How to visit the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba for free

How the free hour works

The slot runs from 8:30 to 9:30, Monday to Saturday. The Chapter does not publish any booking system for it, so the only way to get the full time is to be at the door at 8:30. On busy dates, arrive with time to spare.

What is left out: groups, Sundays and days when the Cathedral holds a special celebration. The bell tower is not part of it either. It has its own ticket and its first slot is at 9:30. If you are travelling around Holy Week, Christmas or 8 December, check the opening-hours tool on the official website first, which lets you look up any date.

Fifty minutes is enough to walk through the forest of columns and red-and-white arches, reach the mihrab (the prayer niche of the old mosque) and see the cathedral nave built in the middle of it. For a slower visit, with an audio guide or an official guide who explains the successive enlargements, it is worth paying and going in from 10:00.

Normal ticket prices

The general visit costs €15. Reduced and free tickets need proof, so carry your passport, student card or disability certificate:

• €12: over-65s, students aged 15 to 26 and holders of the European Youth Card (Carné Joven).
• €8: children aged 10 to 14, visitors with a disability of up to 64% and adults from large families ('familia numerosa', a Spanish official status).
• €6: children aged 10 to 14 from large families.
• Free: people born or resident in the diocese of Córdoba, children under 10, holders of the 'Andalucía Junta 65' card, visitors with a disability above 64% plus one companion, and ICOMOS members.

Opening hours for tourist visits

In November, December and January the Mosque-Cathedral opens Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00. On Sundays and religious holidays the visit is split in two, 8:30 to 11:30 and 15:00 to 18:00, with Masses in between. In summer and in October 2026 it closed at 19:00.

Ticket sales and admission stop half an hour before closing. Audio guide rental ends one hour before.

The timetable changes more often than you would expect. In November 2026 there are afternoons when it closes at 16:00 and one Saturday when it does not open until 12:30. On 8 December it opens 8:30 to 10:30 and 14:00 to 18:00, on 24 December 10:30 to 14:00, and on 25 December only 9:00 to 11:30. Look up your date in the Chapter's hours tool before you go.

The bell tower is a separate ticket

Climbing the Torre Campanario costs €4. It is free for people born or resident in the diocese of Córdoba and for children aged 7 to 9. Under-7s are not allowed up, and children aged 7 to 14 must go with an adult.

Slots leave every half hour from 9:30 (until 18:30 in November 2026). Each lasts 30 minutes and takes at most 22 people. You climb on foot, up narrow stairs, to about 40 metres, which the Chapter compares to a twelve-storey building. Wheelchairs and pushchairs cannot go up, and the rules advise against it if you are pregnant or have vertigo, claustrophobia, or heart or breathing problems.

Tickets are sold at the Patio de San Eulogio visitor centre and at the machines beside the tower entrance.

The night visit, 'El Alma de Córdoba'

This is a guided walk with lighting, sound and projections that starts in the Patio de los Naranjos (the orange-tree courtyard) and lasts around an hour. It costs €25, or €18 reduced (over-65s, visitors with a disability, students up to 26 and children from 7). Under-7s go free, without an audio guide and with an adult.

Each session takes 100 people and the audio guide comes in nine languages, English included. Times shift with the month: 20:00 and 21:30 from November to February; 21:00 and 22:30 in March and October; 21:30 and 23:00 in April, May and September; 22:00 and 23:30 from June to August. It does not run every day (in November 2026, two sessions on Fridays and Saturdays, the odd one midweek and none on the Sundays checked), so buy ahead. Photos and filming are not allowed, and bags larger than 35 centimetres are refused.

Dress code and rules inside

The Mosque-Cathedral is a working Catholic church, and the rules say so at every step. What to know before you reach the door:

• Clothing suitable for a place of worship and head uncovered: no caps or hats inside.
• No bare feet, and no taking your shoes off inside.
• Photos are fine, but no tripods, and never during a service.
• Large bags and rucksacks are refused, as are food and drink.
• No animals except guide dogs.
• Under-14s must be with an adult.

Best time, accessibility and what is nearby

The free hour is also the quietest, because there are no groups. If you would rather pay and take your time, 10:00, when the general visit opens, is a good hour from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday mornings the 8:30 to 11:30 session is ticketed and stops for Mass.

Step-free access is through the Puerta de Deanes. Wheelchairs can be borrowed, there are adapted toilets and material for blind visitors. Visitors with a disability pay a reduced price, or nothing (with one companion) above 64%.

Your Mosque-Cathedral ticket includes free entry to the Fernandine Churches route (Ruta de las Iglesias Fernandinas), which costs €6 on its own. Close by are the Judería, the old Jewish quarter with its synagogue, and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, where only the gardens are open at present.