La Fiesta de los Patios de Córdoba will be traditionally held from 2 to 12 May: what awaits tourists in 2024

One of the brightest and most unusual festivals in Spain, La Fiesta de los Patios de Córdoba (Courtyard Festival of Cordoba) will traditionally be held from 2 to 12 May. This is the time when the inhabitants of Córdoba compete among themselves in the beauty and originality of the design of their patios. And everyone can visit these unique spaces, famous for their original architecture and a huge number of flowers planted in beds and pots, free of charge. Patios are also decorated with arrangements of cachepots hanging on the walls, ornamental trees, beautiful garden furniture, antique utensils, fountains and wells. 

The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city every year, because at other times most of these locations are closed to outsiders. La Fiesta de los Patios de Córdoba was first held in 1921. And in 2012 UNESCO awarded it the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

In the competition, which is organised by the City Council of Córdoba, 52 patios compete and another 10 are out of competition. All have traditionally participated in the festival from 1921 to the present day. 

Two categories of courtyards compete in the competition: courtyards of old architecture and courtyards of modern or restored architecture. The first category includes courtyards that were built before the 1960s and have retained their basic design features. The second includes courtyards belonging to houses built after the demolition of the previous ones. And also those courtyards that have been so modified over time that they have lost their most important elements.

On the official festival website you can find an interactive map of the routes through the patios, download a brochure, and read other useful information. 

Entry to the patios is free and no prior booking is required.  Throughout the festival, they can be visited from 11:00 am to 2:00pm and from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The exception is the last day, when the patios will close at 8:30 pm. Photos can be taken with prior permission from the patio owner. It is always worth remembering that this is private property and you should behave accordingly. 

Some patios have joined associations and welcome tourists all year round. You can find out more about them on the website of the Instituto Municipal de Turismo de Córdoba (IMTUR).

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Photo from patios.cordoba.es