Caliphal Baths of the Alcázar of Córdoba

The Caliphal Baths were built on the orders of al-Hakam II within the grounds of the Andalusi alcázar, located west of what was the city's Aljama Mosque. Surrounded by a set of gardens, they were a space linked to the Islamic ablution ritual as well as to social life.

The main core is organised as a series of rooms with different functions: an entrance hall, a cold room, a warm room and a hot room. Different rituals took place in each one and, according to the guide, one of these rooms witnessed two regicides.

Over time, the baths changed. During the taifa kingdoms period they were extended with an annexed room added to the main core. Later, in the Almohad period, another set of baths was built with its own rooms, reusing the complex's boiler system.

Later, when King Alfonso XI had similar baths built inside the Alcázar of the Catholic Monarchs, the Caliphal Baths were buried underground and the esplanade known as Campillo del Rey was created, where military parades were held.

The visit makes more sense if you go through it by historical phase, since the complex wasn't built in a single go but through several interventions at different times. These are the 4 indoor stops the guide uses to explain it.

As soon as you go in, the key reference point is the scale model, which places the baths in their original setting within the vanished alcázar. Right there you'll also find an explanatory video to help you understand the complex before getting into the detail of the rooms and routes.

This is the main core, dating from the 10th century. Here you go through the classic sequence of bath rooms, with an explanation of the purification ritual and how the rooms worked within the circuit. The guide treats it as the model on which everything later was built.

This dates from the 11th century and is explained as a reception hall added to the complex, preceded by a portico that originally had a fountain at the entrance and a few smaller rooms. It also serves as the passage to the later extension and brings together elements that help explain that period.

By the 12th century, a second, annexed set of baths was built, with the same general layout, reusing the boiler system of the earlier baths. At this stop the guide rounds off the complex's evolution and explains why the different phases are so clearly distinguishable today.

In winter hours, from 16 September to 15 June, they open Tuesday to Friday from 08:15 to 20:15, Saturdays from 09:30 to 17:30 and Sundays and public holidays from 08:15 to 14:15.

In summer hours, from 16 June to 15 September, they open Tuesday to Sunday from 08:15 to 14:15, with the last session at 14:00.

The standard ticket costs €3.11. The reduced ticket costs €1.76 and applies to large families, holders of a youth card, Spanish or international student card up to age 26, people over 65, ICOM members, and members of the Professional Association of Museologists and the National Association of Librarians, Archivists and Museologists.

Entry is free for under-17s, people who are unemployed, people with a disability of 33% or higher and one companion when essential for the visit, teachers, official European tourist guides, and residents of the Córdoba municipal district.

If you choose a guided tour with us, the guide gives it a duration of around 45 minutes, with access to the rooms and a detailed historical walk-through as part of a full tour.

The Caliphal Baths of the Alcázar are located in Plaza Campo Santo de los Mártires, on the esplanade opposite the Alcázar of the Catholic Monarchs. The guide places them as a spot that's very easy to fit into the monumental route, since they sit on the axis connecting this area with the immediate surroundings of the Mosque-Cathedral.

The visit takes you down below street level: there are two ways in, via a staircase and also via a ramp, since the archaeological site is preserved below the level of the square. Once you're on the esplanade, look for it west of the Episcopal Palace and halfway to the Alcázar of the Catholic Monarchs, which is exactly how the guide places the site within the historic centre.

If you'd prefer to see the Caliphal Baths of the Alcázar with a well-organised explanation and context, you can do so as part of our full tour of the monumental area. The section on the baths lasts around 45 minutes and focuses on understanding the complex as it's laid out today: first the site and its discovery are introduced, and then you go into the different rooms to walk through them with a clear historical thread, explaining what belongs to the Caliphal period, what was added in the taifa era and how it was completed with the Almohad phase. Being a guided visit, you don't just see the rooms — you follow a complete reading of the complex, room by room, without getting lost in technicalities or settling for just a quick look.