Andalucía

Sunny southern Spain

When we think of Spain, we think of flamenco and bullfighting, of sunny beaches and the horseshoe arches and fancy tilework of Moorish-tinged architecture, of whitewashed villages and Renaissance and baroque palaces, and of fine sherries and ancient cities where historic mosques, churches, and synagogues jostle together on narrow cobbled streets.

In other words, what we are really thinking of is not Spain but Andalucía, the sun-drenched southern province running along the Mediterranean and leaning out as if to kiss the coast of North Africa across the Straits of Gibralar.

If you have to pick one region to explore, make it the southlands of Andalusia (www.andalucia.org): the cities of Seville, Granada, and Córdoba, the pueblos blancos hill towns northeast of Jerez (home of sherry), and the beaches of the Costa del Sol around Málaga.

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The amazing hotels of Andalucía - These 19 amazing hotels are scattered across Andalucía, from an 18th century townhouse a block from the cathedral in Seville (from €55) to a beach bum haven on the sands of Málaga (from €39), and from eco-tourism farm resorts in the Sierra Nevadas (from €58) to gypsy cave-home apartments in Granada (from €60)...