I moved to Seville back in 2020 after falling in love with it (and my husband) on an earlier trip. It’s a beautiful city with loads of great things to do and see and with some of the best food you could wish for.
It’s the kind of place you can visit for a short city break or a longer holiday and take a few weeks to soak up the atmosphere. There are winding streets to lose yourself in and lots of cafés to sit in and people watch.
Here are some ideas for you if you’re thinking about a visit.
Must-sees
Seville Cathedral is the third largest cathedral in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site, as well as a truly remarkable piece of architecture.
Originally built as a mosque, you can very clearly see the Islamic heritage of the bell tower (known as La Giralda), which was originally the minaret.
Christopher Columbus’ tomb is inside (as are the tombs of various royals from Spanish history) and it has are over 80 chapels.
Afterwards, take a short walk down to Plaza de Cabildo, a secluded semi-circular row of shops which is one of the city’s hidden gems.
The Real Alcázar is the palace that sits almost next door to the cathedral and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. It goes all the way back to the 9th century (!) and is one of the best examples of Islamic architecture in Spain.
It’s been used as a location in both Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones and has beautiful gardens.
Around the Cathedral and the Alcázar are lots of small, winding streets lined with orange trees and broken up by small courtyards. These are perfect spots to find a café and do a bit of people watching. Almost all cafés in Seville have outdoor seating and are very reasonably priced.
Las Setas (also known as the Metropol Parasol) is a giant wooden sculpture/building reminiscent of a mushroom in the downtown area.
There’s a roof terrace you can visit for a small fee and there are great views of the city as well as of the intricate wooden structure of the building itself.
The Plaza de España is a beautiful big square which was built in the 1920s for a grand exhibition. It’s set amongst the Parque de Maria Luisa which is beautiful and also well worth a visit.
Triana Market is a working food market renowned for the quality of its produce. Personally I love visiting markets when I’m travelling as I think it’s such a great way to explore and Triana market is no exception.
It’s open in the mornings and can be found on the west side of the river next to the Triana bridge, which is also worth seeing. Triana used to be the poorer, more industrial area of the city but has been reinvigorated and now has a new lease of life.
There are lots of bars and cafés along the river where you can get a drink and watch the world go by and the rowers on the river.
The Torre del Oro (the Tower of Gold) is on the east bank of the river. It was used for storing the gold from the ships that travelled to the new world. It’s close to the Bull Ring which is also worth a visit but do check whether there are any fights on first.
There are various bits of Roman architecture scattered around the streets including stray columns, parts of an old aqueduct and the old city walls. None of them are especially worth visiting for their own sakes (unless you’re really into the Romans, I suppose) but it’s a lot of fun to keep an eye out for them as you explore.
Must-eats
Seville is famous for its tapas and there are many, many tapas bars.
The traditional way to eat tapas is to have a drink and a tapa in one place before moving onto the next place where you have another drink with another tapa. Most bars will have a particular tapa which they’re best known for, although there will often be a wider choice available.
There are plenty of tapas tours which will take you to some of the best places to eat and drink and these are a great way to explore the city and also experience this traditional way of eating.
That said, we love going to the Plaza del Salvador where you’ll find La Antigua Bodeguita and La Taberna Salvador, both of which are excellent. La Chunga Tapas is also great and close to the Triana Bridge. Restaurante Barbiana is famous for its shrimp fritters and is the perfect place to stop for a quick bite and a drink.
If you want a great restaurant for dinner, try Bar Antojo. It’s close to the river and has a great atmosphere as well as great food. If you’re looking for something special, try Casa Manolo Leon, which has the most gorgeous courtyard setting as well as delicious food.
If you need a change from tapas, go to Burger Food Porn. Despite the unfortunate name, it is the best burger I’ve ever had, and they do amazing skin-on fries too, all reasonably priced.
Seville is home to one of the best bakeries in the world, called Manu Jara. There is a branch in Triana, close to the market, and there’s also a smaller one in the Plaza del Duque branch of El Corte Inglés, the Spanish department store. The one in Triana has no seating so expect to get takeaway if you go there; the roof terrace at the El Corte Inglés is a wonderful place to spend an hour or two and has some lovely views of the cathedral.
