Live News From Spain As It Happens

With summer drawing to a close, but plenty of warm weather still on the horizon, this is the perfect time for those without school-age kids to hit the road and explore some of Spain's most picturesque locations. 

One of the architectural staples in many Spanish towns and cities are the bridges - both ancient and modern. Some of them are so iconic they attract hordes of visitors from far and wide every year; others are less well known, but no less worth a visit if you’re prepared to go a little off the beaten track. 

Our road trip starts in Spain's largest autonomous community - Andalusia - specifically in the historic city of Córdoba, then travelling out to Granada, before moving southwards and westwards. Province after province in this region has bridges worthy of a road trip detour. One or two are not for the faint-hearted, but the rest are easily accessible to anyone.

Córdoba - Puente Romano

Spanning the Guadalquivir river, Córdoba’s Roman Bridge was originally built by the Romans in the early 1st century BC. It is thought that the Via Augusta, which connected Rome to Cádiz, most likely passed through it in its original form. Its current shape dates from the Islamic reconstruction in the 8th century, when the city’s Muslim governor, Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, ordered a bridge to be built on the ruins of what was left of the old Roman construction. The result is an elegant structure with 16 arcades, reflecting the famous Arab architecture that dominates Córdoba’s famous scenery. In the Middle Ages, the Calahorra Tower and the Puerta del Puente were built at the bridge's southern and northern ends respectively (the latter is now a 16th-century reconstruction). In the 17th century, a sculpture depicting St. Raphael by Bernabé Gómez del Río was erected in the middle of the bridge. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com