeciras in the south. The same line once marked the ever-changing frontier between Christian Spain and Moorish Granada, and that ancient border remains dotted with castle-topped, whitewashed towns, many with a ‘de la Frontera’ suffix that testifies to their volatile history.

Cádiz Province

After decades of being pointedly ignored, particularly by tourists to the coastal resorts, revitalised Málaga is now the Andalucian city everyone is talking about. Its 30-odd museums and edgy urban art scene are well matched by contemporary-chic dining choices, a stash of new boutique hotels and a shopping street voted one of the most stylish in Spain. Málaga is at its most vibrant during the annual feria, when the party atmosphere is infused with flamenco, fino (dry, straw-coloured sherry) and carafe-loads of fiesta spirit. Each region of the province has equally fascinating diversity, from the mythical mountains of La Axarquía to the tourist-driven razzle-dazzle of the Costa del Sol. Inland are the pueblos blancos (white towns), crowned by spectacularly situated Ronda. There's also the under-appreciated, elegant old town of Antequera, with its nearby archaeological site and fabulous porra antequera (thick local soup).

Málaga Province

From Moorish palaces and Roman ruins to sun-baked plains and bosky river valleys, Sevilla province boasts some of Andalucía’s greatest hits and least-known treasures. At its heart is the region’s charismatic capital, Seville. A gregarious, flamboyant city famed for its artistic and architectural riches, flamenco clubs and teeming tapas bars, this heady riverside metropolis provides a fabulous introduction to the region. But if you can break its spell you’ll discover there’s plenty to admire in the surrounding province. Just outside Seville, the wonderfully preserved ruins of Itálica make for one of southern Spain’s most remarkable Roman sites. To the east, the vast, shimmering plains of La Campiña are punctuated by a string of handsome towns, most notably Carmona, Écija and Osuna, whilst to the north, you can explore the wooded hills of the little-visited Parque Natural Sierra Norte de Sevilla.

Sevilla Province

Some cities blast you away, others slowly win you over. Seville disarms and seduces you. Its historic centre, lorded over by a colossal Gothic cathedral, is an intoxicating mix of resplendent Mudéjar palaces, baroque churches and winding medieval lanes. Flamenco clubs keep the intimacy and intensity of this centuries-old tradition alive whilst aristocratic mansions recall the city’s past as a showcase Moorish capital and, later, a 16th-century metropolis rich on the back of New World trade. But while history reverberates all around, Seville is as much about the here and now as the past. It’s about eating tapas in a crowded bar or seeing out the end of the day over a drink on a buzzing plaza. The sevillanos have long since mastered the art of celebrating and the city’s great annual festivals, notably the Semana Santa and Feria de Abril, are among Spain’s most heartfelt.

Seville

Drawn by the allure of the Alhambra, many visitors head to Granada unsure what to expect. What they find is a gritty, compelling city where serene Islamic architecture and Arab-flavoured street life go hand in hand with monumental churches, old-school tapas bars and counterculture graffiti art. The city, sprawled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, was the last stronghold of the Spanish Moors and their legacy lies all around: it’s in the horseshoe arches, the spicy aromas emanating from street stalls, the teterías (teahouses) of the Albayzín, the historic Arab quarter. Most spectacularly, of course, it’s in the Alhambra, an astonishing palace complex whose Islamic decor and landscaped gardens are without peer in Europe. There’s also an energy to Granada’s streets, packed as they are with bars, student dives, bohemian cafes and intimate flamenco clubs, and it’s this as much as the more traditional sights that leaves a lasting impression.

Granada

Regularly derided but perennially popular, Spain’s famous ‘sun coast’ is a chameleonic agglomeration of end-to-end resort towns that were once (hard to believe) mere fishing villages. Development in the last 60 years has been far-reaching and not always subtle, throwing up a disjointed muddle of urbanizaciones, each with its own niche. Torremolinos is a popular gay resort, Benalmádena plugs theme parks and aquariums, Fuengirola draws families and water-sport lovers, Mijas poses as one of Andaucía's authentic white villages of yore, Marbella is loudly rich and partial to big yachts and golf, while Estepona maintains a semblance of its former Spanish self. Take your pick.

The coast east of Málaga, sometimes described as the Costa del Sol Oriental, is less developed. The suburban sprawl of Málaga extends through a series of unmemorable and unremarkable seaside towns that pass in a concrete high-rise blur before culminating in more attractive Nerja.

