Andalusia

Andalusia has two coasts and they feel very different. The Mediterranean side runs from the Costa del Sol around Málaga, Marbella and Nerja to the dry volcanic coves of Cabo de Gata in Almería, where the water is calm, clear and warmest, reaching about 24°C in August. The Costa del Sol is the easy choice, with long promenades, beach bars and resort towns, though the sand is often grey and the shore heavily built.

The Atlantic Costa de la Luz, from Cádiz down to Tarifa, is the better coast for sand: wide golden beaches at Bolonia, Zahara de los Atunes and Conil backed by dunes and pine woods, and the city beach of La Caleta in Cádiz. The water is cooler, around 20-21°C, and the levante wind can make some days hard work. Swimming season runs from June to October, longest in the south-east.

Eating here is built around the tapas bar, standing at a zinc counter with a small plate and a glass, then moving on. Seville's Triana and the streets around the cathedral are the classic ground, while Granada keeps the custom of a free tapa with every drink. The cooking is distinctive and seasonal: salmorejo and gazpacho in summer, pescaíto frito and shellfish along the coast, oxtail in Córdoba, and jamón ibérico from the oak pastures of Huelva.

Drink is just as local. Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar make up the sherry triangle, where fino and manzanilla are poured cold with almonds and prawns, and bodega visits are part of the day. Covered markets in Seville, Cádiz and Málaga are worth a morning. Cooking is mostly traditional, and the creative restaurant tier is smaller than the bar culture.

Few regions hold so much of the first rank. Granada's Alhambra, a palace and fortress of the Nasrid kings above the Albaicín quarter, is the single greatest Islamic monument in Europe. Córdoba's Mezquita, a vast forest of striped arches with a cathedral built inside it, sits in a whitewashed old Jewish quarter. Seville has the largest Gothic cathedral in the world with the Giralda tower, the Mudéjar palaces of the Real Alcázar and the Plaza de España.

Beyond the big three are the Renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza, Ronda on its gorge, the old seaport of Cádiz and Málaga with its Moorish fortress and the Picasso Museum. The heritage is layered Roman, Moorish and Christian, and seeing it well means several cities rather than one.

Nights start late and run on the street. In Seville, people gather on terraces around the Alameda de Hércules and in Triana long after dinner at ten, and the spring fair turns the city into a week of dancing in marquees. Granada has a large student population and cheap, crowded bars below the Albaicín, and Málaga's old town fills with bars and late terraces.

For clubs, the Costa del Sol is the place in summer: Marbella and Puerto Banús for glossy beach clubs and late venues, Torremolinos for a long-standing gay scene. Tarifa has a laid-back surfer crowd. Inland towns are quieter, and outside summer the coast settles down.

The landscape is far more varied than the sunbaked image suggests. The Sierra Nevada rises above Granada to nearly 3,500m, with skiing in winter and high walking in summer, and the terraced villages of the Alpujarras on its southern slopes. West of Málaga, the Caminito del Rey walkway clings to a gorge, El Torcal is a maze of limestone towers, and the Grazalema hills are green and good for walking.

On the coast, Doñana's marshes are one of Europe's great wetlands for birds and the Iberian lynx, and Cabo de Gata is volcanic semi-desert above the sea. Tarifa is a world centre for kitesurfing and windsurfing, with dolphin and whale trips into the Strait. Spring and autumn are best, as inland summers are very hot.

Whichever city you stay in, the list of days out is long. From Seville, Carmona and the Roman ruins of Itálica are close, Jerez offers sherry bodegas and horse shows, and Cádiz and El Puerto de Santa María are about an hour by train. From Málaga, Ronda, the dolmens of Antequera and the hill villages of Nerja and Frigiliana are easy, and Gibraltar is a short drive along the coast.

The white villages of the Cádiz hills, such as Arcos, Zahara and Grazalema, make a fine driving day, and from Tarifa a ferry crosses to Tangier in Morocco in about an hour. Many of the best outings are easiest by car.

The Costa del Sol is the easiest base with children: calm, sandy beaches with gentle water, promenades, water parks, a zoo in Fuengirola, an aquarium at Benalmádena and resort hotels geared to families. Seville has a theme park on its old Expo site, Granada's Parque de las Ciencias is an excellent hands-on science museum, and the Western film sets in the Tabernas desert near Almería are a novelty.

Children are welcome everywhere and are often out late with their parents on summer evenings. The difficulty is heat: inland cities in July and August can pass 40°C, so city sightseeing with young children works best in spring or autumn.

The main cities are well joined. High-speed trains link Seville, Córdoba and Málaga, Córdoba is under an hour from Seville, and Granada is on the same network. Old centres are compact and best walked, though narrow lanes and summer heat slow you down. Seville and Málaga have tram and metro lines, and a coastal train runs from Málaga along the Costa del Sol.

Beyond that, a car makes life much easier. Motorways are good and quiet, but the white villages, mountain areas and the Costa de la Luz are served by infrequent buses, and the Almería coast is far from the rest. Parking in old towns is hard, so leave the car outside the centre.

Shopping here is best for things that are made here. Triana in Seville has long been home to tile and ceramic workshops, Seville's Calle Sierpes and Tetuán are the main shopping streets, and flamenco dresses, shawls and fans are sold for real use rather than as souvenirs. Granada's Alcaicería, the old silk market below the cathedral, sells lanterns, leather and inlaid boxes, though much of it is tourist stock.

Ubrique in the Cádiz hills is known for leather goods, and Marbella and Puerto Banús have the region's luxury fashion boutiques. Málaga's Calle Larios is a handsome shopping street. Beyond these, the range is ordinary.

Andalusia is one of the cheaper parts of Western Europe for eating and drinking. Tapas and a glass of wine or beer cost little, especially in Granada and Jaén, where a free tapa comes with each drink, and lunchtime set menus are good value. Buses and regional trains are modestly priced, and some monuments are free at certain times.

Rooms vary more. Seville during Holy Week and the spring fair, Marbella and the Costa del Sol in July and August are expensive, while inland towns, the Almería coast and quieter Atlantic villages are much cheaper. The Alhambra and the big monuments charge standard entry.

This is the home of flamenco, and it is the reason to come. Seville has nightly performances in small venues in Santa Cruz and Triana, as well as more informal shows in local bars. Jerez is the most serious flamenco town, with its peñas and a well-known festival in late winter. In Granada, the zambra is danced in cave houses in Sacromonte. Seville's Bienal de Flamenco, held every other autumn, is the largest event in the art.

Beyond flamenco, the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville stages opera and concerts, Málaga's Teatro Cervantes has a regular season, and Granada's summer festival of music and dance holds concerts in the gardens and palaces of the Alhambra. The classical and theatre programme is respectable rather than deep.

Andalusia has a gentle bathing tradition. Granada, Córdoba, Seville and Málaga each have bathhouses in the style of the old Moorish baths, with warm and hot pools under vaulted brick and massage, though these are modern recreations rather than a living local habit. Small thermal spa towns such as Lanjarón in the Alpujarras and Alhama de Granada offer a quieter, old-fashioned cure.

On the coast, Marbella and its surroundings have the large resort spas, golf hotels and wellness retreats. The pace helps too: long lunches, the afternoon rest in summer and quiet country houses in the hills make it easy to slow down, away from the cities.