A Córdoba patio is a working courtyard inside an ordinary house, whitewashed and hung with pots. San Basilio, in the Alcázar Viejo quarter, has the highest concentration of them and is where most visitors see one.
⭐ The practice was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2012. In May the city holds a festival and competition, and patios that are private the rest of the year open to anyone who walks in.
⚠️ Outside the festival a smaller number stay open, some free and some ticketed, and which ones varies. If the patios are why you are coming, the month matters more than anything else on this site.
They are people's homes. The etiquette is to be quiet, not to go into the house, and to ask before photographing anyone.
May if you can. Otherwise accept you will see fewer, and go in the morning when they are watered and the light is still low.
The Patios of San Basilio, photographed
