Top Ten Attractions
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The Cathedral and La Giralda
One of the largest and grandest Gothic cathedrals in the world, containing the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The Giralda bell-tower can be climbed to give spectacular views of the city.
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The Alcázar
The royal palace … a jewel box of patios and halls laid out with terraces, fountains and pavilions.
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Torre del Oro
The tower of gold, built by the Moorish rulers to guard the city. Now a maritime museum.
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Plaza de España
A vast semi-circular complex with fountains, staircases and an alcove with tiles representing each of the provinces of Spain.
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Maria Luisa Park
Seville’s main green area: a welcome place to relax on a hot summer’s day.
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The Archive of The Indies
A vast collection of maps and documents charting Seville’s pre-eminent role in the colonisation and exploitation of the New World.
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Barrio Santa Cruz
One of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city, its winding streets lined with shops and cafes.
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Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza
Seville’s bullring, holding 12,500 spectators, is one of the finest in the whole of Spain. http://www.realmaestranza.com
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Basílica de la Macarena
This church holds Seville’s most revered image, the Virgin of Hope, the centrepiece of the city’s Holy Week pageant. http://www.hermandaddelamacarena.org
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Tablao Los Gallos
Popular flamenco club featuring lively nightly performances. http://www.tablaolosgallos.com
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For full details of these attractions, go to http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville
Eating and Drinking
Despite the beautiful Alcázar, the lofty cathedral and the wealth of inspired art, your best moments in Seville could well be spent eating. The traditional savoury snack, tapas, was invented here and it’s the place in Spain that it is done best. In reality, there’s little distinction between restaurants and tapas bars in Seville; most of the former include an area to stand and snack, while at the latter you can usually sit down and order raciones (meal-sized portions). Accepted practice is to stand at the bar, have at most a couple of tapas in each, and have a taste of what your friends are eating. A standard tapa will cost 1 or 2 Euros. Another Spanish institution is the menú del día, a filling, set price, three-course meal offered at lunchtime (roughly 1330-1530). These normally cost 5-10 Euros but will be more (and usually poorer value) in more expensive restaurants. On the tapas run, people tend to drink wine or beer. Spanish lager is good, particularly Cruz Campo; and you should at least try the local finos and manzanillas, dry sherries that don’t appeal to all palates but are a great accompaniment to seafood.
Shopping
Seville offers a wide selection of shops for buying arts and crafts, clothing, leather goods and gifts and its shopping districts are always full of people and activity. The historic centre, around La Campana and the pedestrian streets of Tetuán and Sierpes, include traditional shops selling ceramics, guitars, flamenco costumes, fans and embroidery as well as modern shops of fashion, music, etc. Nervión, near the Santa Justa station, contains several department stores. On the west bank of the Guadalquivir River, old Seville meets the new. Since Roman times, pottery has been made in Triana and this is where the best ceramics can be found. The biggest open-air markets are those of the Plaza del Duque and the Plaza de La Magdalena, which sell leatherwork and costume jewellery among other things.
Antique Shops The Alfalfa neighbourhood, especially around the Cabeza del Rey, Don Pedro Street and adjacent roads, contains a large number of antique shops and galleries that exhibit and sell contemporary art. The rest of the city's antique shops are located in the shopping district. An antiques fair is held every year in the old Plaza de Armas train station. Another opportunity for buying and selling antiques is the market held on Thursdays on Feria Street.
Spanish shops tend to close during the siesta, except for department stores and touristy souvenir shops. Typical opening times are 0930-1330 and 1630-2000.
Night Life
During the summer months, the crowds tend to flock towards the cooler river areas of town called the terrazas, while during the winter months, the best places are towards the centre of town. Seville has lively nightlife and many options for the evening. Flamenco bars range from professional performances in tablaos to off-the-cuff venues in local Triana bars. If the pub scene is more to your liking, then there are the regular cervecerias, international pubs known as the cerveza internacional, the mixed drink bars known as bares de copas, Irish, English and Scottish pubs known as irlandes, inglés y escoses, and for the truly unusual, there are the bares de Semana Santa, which give you a glimpse into the festival of the same name. There are also several good discos, jazz clubs and other good venues for music. For relaxed non-alcohol venues, there are the teahouses or teterías en Sevilla, in the Morocco neighbourhood that offer teas, fruit drinks and pastries from afternoon thru the evening. In addition, there is a lively gay and lesbian scene in Seville.
