If you've ever seen El Cid, you know that the Moors invaded Iberia then the Spanish chased them out.

Of course, that took almost 800 years—and in the process created Europe's most fascinating and frankly gorgeous culture. Seville is the suavest of cities. The Alhambra? The way water in all its gurgling, splashing variety is used to cool the air that whispers through beautiful stone fretwork is unimaginable. The vastness of la vega—the province's plain—is truly cinematic, scattered with whitewashed villages, punctuated by ruined alcazares (fortresses), and carpeted in vineyards, swatches of gnarled olive trees and stately groves of poplar. We stay in several of Spain's finest paradors. And the walks—in both city and country, through mosques and Spanish palaces—are gentle revelations every step of the way. Our local guides are exceptionally well-connected so you get introductions to ceramicists, the families that own the olive groves, even the Alhambra's resident wood inlay expert. Can you tell? Andalucia is one of our favorite places on earth.