Seville to Granada
Across Andalusia to the Alhambra

Santa Justa was built for the 1992 arrival of Spain's first high-speed line, and it still feels like it - a long, light-filled brick hall where the departure boards mix Madrid AVEs with Andalusian Avants. The station sits about twenty minutes' walk north-east of the cathedral and Santa Cruz quarter; city buses and taxis cover it in ten.

Like every Spanish high-speed station, Santa Justa puts luggage through an X-ray scanner at the platform access, so arrive fifteen to twenty minutes before departure rather than sprinting in at the last call. Once through, boarding is simple: find your coach number on the platform screens, and your seat is printed on the ticket.

The first leg borrows Spain's original high-speed line, running north-east up the Guadalquivir valley through orange groves and wheat towards Córdoba - the same forty-odd minutes the Madrid AVEs cover in the other direction. At Córdoba the train reverses its logic: this is where the route stops heading away from Granada and starts heading towards it.

Córdoba is also the connection point that makes the corridor work. Coming from Madrid, you can change here from any Seville-bound AVE onto the Granada Avant (direct Madrid–Granada AVEs run too, via the same Antequera branch); and if you have never seen the Mezquita, Córdoba station is fifteen minutes' walk from one of the great buildings of Europe - a tempting mid-journey stopover.

The map says detour; the timetable says hub. Córdoba is where Andalusia's railways meet, and this train uses that.

South of Córdoba the train joins the Córdoba–Málaga high-speed line and crosses the Campiña - a rolling sea of olive trees and white towns, with a stop at Puente Genil-Herrera serving the surrounding countryside. At Antequera the routes divide: Málaga trains continue south towards the coast, while yours turns east onto the newest piece of this journey.

The Granada branch opened in 2019, finally connecting the city to Spain's high-speed network after years of buses bridging the gap. The line calls at Loja, threads the hills, and then opens onto the Vega de Granada - the fertile plain below the city - with the Sierra Nevada rising ahead on clear days. It is the scenic payoff of the trip; sit on the right side from Antequera for the mountain view.

Granada's station is a modest terminus on Avenida de Andaluces, a flat fifteen-to-twenty-minute walk north-west of the cathedral - or a few minutes by taxi or city bus from the stops outside. The compact scale is good news: within half an hour of stepping off the train you can be in the Moorish lanes of the Albaicín with the Alhambra glowing across the valley.

For the Alhambra itself, head first to the centre and take the dedicated Alhambra minibus or a taxi up the hill - it is a steep climb on foot. One thing the train cannot fix: entry tickets are limited per day and sell out well ahead in high season, so book the Alhambra when you book the train, not when you arrive.

Avant sits between Spain's ordinary regional trains and the long-distance AVE: high-speed trains and reserved seating, but a single class and simpler, more stable fares aimed at frequent travellers. Every ticket is for a specific departure with an assigned seat - there is no turning up and boarding the next train with an open ticket - so pick your departure time when you book, and note that Renfe sells various flexible and bundled fares if your plans might move.

Pass holders are well served here: Interrail and Eurail are valid on Avant with a paid seat reservation that is typically cheaper than AVE reservations, bookable via Renfe stations, the operators' booking channels or the pass apps. Andalusia rewards a pass - Seville, Córdoba, Granada and Málaga form a compact network of short hops where the reservations stay small and the days stay flexible.

Seville to Granada works best as one side of a triangle. From Granada, direct AVEs run to Madrid up the same Antequera branch, and Avant services connect back towards Málaga and the Costa del Sol via the Antequera junction - so a Seville → Granada → Málaga loop, or Madrid → Granada → Seville, needs no backtracking and no car.

The classic week looks like this: Madrid to Seville on the AVE, two days of Santa Justa's city; this train to Granada with a Córdoba stopover for the Mezquita; then onward to Málaga for the coast or straight back to Madrid by AVE. Every leg is high-speed, every city centre is walkable, and the hire car never happens.

Andalusia by rail is a triangle, not a line - Seville, Córdoba, Granada and Málaga, all a reserved seat apart.