In the balmy south of Spain, Seville is an ancient city of easy-going locals and a well-chronicled past. I love a good historical city, so visiting Seville was the perfect opportunity to put my poor Spanish to the test and explore Andalusia for the first time.
Seville did not disappoint. I was confronted by so many emblems of Spain: tapas, flamenco, orange trees, and mosaics on every street corner.
Using this 3-day itinerary, I explored Seville whilst embracing the laidback ethos of the locals. From the intimacy of flamenco houses to the grandeur of the historic centre, it was the perfect introduction to Seville.
Spending longer in Seville? Check out my 7-day itinerary for more of Seville’s highlights.
I dedicated my first day in Seville to exploring the city’s most iconic, historical sites. Both the royal palace and the cathedral are situated in the medieval neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, which is the perfect place to a get a feel for the city.
For me, Seville’s Royal Palace was definitely one of the most impressive places in the city. I found myself easily getting lost in the complex of patios, halls and winding corridors. At every turn there was another tiled courtyard or suite of rooms to uncover.
And that’s even before we made it out to the extensive gardens! In fact, outside and inside seemed almost to be blurred, with the open patios blending seamlessly into the shaded gardens.
My highlight was the Baths of Maria de Padilla. I vaguely remember there being a crowd pushing to see the baths close up. However, the peacefulness of the scene in front of me was so at odds with this. Soft, orange light shone on the arches that aesthetically framed the baths. The water was so still it could have been a mirror. Despite the crowds around me, it made for a very serene environment.
The neighbourhood that houses the Alcázar is Santa Cruz, and it’s one of the most popular areas in Seville. The former Jewish quarter, the streets are still narrow and twisting, and often hard to navigate.
Though the winding streets were exciting to wander, my favourite thing about Santa Cruz was the food! There were so many incredible tapas restaurants to choose from. The food we ate in Santa Cruz was so good that we returned multiple times throughout our trip, walking literal miles from where were staying.
Yet while it’s now catered to visitors, Santa Cruz isn’t overwhelmingly touristy. I felt that the old houses and plazas still retained a little authenticity from Seville’s medieval past.
The Gothic structure of Seville’s cathedral dominates the surrounding plaza, with spindly turrets and pointed spires. We happened to visit when the skies were extremely overcast. The dark cathedral walls appeared even more menacing against the backdrop of a stormy sky.
La Giralda, the bell tower that adjoins the cathedral, loomed over the streets with matching austerity. We climbed to the very top of the tower, and were rewarded with views over Seville.
Despite the gloomy sky, the colours of the city seemed remarkably bright from above. The houses made a patchwork of white and yellow with dull orange roofs. Beneath the tower, in the cathedral’s courtyard, I could make out neat rows of orange trees, not quite in bloom.
On my second day in Seville, I explored more of the historical city centre. I also visited two panoramic viewpoints over the city, one ancient and one modern, but both intriguing in their own way.
The crumbling walls of Casa de Pilatos’s main gate disguise a really quite fancy building inside. It might be called “casa”, but it is most definitely a palace. In fact, I learnt that the house is still the main residence for the Ducal House of Medinaceli. If that doesn’t sound fancy, I don’t know what does!
While the interior was packed with priceless antiques, it was the house’s exterior that I fell in love with. Sun-soaked courtyards were filled with marble statues and colourful mosaics. The gardens were neatly trimmed, if wilting slightly in the Andalusian heat. Fountains trickled gently, tempting us out of the shade provided by the terraces. It was a calm oasis in the middle of dusty, hot Seville.
The largest wooden structure in the world, the Metropol Parasol resembles a massive lattice that blooms from the ground like mushrooms. That’s how it got its Spanish name of “setas” AKA “mushrooms”, but I thought it also looked like a cloud floating above the streets below.
However, the Setas aren’t just decorative. We ascended a lift inside one of the “stems” and stepped out on top of the structure. Walkways snake across the wooden lattice, interspaced with viewpoints where we could look down on the city.
