Discover our best beach and coastal hotels in Andalucia, Spain

Like the paintings of Andalucia’s famed native son, Pablo Picasso, this region is vivid, bold and occasionally overwhelming. With eight provinces to explore, repeat visits beckon; because each ancient city offers a unique flavour of authentic Spanish culture: Almeria’s rock-carved dwellings, the Moorish flowered filigree of Granada’s gorgeous Alhambra, Seville’s mosques and bullfighting rings and abundant whitewashed and rock-hewn World Heritage sites scattered throughout. There are plenty of playas to play on too, perfect-for-basking-on coastline on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and a calendar full of raucous religious festivals. Andalucia is sprawling and surprising with vast deserts and salt flats (it's easy to see why Sergio Leone found the region the ideal location for a shoot 'em up), and after a canter through the badlands there’s no greater pleasure than watching Sevillana dancers in a cosy bar, sloshing a sherry about and tucking in to tapas followed by something pungent and porky.