Church in Antequera
Also known as Real Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor
Paid entryThere is an entry charge.
The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria la Mayor is the Renaissance church crowning the Alcazaba hill in Antequera, and it is worth the climb. It was one of the first religious buildings in Andalusia built in the Renaissance style, so instead of the heavy Baroque interiors you see everywhere else in the south, you get a clean, columned space that feels almost like a Roman basilica. The square out front is the postcard view of the town, looking back over the rooftops to the tilted bulk of Pena de los Enamorados.
The smart way to see it is on the way up to the Alcazaba of Antequera. The church sits right next to the Arco de los Gigantes and just below the fortress, with the Roman Baths of Antequera down in the streets nearby, so the whole hilltop is one easy walk. The Alcazaba viewpoint itself is free, but the church charges a small entry. It is normally sold as a combined ticket with the Alcazaba, so buy the bundle once and do both in a single visit rather than paying twice.
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Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Moorish hilltop fortress crowning Antequera, with the Torre del Homenaje keep giving commanding views over the town, the vega plain, and the tilted profile of Pena de los Enamorados. It sits in the same precinct as the Arco de los Gigantes and the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria la Mayor, so the whole oldest part of town folds into one climb.
Renaissance triumphal arch built in the 1580s as the monumental gateway into Antequera's upper town, deliberately built with Roman inscriptions and carved stones gathered from the area. Free to walk through, and it frames the classic view back over the rooftops toward the Pena de los Enamorados.
Former Carmelite church in the upper town of Antequera, known for an extraordinary gilded Churrigueresque main altarpiece that fills the entire east wall.
The sanctuary of the Virgen de los Remedios, patron saint of Antequera, sits right on Calle Infante Don Fernando, the town's main pedestrian street, so it costs nothing to step inside on a walk through the centre.
Mannerist parish church in the Antequera old town, free to step into and a regular stop on the town's Palaces and Churches walking route. One of the dense cluster of religious buildings that earned Antequera its nickname, the Florence of Andalusia, alongside neighbours like the Church of Los Remedios and the Convent of Madre de Dios.
Church on the central Plaza de San Sebastian in Antequera, best known for the brick bell tower topped by the Angelote, a winged-angel weathervane that has become an informal symbol of the town and is visible from across the centre.
Working out what Antequera costs?
The whole of Antequera