Cordoba Roman Bridge

The bridge was built in the first century BC on the Via Augusta and has been rebuilt so often, by Visigoths, Umayyads, Almohads and later Spanish administrations, that little Roman fabric survives above the foundations; sixteen arches carry it about 250 metres across the Guadalquivir with the Mezquita on one bank and the Torre de la Calahorra, a Moorish gate tower now holding a museum of Andalusi culture, on the other. A statue of the Archangel Raphael, the city's protector, stands mid-span with candles left at its base. It was pedestrianised in 2004, and the view back toward the mosque-cathedral at sunset, with the water mills and the Albolafia wheel below, is Cordoba's standard image.

What you actually see

• The sixteen arches - a much-rebuilt Roman bridge across the river.
• The Calahorra tower - a Moorish gate tower with a museum inside.
• The Archangel statue - a mid-span figure with candles at its foot.
• The Mezquita view - the mosque-cathedral seen across the water.

When to go

Spring and autumn for comfort; May brings the patio festival and fills the city. Sunset and the hour after are when the bridge is busiest and the light best. Cordoba's summer heat is among the most extreme in Europe.

Honest expectations

Almost nothing visible is Roman despite the name. The bridge is crowded from late afternoon with photographers and tour groups. There is no shade on the crossing.

Nearby

The Mezquita is at the northern end; the Juderia and the Alcazar lie beyond it.