Seville City Guide: Things to do

As city-breaks go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better destination for a few days away than Seville. A quick Google will turn up any number of things to do and sights to see here. However, having now spent a collective seven months living in the heart of the old town, I’m starting to consider myself an authority on which of those aforementioned sights are genuinely worth the visit, and which amount to no more than a poxy waste of your valuable time. Thus, I’ve set about writing my own Seville guidebook, albeit in installments and blog form.

First and foremost, a note about when to come. Contrary to popular belief, Seville does in fact have seasons. I laughed out loud when my mother, visiting in mid-November, suggested she bring shorts. While you may check your weather app in January, see that the highs are 17 degrees here and think ‘Giddy Ho, let’s get some winter sun’ you need to realise it’s still COLD sun, and apartments and streets here are built to let the heat out, not retain it. Cold months are from late October/November to March. This is perfect city break weather if you ask me. As long as you didn’t expect to come home with a tan. For some proper sun, optimal temperatures (26+degrees) are April to June, or early October. July and August are stifling, avoid coming to Seville during those months at all costs. Unless you love walking around in 40 degree heat, then by all means.

In all likelihood, you will be visiting Seville at a weekend, but if you can swing a midweek break at all, then that’s undoubtedly a better time to come. Seville is crazy on Saturdays – throngs of tourists and locals alike line the streets and it’s a struggle to get from one place to another. Also, Spain closes on Sundays. Yep, the whole country just shuts its doors. Or at least the doors of its shops, cafes and supermarkets. Expect a far superior experience if you can avoid the madness of the weekend and be here between Monday and Friday.

Regardless of when you choose to visit, the most important thing is what to do and where to do it. The following places have my resounding endorsement, or in some cases, my scathing contempt.

Real Alcazar
It took me until very recently to visit Sevilla’s Real Alcazar (Royal Palace) for the first time and I can’t for the life of me justify why. It was only when some family came to visit the city that I eventually made it there and all I can say is wow. It immediately topped my list of my favourite places in Sevilla. Some might be interested to hear that this palace is one of the locations for a little-known, low-budget tv series called Game of Thrones. The very small group of people who’ve seen this show will recognise it as Dorne.
Be wary of the queues to visit the Alcazar. You can book tickets online, but that just means you’ll join the faster line for people with online bookings. The palace opens at 9.30am and I arrived without a booking at that time on a Saturday and queued for no more than 20 minutes. (This was in February – expect to queue for much longer in high season.) Tickets are €11.50 (or free if you’re a resident of Sevilla and you have your NIE with you). We spent over 2.5 hours exploring the palace and gardens and opted for the audio guide – €6 each but we got one between four of us and took turns giving dramatic renditions of the information to each other. However you can also go with a tour guide (starts at about €30pp) for some more in-depth knowledge.

Plaza de España, Maria Luisa Park & Plaza de America
The first time you see Plaza de España, it will take your breath away. It’s also likely to happen on your second and third visit too. (Although not so much if you’re unlucky enough to only be there to attend the Department of Foreign Affairs – where dreams go to suffocate in bureaucratic red tape.) It’s a marvel of architecture and symmetry, but you’ll probably find yourself a little bit disappointed to discover it’s actually less than 100 years old. Nevertheless, it is not to be missed if you’re visiting Seville – it’s also free and open 24/7. If you have the time, go twice – early in the morning to see it quiet(ish) in daylight, and then again at night to see it lit up. The Plaza is located in Maria Luisa Park, which is far bigger than it appears at first glance – spend some time walking around the park while the many parrots squabble around over head. There’s no shortage of picnic spots, and even a cafe if you’re feeling so inclined.

Maria Luisa Park is also home to Plaza de America, where you’ll find both the Museum of Archaeology and the Museum of Arts and Customs. Both are beautiful buildings, well worth seeing, but failing a desperate need for the loo, don’t bother going in. For EU residents, all Seville’s museums are free; for non-EU visitors the cost is minimal, I think about €1.50. Yet you’ll never be refunded the time you waste walking around them. Take it from me, a lover of good museums, they’re rubbish.

Guadalquivir River Walk
The best thing to do in Seville is to walk or cycle around it – but it’s easy to get lost because the streets are tiny, winding, one-way and they all look the same. However, if you’re looking for a more peaceful, scenic route, you don’t need to look past the river. Starting from Maria Luisa Park, the walk stretches the length of Seville’s centre, and beyond. Along the way, you’ll see Torre del Oro, the Bull Fighting Ring and Triana Bridge, all landmarks in their own right. If you’re feeling adventurous and are wearing comfortable shoes – or better still, you’re on a bike – continue on past a number of Seville’s more questionable sites (the shells of Expo 92) and cross at Alamillo Bridge to access the massive Alamillo Park.

Turkish Baths
The Turkish Baths, or Aire Sevilla, are definitely a luxury not all may be ready to fork out for, but hey, you’re on your holidays, so treat yourself. It’s essentially a very fancy spa, but the building and its interiors are gorgeous and you’ll feel like you’re in another world for the couple of hours you spend there, plus you can make back some of your money by drinking your body weight in tasty tea. There’s also a fabled rooftop bath with views of Giralda Tower, but I can neither confirm nor deny its existence as you have to pay extra to use it and I’m not made of money.

Metropol Parasol/Las Setas
Known as ‘Las Setas’ (the Mushrooms in Spanish) this is a relatively new structure in Sevilla – it was only completed in 2011. Despite its short life, it has had no shortage of controversy; ask most locals and they’ll tell you they hate it. I, however, love it. The Setas has a viewing platform wrapped around the top with views of the whole city, which you can access for just three of your hard-earned euros. I’ve been up it a few times now at various times of the day, and you won’t find a better view than at sunset. You can expect a queue at this time, so factor that in, but it generally moves pretty quickly.

The Meh List:

Seville Cathedral – I mean if you really love a good Church, then by all means, cough up the €10 to go inside the Cathedral. My parents enjoyed it, but they’re far better Catholics than I am. During your visit, you’ll see the tomb of Christopher Columbus, a number of Murillo’s paintings, some fancy alters and you can test your stamina with a climb to the top of Giralda Bell Tower. Overall though, I wouldn’t put actually going inside that high on your list of priorities. Walking around the exterior is sufficiently impressive and far cheaper for the less devout.

Triana Market – I have never understood the appeal. It’s an indoor market and unless you’re planning on buying the ingredients to make your dinner, there’s really nothing to see here. The food and drinks are overpriced and everywhere smells like fish.

Any of the museums – See above comments about Plaza de America. The same applies for the Museum of Fine Arts. Although perhaps if you enjoy baroque art and Murillo it would be more to your taste than to mine.

Parting Words:

Look Up! But also down…
It may be paradoxical, but this is the best advice I can give you for any trip to Seville. Sometimes you don’t even realise how beautiful the buildings in the old town are until, having past a place 20 times already, you look up and spy its beautiful mudéjar or gothic architecture. However, it’s also essential to look down while pounding the cobbles, because the city is home to more dogs than you can imagine and their poop is EVERYWHERE. So perhaps work in shifts for the look up, look down tour.