Seville, or more properly Sevilla, is the capital and heart of Andalucia, a stunning city with so much to see and so much to eat! For hundreds of years it was ruled by the Moors, and the Islamic influence can be seen in much of the architecture and decoration.
My wife and I went there in early October 2019. Temperatures were still reaching the mid thirties - that’s the nineties for American readers - and hotter than it would normally be at that time of year. It is said to be Europe’s hottest city. Unless you enjoy extreme heat, visiting in July and August is to be avoided.
Even on our trip, by 3pm you needed to find shade or take a siesta. It remained hot until the sun went down at about 7.30pm.
If you’re an early riser, you can take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures and the golden light cast on the buildings when the sun first rises. Many of the streets in the old town are narrow so naturally shaded most of the time, and in the wider shopping streets large shades are strung between the tops of buildings.
The most popular sights are the cathedral - the world’s largest by volume built to encompass the extent of the mosque that once stood there - and the Alcazar Palace, a world heritage sight and an outstanding example of ‘Mudejar’ architecture, a fusion of Islamic and Christian styles with incredible arches and tile patterns on the walls. Outside are huge gardens to enjoy, now also famous for being used in ‘Game of Thrones’.
Being such an iconic place, however, the lines are long. Even joining the line for the Palace at 9am, it can take two and a half hours to get in. So how do you avoid that? Either book on line in advance or pay to join a guided tour. Those who have done so get preferred entry, and those who haven’t are only admitted in small groups of about twenty once every fifteen minutes.
You can’t book online for the next day, and to have a good choice of time slot you should book several days in advance. If you go and queue early, there’ll be guides touting for business and you can pay the extra to get fast entry. They weren’t expensive, only 25 Euros including entry, compared to the normal entry price of 11.5 Euros.
When it came to the cathedral, I had already read about the solution. If you go to the much less visited Iglesia del Salvador, which is less than a ten minute walk away and which opens at 11 am, you can buy a ‘combinada’ for 9 Euros. With that ticket you can then enter the cathedral without joining the long line. Iglesia del Salvador is also worth visiting in its own right.
Other sights which we loved were:
Casa de Pilatos, a smaller version of the Alacazar, with great tile work and fewer people;
Plaza de Espana, built in the 1920s for an exhibition but truly impressive in scale and architecture;
Metropol Parasol, a huge wooden structure, nicknamed ‘las setas’, the mushrooms, and completed in 2011. Take the lift to the top and enjoy the view across the city. Alternatively, climb la Giralda, the former minaret, next to the cathedral for a bird’s eye view of Seville;
Archivo de Indias by the cathedral. An archive of maps and papers from when Seville was the point of departure for world exploration, growing hugely wealthy on plunder from the New World. When we visited, the papers weren’t on display. Instead, there was an exhibition about Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, the world’s first.
Do lose yourself in the city’s alleyways, particularly in Barrio Santa Cruz, east of the Alcazar. Once the Jewish quarter, until the Catholic monarchs forced the Jews out before eventually expelling them from Spain altogether, it is an enchanting maze of narrow streets often opening onto unexpected small squares of orange trees.
Also do cross the river, the Guadalquivir (derived from the Arabic for big river), to Triana, a grittier and less touristed part of town.
Seville is a very walkable city. We clocked up about 8 miles a day walking around. It’s also bicycle friendly with many bike lanes.
The food in Seville we found to be either pretty awful (such as those eateries on Argote de Molina just north of the Cathedral ) or excellent, so some prior research pays off.
Our favourites were:
La Azotea in Calle Mateos Gago ( just east of the Cathedral) - a modern tapas bar. The cold garlic soup and fresh tuna tacos were amazing.
La Mariatrifulca, in Triana on the far end of the bridge, Puente de Triana. Book well in advance if you want to sit on the roof deck overlooking the river. There is also seating in the bar area with windows overlooking the river and a basement restaurant with views. My wife had the seared tuna and I the fried sea bass. The white chocolate soup for dessert was deliciously indulgent.
L’Oca Guiliva, an Italian restaurant in Mateos Gago. One of the best Italian restaurants that I’ve experienced. The Caprese is large - the most enormous tomato which I have ever seen sliced and skewered and filled with mozzarella. It could be shared as definitely should the ginormous cheese plate. The fresh pastas were so tasty. We had gorgonzola, pear and walnut fagottini and fettuccine with mushrooms and truffle. Yum!
Miss Tems - another tapas bar. This time in Plaza San Francisco. Sit outside for a great view of the palatial El Ayuntamiento, the town hall.
Mama’s Bistro - next door to, and sister restaurant to, L’Oca Guiliva but offering Spanish food. I had blackened cod tempura to start and then the turbot. Both were excellent.
Do visit Bar El Commercio in Calle Lineros, the city’s most famous bar for churros, long fried donuts ( and order chocolate for dipping ). Stand at the bar and rub shoulders with the locals. I ordered churros for two but it was way too much, so again one to share is enough. You can always order more as with tapas. It is easy to over order otherwise.
The Spanish wines we were served were without fail good and very reasonably priced. And do try some of their freshly squeezed orange juice. Seville is well known for its oranges.
And of course, there is flamenco. Tourist focussed shows abound. It is said the true flamenco can be found in Triana, or the ‘penas’, flamenco social clubs in remoter parts of the city where you may well be the only foreigner present. We saw a small show in Plaza Santa Cruz. In what apparently is the genuine style, the dancers performed individually, working themselves into a trance while a man played guitar and two others clapped a beat and uttered guttural sounds reminiscent of the muezzins calling people to prayer in Muslim countries. A fusion of all that is Seville - Arabic, Spanish and Romany.
Hotels are plentiful but good ones aren’t cheap. We opted for an Air BnB just a couple of minutes from the cathedral. Opening the huge front doors to our building - Seville is replete with some of the biggest and most impressive doors which I have seen anywhere - we left the busy street and entered a world of calm. An internal courtyard contained orange trees and a soothing fountain. It felt so much more Spanish than a hotel room.
I recommend that you visit the rooftop bar at the EME Catedral Hotel at night for an atmospheric view of the cathedral and Giralda illuminated as they are watched by the moon just as they have been for centuries.
Seville is well situated for other places to visit. The ancient coastal town of Cadiz is 90 minutes by train, and Jerez, the centre of the sherry industry, about an hour. The jewel in the crown, Cordoba, is only forty minutes on the Ave ( the bird ), Spain’s high-speed train which can also get you to Madrid in two and a half hours should you feel so inclined.
Cordoba was the capital of Moorish Spain, and at the time a great centre of culture and learning. Its star attraction is La Mezquita, a cathedral built over the original mosque. The interior with its nearly nine hundred arches is breathtaking. There is also an Alcazar, without the impressive rooms of the one in Seville, but with attractive gardens and fewer people. Walk across the bridge in front of the cathedral and look back on the ages of Cordoba - a large Roman archway (restored), a modern arts building and the Mezquita. Definitely worth a day trip.
Granada and Tangiers in Morocco are also doable but involve very long days, and won’t do justice to seeing those two places properly. Should you be tempted, however, we heard that advance booking for the Alhambra in Granada is essential.