Costa del Sol

Arriving on the Costa de la Luz from the Costa del Sol is like flinging open the window and breathing in the glorious fresh air. Bereft of tacky resorts and unplanned development, this is a world of flat-capped farmers, grazing bulls and furtive slugs of dry sherry with lunchtime tapas. Throw in beautiful blonde, windswept beaches, a buzzing surfing/kitesurfing scene and a string of spectacularly located white towns, and you’re unequivocally back in Andalucía. Spaniards, well aware of this, flock to places like Tarifa, Zahara de los Atunes and Los Caños de Meca in July and August. It's by no means a secret, but the stunning Costa de la Luz remains the same old laid-back beachy hangout it's always been, admittedly with a little upmarket flair creeping in around Vejer de la Frontera.

The Costa de la Luz continues west into neighbouring Huelva province, up to the Portugal border.

Southeast Cádiz Province & the Costa de la Luz

Providing Granada’s dramatic backdrop, the Sierra Nevada range extends about 75km from west to east. Its wild snowcapped peaks boast the highest point in mainland Spain (Mulhacén, 3479m) and Europe’s most southerly ski resort at Pradollano. The lower southern reaches, peppered with picturesque white villages, are collectively known as Las Alpujarras. Some 859 sq km are encompassed by the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada. Spain’s largest national park, this protected area is home to 2100 of Spain’s 7000 plant species, including unique types of crocus, narcissus, thistle, clover, poppy and gentian, as well as Andalucía’s largest ibex population. Bordering the national park at lower altitudes is the Parque Natural Sierra Nevada. From July to early September, the higher mountains offer wonderful multiday trekking and day hikes. Outside of this period, there’s a risk of inclement weather, but the lower Alpujarras are always welcoming, with most snow melted by May.

Sierra Nevada

One building alone is reason enough to put Córdoba high on your itinerary: the mesmerising multiarched Mezquita. One of the world's greatest Islamic buildings, the Mezquita is a symbol of the worldly, sophisticated culture that flourished here more than a millennium ago when Córdoba was capital of Islamic Spain and western Europe's biggest, most cultured city. But today's Córdoba is much more than the Mezquita. With a lot to see and do, some charming accommodation, and excellent restaurants and bars, it merits far more than the fleeting visit many travellers give it. Córdoba's real charms unfold as you explore the winding, stone-paved lanes of the medieval city to the west, north and east of the gaudy touristic area immediately around the Mezquita, wandering between wrought-iron balconies and lamps, potted plants, overhanging trees, golden-stone buildings and verdant interior patios, emerging every few minutes on yet another quaint little hidden plaza.

Córdoba

Las Alpujarras is a 70km stretch of valleys and deep gorges on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada. A mix of rocky, arid slopes, woods, and terraced farmlands made fertile by melted snow water, it’s best known for its picturesque white villages. These cling to the verdant hillsides, their Berber-style flat-roofed houses recalling the area’s past as a refuge for Moors escaping the Christian conquest of Granada. These days, the villages host a mixed population of locals and expats, while towns in the lower reaches simmer with spiritual seekers, long-term travellers and rat-race dropouts. Well-trod footpaths criss-cross the hills, linking the villages and offering superlative hiking.

Las Alpujarras

If you think the Costa del Sol is soulless, you clearly haven’t been to Málaga. Loaded with history and brimming with a youthful vigour that proudly acknowledges its multi-layered past, the city that gave the world Picasso has transformed itself in spectacular fashion, with half a dozen new art galleries, a radically rethought port area and a nascent art district called Soho. Not that Málaga was ever lacking in energy: the Spanish-to-the-core bar scene could put bags under the eyes of an insomniac madrileño, while the food culture encompasses both Michelin stars and tastefully tatty fish shacks. Come here for tapas washed down with sweet local wine, and stay in a creative boutique hotel sandwiched between a Roman amphitheatre, a Moorish fortress and the polychromatic Pompidou Centre, while you reflect on how eloquently Málaga has reinvented itself for the 21st century. Look out, Seville.

Málaga

North of Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María mark the three corners of Spain's famous 'sherry triangle'. Even if Andalucía's unique, smooth wine isn't your cup of tea, you won't want to miss the history, the beaches, the handsome horses, the fabulous food, the feisty flamenco and the evocative environmental marvel that is the Parque Nacional de Doñana.