We spent a little over three weeks in Seville, Spain, between September and October. We didn’t do a lot of research and really had nothing planned except to relax after having walked the Camino de Santiago. We didn’t know what we’d be up for after such a potentially challenging trip so we kept our plans loose. By the time we got there though, we felt great and started to discover what there was to explore. We stayed on the northern end of the old town and everything listed here was walkable from our place. The farthest was probably 45 minutes, and the nearest was maybe 10 minutes away.
I intended to put these in order of most interesting, but that’s so subjective. I’ll just give a spoiler and say that my favorite was probably the Navigation museum, but if you’ve only got one day in Seville… you really should see the Cathedral.
Another take, if you don’t mind crowds and really want to see the top attractions clearly your “must” list would be:
- Real Alcázar of Seville
- Catedral de Sevilla
- Plaza de España
If you want to see some less crowded spots that are probably not on the short list of most, I think that these are the hidden gems:
- Pabellón de la Navegación
- Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo
- Cementerio de San Fernando
What follows are the activities that we enjoyed which would appeal to someone visiting the city.
Las Setas
Price: €15
Wikipedia – Las Setas
Its official name is ‘Metropol Parasol’ but everyone calls it Las Setas which translates to ‘The Mushrooms’. Las Setas is a cultural landmark which was completed in 2011. The structure, amazingly, is actually made of wood. There are samples of the materials used for its construction which was quite a surprise to me because it just looks like metal from looking at it.
Prices vary because there are group discounts, but for the two of us I think that it was about 27 euros to walk on the top. We were easily able to just walk over and purchase them. We didn’t need to have them in advance.
The admission is worth it to get to walk on top of it and take in the surrounding view of the old town part of Seville. There are other attractions inside including an aquarium underneath, but we were really just interested in the amazing building.
Cementerio de San Fernando
Price: Free
Wikipedia – Cementerio de San Fernando
Ok, we found this place by accident. On Google maps it just looks like a large park. We just walked that direction without doing much research and were… surprised to find that it was actually a huge, historic cemetery. It was a pleasant surprise. The level of artistic flair in the tombs makes it more of an outdoor museum.
The museum was blessed and put into use in 1853 and is the final resting place to many bullfighters, guitarists, poets, sculptors, politicians, athletes and flamenco singers. It also contains some monuments to those who died in military conflicts and some mass graves.
Besides the amazing artistry we were surprised to see that the decorative monuments on the surface had doors and stairs leading below ground which appeared to contain spaces for many members of the family.
The cemetery was a happy accident and something that I was very glad that we found. The cemetery is free to visit, but check for what hours it’s opened. I think that Google was accurate.
Catedral de Sevilla
Price: €12
Wikipedia – Catedral de Sevilla
The cathedral is a major tourist attraction so you should get your tickets ahead of time. When construction was completed in the 16th century it surpassed Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to become the largest Byzantine church in the world. It held that title for more than a thousand years.
The cost to enter is 12 euros and the entry is timed to manage the huge flow of visitors. Inside you’ll be amazed by the incredibly detailed and ornate chapels inside. It has an astounding 80 separate chapels inside. Oh and it’s also home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
Usually the first thing one does upon entering is to climb to the top of the bell tower for panoramic views of the city. You have to do it, and it’s mostly worthwhile. There isn’t an elevator, but instead a series of 35 ramps to ascend to the viewing platform. I will say that the viewing platform itself is a bit of a disappointment because every view is obscured by fencing of some kind with openings so small that it’s nearly impossible to get a decent photo of the city. Not to mention how crowded it gets. There are much better scenic views to be had elsewhere.
While the viewing platform isn’t the greatest, the rest of the church is amazing and worth the price and time to visit.
Gibraltar
Price: Depends.
Wikipedia – Gibraltar
Ok, Gibraltar is not in Spain. It is a ‘British Overseas Territory’ and since Great Britain is no longer a part of the European Union you have to stamp out of the EU and go through UK border control to enter. So, don’t forget your passport!
We visited via a package tour purchased from GetYourGuide.com. They had a meeting point which was about a 20 minute walk from our Airbnb. From there we had a quick driving city tour with some interesting highlights pointed out and then the 2 hour or so drive from Seville to Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is more than just the rock. Who knew? It’s been under the rule of many empires over the centuries but has been under British rule since 1713. It also played a key role in World War II. There are miles and miles of tunnels in the rock which were used for safe storage of ammunition, food and equipment. Its location at the Strait is critical because it is the connection between the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean. So controlling this point is of critical military significance to Europe and Africa. Today it is the most heavily trafficked waterway in the world.
When visiting Gibraltar it’s best to do a tour so that they can drive you around the rock and to some of its view points. There is also a cable car which we unfortunately didn’t have on our itinerary. But we did get to visit some of the caves which was more than a little bit like a theme park, but still kinda cool.
It’s kind of a long way from Seville, but it was worth visiting for a day trip. A multi day might be better if you have the time. There’s plenty of hotels in Gibraltar but it’s a pricey place. As our guide said, the only things that are reasonably priced are alcohol, petrol and tobacco.
