Seville

Why visit Seville

Seville is the city most people picture when they think of Andalucía: orange trees in the squares, horse carriages outside the cathedral, flamenco drifting out of Triana's bars and processions filling the streets in Holy Week. As the river port that controlled trade with the Americas in the sixteenth century, it grew rich, and that wealth still shows in its palaces, churches and archives. The historic centre is compact and flat, so you can walk or cycle between the main sights, and the city's network of trams, metro and suburban trains makes half-day trips easy. It suits first-time visitors, culture lovers and anyone who enjoys a city that lives outdoors, especially in spring and autumn when the heat is gentler.

What to see and do in Seville

Start with the Royal Alcázar, a working royal palace whose Mudéjar halls, tiled courtyards and gardens span a thousand years, then cross the square to the Cathedral, where the tomb attributed to Christopher Columbus lies beneath the Giralda, the former minaret you can climb by ramps. The General Archive of the Indies sits between the two. The Santa Cruz quarter, once the Jewish neighbourhood, is a maze of whitewashed lanes and small squares. Further south, María Luisa Park shades the curved, tiled Plaza de España, built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. Casa de Pilatos and the Palacio de las Dueñas show how Seville's nobility lived, the Museum of Fine Arts holds Murillo and Zurbarán, and the Torre del Oro guards the riverbank as a small naval museum. For views, walk the wooden walkways of the Metropol Parasol above the Encarnación market. Across the river, Triana keeps its pottery workshops and flamenco roots, and the Real Maestranza bullring offers guided visits.

A day in Seville

Begin early at the Royal Alcázar before the queues build, then cross to the Cathedral and climb the Giralda. Lose yourself in the lanes of Santa Cruz for lunch at a traditional tavern. In the afternoon, walk through María Luisa Park to the Plaza de España, then follow the river past the Torre del Oro. Cross the Triana bridge at sunset for tapas in Triana and finish with a flamenco show.

Food and local life

Seville is a tapas city. Order standing at the bar in old taverns such as El Rinconcillo, Bar Las Teresas or Casa Morales, and try espinacas con garbanzos, pringá, fried fish from a freiduría and a cold glass of manzanilla. The markets of Triana, Feria and the Arenal are good for a morning wander, and the riverside Mercado Lonja del Barranco gathers food stalls under one roof. Evenings belong to flamenco, from small tablaos in Santa Cruz to bars in Triana, and the Flamenco Dance Museum explains the art before you see it live.

Around Seville

Seville is the hub of the Metropolitana de Sevilla comarca. Just north, the Roman city of Itálica in Santiponce has one of the largest amphitheatres of the Roman world, and the castle at Alcalá de Guadaíra stands above a riverside park. Carmona, with its Roman necropolis and Moorish gates, is 30 minutes east, and Doñana's marshes, the sherry towns and the white villages are all within easy reach.

See every town and village on the Metropolitana de Sevilla page.

Getting there and around

Seville has its own airport about 10 km from the centre, and Santa Justa station links the city by high-speed train to Córdoba, Madrid and Málaga, with regular services to Cádiz and Jerez. The centre is best explored on foot, by bike or by tram; driving in the old town is restricted. Spring brings Holy Week and the April Fair, when hotels fill and prices rise, while July and August are very hot. Day trips reach Itálica in nearby Santiponce, Carmona, Jerez, Cádiz and the white villages of the Sierra de Cádiz.