Gastronomic Andalucía - Food, wine, art and architecture

Begin at the magnificent Picasso Museum, which combines Phoenician ruins beneath a fine 16th-century palace and a collection which places emphasis on his earlier works and the women in his life. A light lunch before an afternoon drive to the handsome town of Úbeda, whose streets and squares are lined with palaces, one of which is our hotel. First of two nights in Úbeda.

The town of Úbeda thrived in the 16th century and is richly endowed with Renaissance monuments. Lunch is at the town’s most innovative restaurant, Antique. The Arab Castle of Canena is deep in olive-grove country of the Guadalquivir valley and home to the Vañó family, famed producers; tasting and visit here.

Drive west to Córdoba and focus on La Mezquita, one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in the world, and within it the 16th-century cathedral. Walk through the old Jewish quarter, with 14th-century synagogue, before a Moorish lunch at Noor (3 Michelin stars), where chef Paco Morales only uses ingredients that were available in Al-Andalus. Continue to Seville for the first of four nights.

Drive north to the Sierra de Aracena, the low mountains which form the border with Extremadura. Here we taste the exquisite jamón ibérico. There is an optional walk in the foothills along farm tracks lined with oak, chestnut and olive trees and livestock. Alternatively remain in the town of Aracena. Dinner is at a tapas restaurant in Seville’s atmospheric Old Town.

Begin at the Alcázar, one of Spain’s greatest buildings, built by Moorish architects for Spanish kings, with its courtyards, gardens and magnificent tapestries. The 15th-century cathedral is one of the largest Gothic churches anywhere, with a Late Gothic retable and paintings by Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya. Lunch is at Restaurante Abantal, whose chef was the first in Seville to win a Michelin star. Late afternoon visit to the Fine Arts Museum, the finest collection in Spain after the Prado.

Drive south to Jerez, at the heart of sherry production. Visit and tasting at Bodegas Tradición, also home to an impressive art collection. Continue to the historic port of Cádiz, laid-back and unspoiled. Lunch is at legendary seafood restaurant El Faro, which takes fish frying to a new level and is the best place in Spain to eat line-caught bass baked in a salt crust.

Free day in Seville perhaps to visit the 15th-century Casa de Pilatos, a mix of Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance styles, or the church and hospital of the Caridad, Seville’s most striking 17th-century building, with paintings by Murillo and Valdés Leal. Drive to Seville airport for the late-afternoon flight to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 7.30pm.