I’m definitely a child of the city, but I do love seeing cities from above. That way I’m in my element, but away from all the hustle and bustle. We wandered around the top of the structure, pointing out the places we recognised and making the most of panoramic views over Seville.
Heading north, the Basílica de la Macarena is hard to miss due to its bright yellow exterior. This Catholic church hosts one of the most popular and impressive Good Friday processions in the whole of Spain. This is potentially because the basilica houses Seville’s most prized religious possession: a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary.
The Basílica de la Macarena gets its name from the neighbourhood of Macarena, in which it is located. A guide explained to us that the prized wooden statue is thus also known as La Macarena, and in turn many Spanish women have been named after her. This includes, he told us, Macarena from the famous song! Whether or not this is true is questionable . . . but he did say it was good for business!
Just outside Seville’s ancient city walls is the Torre de los Perdigones. It uses something called a camera oscura to project live images of Seville into the tower. Even after witnessing it, I’m not too sure how it works, except I think it involves a giant mirror.
The great thing about the camera oscura is that we could see much further than we would have done from the tower’s balcony. Our guide was able to zoom in on any place we pointed to, meaning we could discover areas of Seville we hadn’t explored yet. He essentially gave us a guided tour of Seville without us ever leaving the tower!
I spent most of my final day in Seville exploring the south of the city, including the distinctive neighbourhood of Triana. I finished the day with a quintessential Seville experience: an amazing, live flamenco performance.
The neighbourhood of Triana is located in the south-west of Seville, across the river and out of the old town. It’s a very distinct neighbourhood, with the locals considering themselves to be unique and different from the rest of Seville. It’s probably most famous for its tile and pottery production, and there’s definitely no shortage of either of those things in Seville!
Most of Triana’s highlights are located along the river:
Maria Luisa Park, in the south of Seville, hides Plaza de España, which is such a hidden gem.
The park itself is pretty enough and reminded me a lot of Madrid’s El Retiro Park with its wide, hedge-lined avenues. There are also museums in the park, which we paid a little visit to.
But it was Plaza de España that took my breath away. I had not come across this square in a single guidebook or blog post about Seville. Yet it is hands down one of the most beautiful places in the city. The plaza is actually an oval, with an enormous, semi-circular building curving round one side. This is framed by canals, which it’s possible to boat down. (Though the canals lead nowhere, this made me fall in love with Plaza de España even more!)
With mosaics and high arches, the plaza was designed with such perfect symmetry and intricacy that it looked like a toy model, instead of a real location. Its beauty took me completely by surprise, and I fell in love with it.
Possibly my favourite experience in Seville was watching a flamenco performance at Seville’s Museum of Flamenco Dance.
First, we visited the museum itself to learn all about the history of flamenco dance. As museums go, this was a good one. There was a nice variety of media, including a hands-on instrument section and even an art gallery.
However, the highlight of the museum came when we returned that evening. We were led down into the vaults below the museum and seated with just a few others. A glass of (free!) sangria in my hand, we were treated to an incredible flamenco performance. With the live music echoing around us as the dancers performed, the evening was incredibly intimate and atmospheric.
Seville struck me as a very chilled out city. Despite the heat, I never felt in any hurry. There is plenty to do in Seville, but I managed to see the city’s incredible cultural and historical sites without ever rushing around.
Seville is one of the few cities I’ve visited where sightseeing didn’t feel frantic or forced, but like an actual holiday! I think I have the city’s friendly and easy-going atmosphere to thank for that. It felt natural to meander through the different neighbourhoods and drink the city in.
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2 Comments
Jenni · 09/07/2019 at 8:03 AM
Seville looks absolutely delightful! All those tiles! Thank you for the guide, really intrigued to go now.
Daisy · 09/07/2019 at 10:34 AM
Yay so glad to hear that Jen! Maybe your next housesit destination…?!