Traveleriences
Plaza de España in Seville

Seville, Spain

Ideal: 2–3 daysBest: Mar–May, Oct–NovPrice: Moderate
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In 60 seconds

Seville in 60 seconds

Seville is Andalucía at its most theatrical: the Alcázar's Mudéjar courtyards, a Gothic cathedral built over a mosque, whitewashed lanes in Santa Cruz and tapas bars where the bill is chalked on the counter. Book the Alcázar and the cathedral online and see them in the morning; in the afternoon heat the city closes its shutters, and so should you. Cross the river to Triana for its ceramic workshops and tapas, hear flamenco in a small peña rather than at a dinner show, and walk the Plaza de España at sunset. The centre is walkable and the tram fills the gaps. Spring is the season — Holy Week and the April Fair — and summer is fiercely hot. Two or three days is right.

Romantic

Best for

  • History
  • Food
  • Architecture

Known for

  • The Real Alcázar
  • Tapas
  • Flamenco

Skip if

You are travelling in July or August, when afternoons regularly pass 40°C and the city shuts down until evening.

Your match

Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Seville fits them. Choose interests

See

Must experience

The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.

Plaza de España

1929 exhibition plaza

A sweeping semicircle of brick and tiles, with an alcove for each Spanish province, beside the Parque de María Luisa.

Parque de María LuisaFreePhotos

Eat

Where to eat

A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?

Local

Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.

Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo

Moderate

Old-style grocery and tapas

Cheese, cured meats and stews in a 17th-century house, reviving the old abacería — part shop, part bar.

San LorenzoLocalSherry

Casual

No booking, no ceremony, reliably good.

Mercado de Triana

Inexpensive

Market on the castle ruins

A food market built over the Castillo de San Jorge, with tapas counters among the stalls.

TrianaLunchMarket

Special occasion

Worth planning the evening around.

Coffee & fika

Mornings, and the slow hour between things.

Virgin Coffee

Inexpensive

Seville's first specialty coffee shop

Small-batch beans roasted in-house, near the Palacio de las Dueñas.

San Juan de la PalmaRoasterySmall

Parcería

Inexpensive

Specialty coffee on Calle Feria

A specialty café on Calle Feria, known for its waffles and small terrace.

FeriaTerraceWaffles

Beyond the obvious

Hidden gems

Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.

Hospital de los Venerables

Inexpensive

Baroque almshouse and Velázquez centre

A 17th-century home for elderly priests, with a frescoed church and paintings by Velázquez and Murillo.

Santa CruzArtBaroque

After dark

Bars & nightlife

Casa Morales

Inexpensive

Wine shop turned bar · 1850

Sherry from big earthenware jars and montaditos, in a bar that began as a wine shop.

ArenalHistoricSherry

Vinería San Telmo

Moderate

Wine bar

A long wine list with plenty of sherry, and good advice on what to try.

Santa CruzSherryWine

Orientation

Neighbourhoods

How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.

Santa Cruz

The old Jewish quarter

Narrow whitewashed lanes and small plazas between the Alcázar and the cathedral.

Triana

Ceramics, flamenco and the river

Across the Guadalquivir: tile workshops, the market and the bars where flamenco was born.

Alameda de Hércules

Bars and terraces

A long tree-lined square that is the centre of Seville's evening and alternative scene.

Stay

Where to stay

Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.

Santa Cruz

Expensive

Beside the sights

On the doorstep of the Alcázar and the cathedral; busy by day, calm at night.

CentralCharming

El Arenal

Expensive

Between the cathedral and the river

Central, close to the bullring and the riverbank, with good tapas bars.

CentralRiver

Alameda

Moderate

For evenings out

Livelier and better value, a walk from the old centre.

NightlifeValue

Practical

Know before you go

Getting in
An airport bus links San Pablo airport with the centre; Santa Justa station has high-speed trains to Madrid and Córdoba.
Getting around
The old centre is best on foot; a tram runs along the Avenida de la Constitución.
Money
Euro. Some small tapas bars prefer cash.
Heat
In summer, sightsee in the morning and rest through the afternoon as the city does.

Plan this trip — useful links

Visita Sevilla — official tourism site (opens in a new tab)Renfe — trains to Córdoba and Madrid (opens in a new tab)

Context

History in 5 minutes

Enough to make what you are looking at legible.

  1. 1248

    Ferdinand III of Castile takes Seville from the Almohads.

  2. 1503

    The Casa de Contratación makes Seville the monopoly port for trade with the Americas.

  3. 1929

    The Ibero-American Exposition gives the city the Plaza de España.

Further out

Nearby escapes

Worth a day if you have one to spare.

Córdoba

The Mezquita

The great mosque-cathedral and its white-walled old town, under an hour by high-speed train.

By high-speed trainFull dayHistory

Carmona

Hilltop town with Roman roots

A walled town with a Roman necropolis and wide views over the plain.

By busHistoryQuiet

Jerez de la Frontera

Sherry bodegas and horses

The home of sherry: bodega tours and the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.

By regional trainFull daySherry

Go further

Routes through Seville

Multi-city trips that stop here, with the transport between them.