Basílica de Santa María de la Esperanza Macarena
Price: Free
Wikipedia – Basílica de Santa María de la Esperanza Macarena
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_Hope_of_Macarena
The Basílica de Santa María was built between 1941 and 1949. It is home to Virgin of Macarena, a 17th century wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin venerated in the Basilica de Santa María de la Esperanza Macarena. The face of the building is not nearly as ornate as the cathedral but inside it’s quite impressive. Though on a much smaller scale.
It’s free to enter and worth spending an hour or so checking it out.
Plaza de España
Price: Free
Plaza de España
The Square of Spain was built in 1928 for the 1928 World’s Fair. Today it’s an amazing bit of century-old architecture with gorgeous tile work for the public to freely enjoy. There’s a little canal inside where people take rides in rowboats. There are also horsedrawn carriages to take rides around the square and through the adjoining park.
The structure is beautiful and is a must see. Chrissy and I spent a lot of time around the area because we enjoyed just hanging out in the park so much. We’d pack a couple of sandwiches and once at the park we’d grab a surprisingly tasty frozen lemonade from the courtyard snack cart and just chill on a bench amongst the trees.
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo
Price: Free
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo
The contemporary art museum has occupied its current location since 1997. The museum is located in the Triana neighborhood on the western side of the canal. The building where the museum currently operates has had a number of past uses. I believe that it was first a Christian monastery and then converted into an industrial sized kiln for pottery and now an art museum. The building alone would be worth the visit because it’s pretty amazing and houses some incredible mausoleums. But it’s also a contemporary art museum with temporary and permanent exhibitions.
It’s not far from Seville’s old town, and it’s free to enter. Highly recommended, especially if you want to do something with far fewer crowds.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla
Price €1.5 (for foreigners)
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla
The museum has been in operation for almost 200 years since its opening in 1841. The land where the building stands was a set of covenants in the 1200’s but the building was constructed in the 17th century.
The fine art museum in Seville is located in the old town and is a beautiful building with wonderful open air gardens inside. Much of the art work is focused on Catholic saints, but the level of artistry is significant and definitely worth an afternoon. It’s quiet inexpensive to visit for tourists at only 1.50 euros and it’s got a sizable collection of excellent works of art. Both permanent installations and temporary ones.
Real Alcázar of Seville
Price: €15.50
Real Alcázar of Seville
Probably the second most popular tourist destination in the city, behind the Cathedral, is the Royal Alcázar of Seville. The palace was an official residence of the Spanish royal family. The compound was initially built in the 10th century when Islamic people occupied this part of modern day Spain. It evolved over a few generations of Islamic leadership before the area was recaptured by the Spanish in the 13th century. Inside its Islamic roots are clear from the architecture and the Islamic texts molded into many of the ornate decorations.
Plan ahead for this one. You definitely want to get your tickets ahead of time. Especially if you want to visit in the AM. Also note, if you want to visit the bedrooms it’s a separate ticket and those sellout even earlier.
The architecture is truly breathtaking, so its popularity is definitely warranted. But it’s crowded. And I really struggle to enjoy absorbing a place when it’s crowded.
Pabellón de la Navegación
Price: €6 (there are many discount options, but we didn’t qualify for any)
Wikipedia – Pabellón de la Navegación
They are currently performing some renovation out front but the Navigation museum is open and quite an under-appreciated gem. I loved seeing the model ships and learning about the evolution of human exploration starting with crossing the Atlantic and building new trade routes to India and Southeast Asia through modern day global commerce and our entry into space.
Take your time and listen to the stories of the people taking some of these heralding trips across the ocean. It’s incredible to me that they were able to make journeys with such modest technology. But it’s all the foundation of what we today so easily take for granted.
The building which houses the museum was originally constructed for the 1992 World Exposition and is a multi-purpose location. But with your entry to the museum you also get to ascend the viewing platform which offers fully open-air views of the city of Seville. We took the elevator to the viewing platform and took the spiraling walk way back down reading the history of Seville in reverse.
The museum is located in the Triana neighborhood across the canal from the old town. The viewing platform is not open all day. Its hours are different from the museum. If you visit the museum they will stamp your ticket if you want to come back and visit the viewing platform the next day, which is exactly what we did.
I really enjoyed our peaceful tour through history in the museum and strongly recommend it.
Summary,
There’s a lot to see and do in Seville. This blog post highlights some of the tourist attractions but don’t forget, Seville is the birthplace of Flamenco dancing and seeing a show is an absolute must. It’s got plenty of Michelin recognized restaurants, amazing tapas everywhere and a laid back vibe that you just have to experience to understand. Be aware that Seville is a very warm place. It’s probably the hottest city in Europe and it was 30c pretty much every day we were there, which was through the middle of October. Mercifully the humidity is relatively low so the morning and evenings can be quite comfortable. And if you can find a shady spot in a park it’s not bad even in the warmer afternoons.