Usually you’ll need to queue for a table outside on the terrace and then come and order directly from the counter, although your order will be brought to your table. They make the most amazing chocolate-covered croissants (from October-ish to May-ish, i.e. when it’s cool enough for the chocolate to not melt right off) and glazed caracoles (snail-shell shaped pastries a bit like a pan au raisin) as well as various other delicious things, and they do great coffee too.
It’s the perfect place to refuel if you’re spending a day exploring.
Seville has several famous drinks; an orange wine that is most commonly served as an aperitif and tastes delicious. It uses the famous Seville oranges to add flavour and is produced in the neighbouring province of Huelva; beware of the very cheap versions as they taste a bit like cough syrup, while the good stuff is delicious.
A popular breakfast here is churros and chocolate; typically people start work early in the morning then take a breakfast break at the office rather than eating a full meal very early in the morning. This means that there are churrerias everywhere and you can eat for a very reasonable price. Many of them are in kiosks in the street or look like small cafés from the outside. Our favourite one is Bar El Commercio.
If you’re visiting in warmer weather, try a tinto verano: red wine topped up with soda water (tinto verano con blanca) and garnished with lemon. You’ll need to specify whether you want soda or lemonade (personally I prefer soda because it’s not so sweet). I would never have thought of adding soda to red wine before coming here but it’s so refreshing and delicious. And of course sangria is widely available but the tinto verano is more popular with locals.
There are lots of ice cream parlours, which all make their own ice cream depending on what’s seasonally available. Our favourite is Helado Rayas. All the flavours are good but if you’re here at the right time, you might find chumbo (prickly pear) flavour.
It’s only available for a couple of weeks each year and it’s absolutely delicious so well worth a try if you happen to be here when it’s available.
If you’re here in the winter, there will be lots of stalls on the streets selling roasted chestnuts which smell and taste amazing.
You might also see the Christmas lights which are always spectacular and the Nativity displays around the city, called Beléns.
You’ll see people queuing up to view them inside the churches and sometimes even in the department stores (El Corte Inglés had a great Playmobil one last year).
There is always the nativity at the core and then often lots of animals, villages and running water features and various other fantastical scenes.
It’s a Christmas tradition here to go out and see them.
Insider tips
Always look up: around the city you’ll see various saints in niches on the walls above street level, and lots of the balconies have decorative tiles on their undersides. And of course you’ll also see the famous Seville orange trees, which are laden with so much blossom in the spring that the whole city smells of flowers. The fruits, of course, are only good for making marmalade or orange wine as they’re too bitter to eat.
Flamenco: Seville is one of the original homes of flamenco and taking in a show while you’re here is an essential. There are lots of places to go and see a show, mostly in Triana, and the music and dancing are incredible.
Independent shops: there are so many small independent shops that shopping in Seville is a real pleasure. All of the typical high street stores are here too of course, but if you want to get a feeling for the character of the city the independent shops are a great way to do it. There are some great vintage clothes stores as well as lots of very specialised shops which sell, for example, handmade shoes or leather goods, flamenco costumes and accessories, or religious apparel for the brotherhoods that parade in the Holy Week celebrations.
Sleepy mornings, days of rest: there’s very little open (other than breakfast places) before 10am, and on Sundays typically all shops are closed so bear this in mind when you’re making plans.
Local treats: set aside some time to walk up to the Convento San Leandro, where the nuns make and sell the most delicious yemas, a traditional sweet made from egg yolks. When you arrive in the courtyard you’ll see the vestibule where you ring a bell; the nuns are sequestered from the world so they speak to you through a grille and there is a turntable built into the wall for you to pay, and for your sweets to be given to you. This is quite common throughout the region and many convents will sell some kind of baked goods but the yemas at San Leandro are amazing. They’re also stable enough to take home as a gift and utterly delicious. Be warned: yemas from the supermarket are nowhere near as nice and may put you off the concept for life.
Here is a customised Google Map with all of these locations saved on it so that you can find them easily or add them to your own Google Maps. Happy exploring!
Images: Kate Lillie, ajay_suresh, CarlosVdeHabsburgom
