Córdoba with children: reliable plans with opening hours and prices
Zoo from €3, the Ciudad de los Niños play park, the Botanic Garden, horses at the Royal Stables, the Calahorra Tower, Almodóvar Castle and Medina Azahara.
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The plans that work best with children in Córdoba sit side by side next to the river, around Avenida de Linneo: the Zoo, the Ciudad de los Niños y las Niñas play park and the Royal Botanic Garden. Together they fill a whole day, and no adult ticket costs more than €5.50.
For a second day there are the horses at the Caballerizas Reales (Royal Stables), the climb up the Calahorra Tower and, with a car, Almodóvar Castle or Medina Azahara.
Almost everything closes on Mondays, and in summer opening hours are split because of the heat. Each place is listed below with its hours, its price and the age from which children pay. Details checked in November 2026.
Practical information
- Zoo
- €5.50 adults, €3 ages 5 to 16
- Ciudad de los Niños
- €2 adults, €1 ages 5 to 12
- Botanic Garden
- €3 adults, €1.50 from age 5
- Royal Stables
- €5 adults, €1 ages 3 to 12
- Almodóvar Castle
- €11 adults, €6 ages 5 to 13
- Usual closing day
- Monday
Córdoba Zoo
The Centro de Conservación Zoo Córdoba is on Avenida de Linneo. It has more than 500 animals from over 100 species on about four and a half hectares, a size a small child can cover without wearing out.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday, public holidays included. If Monday is a holiday it opens that day and closes the next. It closes at 18:00 from November to February, at 19:00 in March, June, September and October, and at 20:00 in April and May. In July it opens mornings only, until 14:00, and in August it is closed. The ticket office shuts half an hour before closing.
Tickets cost €5.50 for adults aged 17 to 64 and €3 for children aged 5 to 16, students, pensioners and over-64s. Under-5s go free with an adult, and large families with the official Spanish card get 50% off at the ticket office. Eating is allowed only in the marked areas and pets are not admitted.
Ciudad de los Niños y las Niñas
This is a fenced municipal play park run by IMGEMA, the council's environment institute, right beside the Zoo. The play equipment is for children up to 14, and children must come in with an adult.
According to its price page, entry costs €2 for adults and €1 for children aged 5 to 12 and over-64s. Under-5s do not pay. A joint ticket with the Zoo costs €7 for adults and €3.50 for children.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday and closes on Mondays unless Monday is a holiday. Hours change with the season. In summer they are split in two, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 20:30 to 23:00, and for the rest of the year the park opens through the day. Check the hours for your date on its website, because the council's own pages do not all agree.
Royal Botanic Garden
It is on the same avenue. The garden opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, and its two museums, on ethnobotany and fossil plants, from 10:00 to 14:00. It closes on Mondays, on 1 and 6 January and on 24, 25 and 31 December.
Entry costs €3 for adults and €1.50 for children from the age of 5, students and pensioners. It is a quiet walk among plants, good for slowing down once the Zoo has tired everyone out.
Royal Stables: horses by day, a show in the evening
The Caballerizas Reales can be visited Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:30 to 18:30. They close on Sunday and Monday. Entry costs €5 for adults and €1 for children aged 3 to 12. Under-3s go free.
What children like most is watching the riders train. Training runs from 11:30 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, except Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning, and times can change, so ring ahead if that is why you are going.
The equestrian show 'Pasión y Duende del Caballo Andaluz' is performed Wednesday to Saturday at 19:00. Tickets are sold through the online box office of Córdoba Ecuestre, which publishes the price for each session. You need to be seated 25 minutes before the start, and filming is not allowed.
The Calahorra Tower and a walk by the river
The tower stands at the far end of the Roman Bridge, which is closed to traffic. Inside is the Museo Vivo de al-Ándalus, eight rooms with an audioguide included that take about an hour, and at the top a terrace looking over the Mezquita and the river.
General admission is €4.50 and reduced €3. From November to February it opens from 10:00 to 18:00. In March, April, May and October it closes at 19:00, and from June to September it opens from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:30 to 20:30. It is a tower, so ask at the ticket desk where to leave the pushchair.
Crossing the bridge and carrying on along the south bank to Miraflores park is a free walk where children can run about after a museum.
Almodóvar Castle
The castle is in the town of Almodóvar del Río, outside the city, and a car is the easiest way to get there. The general visit is self-guided along a signposted route through towers and battlements. It costs €11 for adults aged 14 to 64 and €6 for children aged 5 to 13.
From October to March it opens Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 14:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00, and at weekends and on holidays from 11:00 to 19:00. At weekends there is a dramatised visit at 12:00 and 16:30, led by costumed characters, at €16 for adults and €11 for children. With babies a carrier works better than a pushchair.
Medina Azahara with children
Entry is free for European Union citizens and €1.50 for everyone else. You leave the car at the museum car park and ride up to the ruins on a shuttle bus that runs every 15 to 20 minutes. The return ticket costs €3, or €1.50 for children aged 5 to 12 and over-65s, and it is free up to the age of 4.
The full visit takes between two and a half and three hours. With children, start at the museum, which is indoors, and go up afterwards. The ruins are outdoors, so in the hot months go first thing in the morning. From 21 September to 20 March the site opens Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 9:00 to 15:00.
When it is very hot or raining
In July and August the plan changes. The Zoo opens mornings only in July and closes in August. The Ciudad de los Niños switches to early morning and night. Medina Azahara opens the ruins from 19:00 to midnight, Tuesday to Saturday, from 21 June to 20 September.
For a rainy day, the Archaeological Museum is free for European Union citizens and has the remains of the city's Roman theatre in its basement. Outside summer it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 21:00 and on Sundays from 9:00 to 15:00. The museum also posts its educational programmes and suggested routes on its website.
