Cordoba Synagogue

Cordoba Synagogue tickets and tours: which one to book

The Cordoba Synagogue is a state-run monument and costs almost nothing to enter: visitors from the European Union go in free and others pay a token sum at the door. There is no online booking and no timed slot, but the building is tiny and only a limited number of people can be inside at once, so short queues form at busy times. Most people see it as part of a walking tour of the old town. The usual format is a guided walk of two to three hours that combines the Mosque-Cathedral with the Jewish Quarter, the synagogue and the narrow lanes around it, with a licensed guide and skip-the-line entry to the Mosque-Cathedral included and the synagogue visited with the guide at the door.

Some walks add the Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs or a tapas stop; private tours can be tailored to Jewish heritage, taking in the Casa de Sefarad museum and the statue of Maimonides. The sensible choice is to book a guide for the Mosque-Cathedral, which is vast and complex, and to visit the synagogue on your own afterwards, since it takes only 15 minutes and is a two-minute walk away. A Jewish heritage tour is worth it if this part of the city's history is your main interest, as the guide can explain the inscriptions and the life of the community that once filled these streets.

Visiting Cordoba Synagogue: what to see and how to behave

The synagogue stands on Calle de los Judios in the heart of the Juderia, the medieval Jewish Quarter, a short walk north-west of the Mosque-Cathedral. Built in 1314 and 1315 and attributed to a man named Isaac Moheb, it is one of only three medieval synagogues to survive in Spain. Its modest size suggests it was a private prayer room or study house rather than the main congregational synagogue of the city. You enter through a small courtyard and a vestibule into a single square prayer hall. The walls are covered with Mudejar plasterwork, carved panels of interlaced plant designs, geometric patterns and bands of Hebrew inscriptions taken from the Psalms, framed by horseshoe arches and lobed niches.

Look for the niche on the east wall that once held the Torah scrolls, and up to the gallery on the south side, reserved for women and reached by a stair from the vestibule. The original wooden ceiling is gone, but much of the stucco survives remarkably intact. After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 the building became a hospital for rabies sufferers and then the chapel of the shoemakers' guild, which helped it escape destruction. Declared a national monument in 1885, it was restored in the 20th century and is now a museum rather than a place of worship. Speak quietly and allow others room in the small hall; photography without flash is usually permitted. Afterwards, step out into the little square named after Tiberias, where a statue of Maimonides, the Cordoba-born philosopher, sits beneath the trees.

Cordoba Synagogue: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The synagogue is closed on Mondays and open the rest of the week from morning until mid-afternoon, with longer hours on some days; check the current times locally, as they change with the season. Come first thing in the morning or early in the afternoon, when the tour groups have moved on and the hall is quiet enough to read the inscriptions. Spring, from March to early June, is the best season in Cordoba: the orange trees are in blossom and in May the city celebrates its famous patio festival, when private courtyards in the old town open to visitors.

Summer is fiercely hot, often above 40 degrees in July and August, so sightseeing is best done before noon. Easter week brings processions through the old town and crowded streets. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the synagogue itself. Combine it with the Mosque-Cathedral, the Casa de Sefarad, the Zoco crafts market across the street and an evening walk to the Roman Bridge.