Free monuments and museums in Córdoba: which ones and when

Free for everyone

None of these asks for ID or a passport:

• Mosque-Cathedral (Mezquita-Catedral), Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30. Individual visitors only, no groups, and not on days with a special celebration. At 9:20 the doors close and staff begin clearing the building.
• C3A, Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía (Calle Carmen Olmedo Checa), a contemporary art centre. Free admission. Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 to 20:00, Sundays and holidays 11:00 to 15:00. Closed on Mondays and on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and 1, 2 and 6 January.
• The Roman Bridge (Puente Romano) and the Puerta del Puente gate, which you can cross at any hour.
• The Judería, the old Jewish quarter: the Calleja de las Flores alley, Plaza de Tiberíades with the statue of Maimonides, the Almodóvar Gate and the stretches of wall beside it.
• The Zoco Municipal de Artesanía, a Mudéjar courtyard with craft workshops in the Casa de las Bulas.

Free for European Union citizens

Museums and sites run by the Junta de Andalucía, the regional government, are free for 'accredited EU citizens'. In practice that means showing a national ID card or passport at the desk. Everyone else pays €1.50, except at the Synagogue, which costs €0.30. Have coins ready.

• Museo Arqueológico (Plaza de Jerónimo Páez, 7). From 16 September to 15 June, Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 to 21:00, Sundays and holidays 9:00 to 15:00. In summer, Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 15:00. Last entry 15 minutes before closing.
• Museo de Bellas Artes, the Fine Arts Museum (Plaza del Potro, 1). Same hours as the Archaeological Museum.
• Synagogue (Calle Judíos, 20). Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 15:00.
• Medina Azahara (A-431 road, km 5.5). From 21 September to 20 March, Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 to 18:00, Sundays and holidays 9:00 to 15:00. Admission is free, but the shuttle from the museum to the ruins costs €3 return and is the only way up.

Free if you live in Córdoba or are under 17

The city's own museums are free for residents of the municipality of Córdoba and, wherever they come from, for under-17s, unemployed visitors, visitors with a disability of 33% or more (plus a companion if needed) and European teachers and official guides. Proof is required.

That is what the official ticket site publishes for these three places, all open Tuesday to Sunday:

• Gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. General ticket €6.71 online. The interior of the Alcázar is closed for restoration.
• Baños del Alcázar Califal (Caliphal Baths). General ticket €3.11 online.
• Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum). General ticket €4.91 online.

Free by age, origin or disability

Beyond the free slots and the public museums, these are the free categories published by the Mosque-Cathedral, Palacio de Viana and the Medina Azahara shuttle:

• Mosque-Cathedral: children under 10, people born or resident in the diocese of Córdoba, holders of the 'Andalucía Junta 65' card, visitors with a disability above 64% plus a companion, and ICOMOS members.
• Mosque-Cathedral bell tower: people born or resident in the diocese, and children aged 7 to 9. Under-7s are not allowed up.
• Palacio de Viana: children under 10 on every type of visit. The patios are also free for visitors with a disability above 33%.
• Medina Azahara shuttle: children aged 0 to 4.

What is no longer free, or only partly

Out-of-date information is still doing the rounds. Rule these out before you plan the day.

• Palacio de Viana on Wednesdays: in November 2026 the palace's website publishes no free slot for the general public.
• Alcázar gardens: entry was free in summer 2025, from 2 July to mid-September. Now they are ticketed, apart from the municipal free categories.
• Mosque-Cathedral on Sundays: the 8:30 to 11:30 session is a paid tourist visit. The free slot is Monday to Saturday only.
• Medina Azahara: admission is free for EU citizens, the shuttle is not.

A free day in Córdoba, hour by hour

This plan works from Tuesday to Saturday on the winter timetable and costs an EU citizen nothing. A visitor from elsewhere pays €3.30 in total: €0.30 at the Synagogue and €1.50 at each museum.

• 8:30. Mosque-Cathedral in the free slot. Be at the door on time, because clearing starts at 9:20.
• 9:30. Calleja de las Flores, then up through the Judería to Plaza de Maimónides and Calle Judíos.
• 10:00. Synagogue, Plaza de Tiberíades, the Zoco and the Almodóvar Gate.
• 11:30. Museo Arqueológico, on Plaza de Jerónimo Páez.
• Midday. Roman Bridge and Puerta del Puente, then lunch.
• Afternoon. Museo de Bellas Artes, on Plaza del Potro, open until 21:00.
• Late afternoon. C3A, open until 20:00, if contemporary art interests you.

What changes on Mondays, Sundays and in summer

Monday is the worst day for this plan. The C3A and the municipal museums close, and so do the regional museums, the Synagogue and Medina Azahara unless the Monday is the eve of a public holiday. What remains is the free slot at the Mosque-Cathedral, which does run on Mondays, and everything you can see from the street.

Sunday is the reverse: there is no free slot at the Mosque-Cathedral, and the regional museums, the Synagogue and Medina Azahara close at 15:00. Fit everything into the morning.

In summer, from 16 June to 15 September, the Archaeological and Fine Arts museums open only from 9:00 to 15:00. Medina Azahara opens in the morning until 14:00 and again from 19:00 to 24:00, Tuesday to Saturday, for the archaeological area only.

The regional museums close on 1 and 6 January, 1 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December.