Living in Córdoba is very different from visiting it. Here is what six months of ordinary life in the city looked like for us: the apartment, the neighbors, the bike rides, the late dinners and the days we hid from the heat.
My experience
We lived in the San Basilio neighborhood for about six months in the first half of 2023. Everything on this page comes from that time.
Our little corner of San Basilio
We landed in a small apartment with a patio of its own, in San Basilio, and I still count us lucky. It is a very small neighborhood in the Alcázar Viejo, close to the Alcázar and the river, with whitewashed lanes, flower pots on the walls and tiled street names. The funny thing is that for such a tiny place it gets very busy with tourists during certain events: one week you have the lanes to yourself, the next you share them with a crowd. Read more in our San Basilio guide.
The rhythm of the day
Córdoba runs on a later clock than northern Europe. People come to life late in the evening, which is why they eat late and, in summer, play padel at night. Mornings are for coffee and something small: for us that meant Pastelería Roldán, where a coffee was under two euros and the two of us were often done for under ten, with a roll as well. Our favourites were pan con tomate and a tostada con jamón y queso that we never got tired of.
Groceries were part of the routine too: a nearby supermarket called Piedra for quick things, and Mercadona for the bigger shops. That also gave me my best story, the day I ordered 300 kilos of chicken: read it in groceries.
Bikes, sport and padel
We had bikes, which made everything easy. Our padel club, Khalifa Padel, was less than ten minutes away by bike, and padel became the backbone of our week. The full story, from the first tournament to the private lessons, is in padel in Córdoba. See also getting around day to day.
Eating out
We ate out a lot, in San Basilio, on the squares and along La Ribera, and it was varied and almost always involved a lot of meat. A few places became regulars: El Rincón de Carmen, La Mundi and Regadera. Our full list is on best restaurants.
The summer
The summer was extremely hot, regularly above 40°C, and we spent a lot of time indoors. Our padel court time was sometimes half past eleven at night, and it could still be 35°C. See summer in Córdoba.
Escaping the city
Living here made it easy to see more of Spain. We took trips to the coast and its seaside towns, flew to Ibiza and Gran Canaria, and fell for Cádiz. Domestic flights in Spain are relatively cheap, so it is easy to hop somewhere else while you live in Córdoba. Many Spaniards do the same: some head to the coast around Huelva, where they have a family house or stay with relatives. We also made a road trip to Ronda.
What it costs and where to live
If you are thinking of staying longer, see cost of living, where to live and working remotely.
The people
Maybe the best thing about Córdoba was the people. Everyone is relaxed and tranquilo, patient with our broken Spanish and very friendly. It made a six-month stay feel like a much longer one, in the best way.
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