Since the Neolithic era, Andalusia has preserved important megaliths, such as the dolmens at the Cueva de Menga and the Dolmen de Viera, both at Antequera. Archeologists have found Bronze Age cities at Los Millares and El Argar. Archeological digs at Doña Blanca in El Puerto de Santa María have revealed the oldest Phoenicians city in the Iberian peninsula; major ruins have also been revealed at Roman Italica near Seville.

Some of the greatest architecture in Andalusia were developed across several centuries and civilizations. Such is the case of the Alhambra complex or the Cathedral of Córdoba.

The traditional architecture of Andalusia retains its Roman with added Persian and Egyptian influences brought by Arabs, with a marked Mediterranean character strongly conditioned by the climate. Traditional urban houses are constructed with shared walls to minimize exposure to high exterior temperatures. Solid exterior walls are painted with lime to minimize the heating effects of the sun. In accord with the climate and tradition of each area, the roofs may be terraces or tiled in the Roman imbrex and tegula style. One of the most characteristic elements (and one of the most obviously influenced by Roman architecture) is the interior patio or courtyard; the patios of Córdoba are particularly famous. Other characteristic elements are decorative (and functional) wrought iron gratings and the tiles known as azulejos. Landscaping—both for common private homes and homes on a more lavish scale—also carries on older traditions, with plants, flowers, and fountains, pools, and streams of water. Beyond these general elements, there are also specific local architectural styles, such as the flat roofs, roofed chimneys, and radically extended balconies of the Alpujarra, the cave dwellings of Guadix and of Granada’s Sacromonte, or the traditional architecture of the Marquisate of Zenete.

The monumental architecture of the centuries immediately after the Reconquista often displayed an assertion of Christian hegemony through architecture that referenced non-Arab influences. Some of the greatest Renaissance buildings in Andalusia are from the then-kingdom of Jaén: the Jaén Cathedral, designed in part by Andrés de Vandelvira, served as a model for the Cathedral of Malaga and Guadix; the centers of Úbeda and Baeza, dating largely from this era, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Seville and its kingdom also figured prominently in this era, as is shown by the Casa consistorial de Sevilla, the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, or the Charterhouse of Jerez de la Frontera. The Palace of Charles V in Granada is uniquely important for its Italianate purism. Andalusia also has such Baroque-era buildings as the Palace of San Telmo in Seville (seat of the current autonomic presidency), the Church of Our Lady of Reposo in Campillos, and the Granada Charterhouse. Academicism gave the region the Royal Tobacco Factory in Seville and Neoclassicism the nucleus of Cádiz, such as its city hall, Royal Prison, and the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva.

Revivalist architecture in the 19th and 20th centuries contributed the buildings of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 in Seville, including the Neo-Mudéjar Plaza de España. Andalusia also preserves an important industrial patrimony related to various economic activities.

Besides the architecture of the cities, there is also much outstanding rural architecture: houses, as well as ranch and farm buildings and dog houses.