Castles in Córdoba province you can visit
Almodóvar castle opens most of the year for 11 euros. Belalcázar is free if you book. Zuheros, Luque and Iznájar sell tickets; Montemayor stays shut.
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The castle you can visit without planning is Almodóvar del Río: it opens nearly every day of the year and general admission is 11 euros. Belalcázar, which has the tallest keep, is free, but only with a booking and only at weekends or on public holidays.
In the Subbética hills four castles have a municipal ticket desk: Zuheros, Luque, Iznájar and Priego. Others are worth knowing about so you do not drive out for nothing, such as Montemayor, which is private and closed.
Facts checked in November 2026. The provincial tourist board lists more than thirty fortifications in its Castle Route. These are the ones with current official visiting information, plus what to expect from the rest.
Practical information
- Almodóvar del Río
- 11 € adults, 6 € children aged 5 to 13
- Belalcázar
- Free, booking required, weekends and holidays
- Belalcázar keep
- 47 metres
- Luque
- 4 € including the local museum
- Not open to the public
- Montemayor castle, private
- Closest
- Almodóvar, 29 km, about 35 min
Almodóvar del Río castle: opening hours and prices
It stands 29 km from Córdoba, 35 to 40 minutes, on a 250-metre hill beside the Guadalquivir. It is privately owned and open to the public. It was a filming location for Game of Thrones.
From October to March it opens Monday to Friday 11:00 to 14:30 and 16:00 to 19:00, and at weekends and on holidays 11:00 to 19:00 with no lunch break. In April, May, 15 to 31 August and September, closing moves to 20:00. In June, July and 1 to 14 August, weekdays are 9:00 to 15:30 and weekends 11:00 to 20:00. It closes on 25 December and 1 January, and on the afternoons of 24 and 31 December and 5 January.
The general visit, self-guided and without audio guide, costs 11 euros for adults aged 14 to 64, 6 for children aged 5 to 13 and 8.50 for students, over-65s and visitors with disabilities. Large families pay 9 and 5. The dramatised tour, at weekends and on holidays at 12:00 and in the afternoon, costs 16 euros for adults and 11 for children.
Belalcázar castle: free, but you must book
Belalcázar is 101 km away, an hour and a half through the north of the province. The castle, also known as Sotomayor or Gahete, was built in the second half of the 15th century and its keep is 47 metres high. The regional government of Andalusia, which runs it, describes it as the tallest in Spain.
Entry is by guided tour only. Tours are free, last about an hour and a half and run on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, with up to 30 people each. For November the published table gives Saturday tours at 12:30 and 17:30, and Sunday and holiday tours at 10:30 and 12:30.
Booking is compulsory. It opens every Monday at 9:00 for that week's tours and closes at 16:00 the day before. The meeting point is the door of the Camino de Santiago hostel, ten minutes ahead. The way up crosses an estate over old cobbles with steep slopes, and the official page rates the difficulty medium to high: it does not suit pushchairs or wheelchairs. That page still shows the 2025 season calendar, running to 28 December, so confirm dates when you book.
Zuheros, Luque, Iznájar and Priego: the Subbética castles
All four are council-owned and stand inside the village. They combine well over two days.
- Zuheros (75 km, 1 h): the castle is visited with a guide together with the archaeology museum, on Plaza de la Paz. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays there are tours at 11:00, 12:30 and 14:00, and two in the afternoon. Tuesday to Friday it opens morning and afternoon. Closed on Mondays that are not holidays.
- Luque (72 km, 1 h): Wednesday and Thursday 12:00 to 14:00, Friday also 16:00 to 19:00, and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 19:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is 4 euros and includes the local museum. At weekends a 5-euro combined ticket adds the Cueva de la Encantada. Cash only.
- Iznájar (107 km, 1 h 25): the castle sits 533 metres up, above the reservoir. General admission needs no booking and is sold at the door. It closes on 1 and 6 January, Good Friday, 8 September and 25 December. Hours change by season and are posted on the castle's website.
- Priego de Córdoba (94 km, 1 h 20): the castle is on Calle Marqués de Priego, next to the Barrio de la Villa. Hours and prices come from the municipal tourist office, and it is worth asking before you go as we could not check them on its website.
More Subbética castles: Lucena, Cabra and Doña Mencía
The Castillo del Moral in Lucena, in the town centre, is now the archaeology and ethnology museum. Boabdil, the last Nasrid king of Granada, may have been held in its keep after his capture in 1483.
The castle of the Counts of Cabra houses a convent school. From outside you can see the keep, just over 20 metres tall, and the walls. The castle at Doña Mencía, built between 1415 and 1420, belongs to the council and stands within the village.
Castles seen from outside: Montemayor, Espejo and the Campiña
The castle of the Dukes of Frías in Montemayor (37 km) is privately owned and not open to visitors, although it has been a protected monument since 1984. You can walk around it through the village.
The ducal castle at Espejo (36 km, 30 min) crowns the village hill. The tourist board's own guides contradict each other: one says it is not open to the public, another gives a phone number for arranging a visit. Do not count on getting in, and ask at the town hall if you are keen.
Aguilar de la Frontera keeps the remains of Poley castle. In Baena, the Almedina castle was restored in 2015. In Bujalance (43 km), the fortress was founded by Abd al-Rahman III in the 10th century. Between Baena and Castro del Río, Torreparedones castle lies inside the archaeological park: the tourist board says up to 30 villages can be seen from its tower. For all of these, ask the local tourist office for opening times.
In the city: the Calahorra and the Alcázar
Córdoba itself has two fortresses. The Torre de la Calahorra, at the southern end of the Roman Bridge, opens 10:00 to 18:00 from November to February and 10:00 to 19:00 in March, April, May and October. From June to September it splits the day, 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 20:30. General admission is 4.50 euros, including the roof terrace and an audio guide.
The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos was built on the orders of Alfonso XI from 1328. It belongs to the city and has its own guide on this site.
Three routes to see them
Grouped by road, they make three day routes from Córdoba. You will need a car for all three.
- Guadalquivir valley: Almodóvar del Río in the morning and the Almohad walls of Palma del Río in the afternoon. About 66 km to Palma.
- Subbética: Luque and Zuheros on day one, Priego and Iznájar on day two. Luque and Zuheros are seven kilometres apart along the Vía Verde del Aceite greenway.
- Los Pedroches: Belalcázar with the tour booked, and Dos Torres on the way. This is the longest route, three hours of driving there and back.
With children, in the heat or with reduced mobility
With children, Almodóvar is the easiest: you explore freely, there are towers and dungeons, and at weekends there is a dramatised tour. Under-5s are not on the price list, so ask at the ticket desk.
Every castle stands on high ground and has stairs. None on this list advertises a fully adapted route, so wheelchair users should phone ahead to find out how far they can get. In summer, Almodóvar shifts its weekday hours earlier, to 9:00 to 15:30.
