The Comprehensive Guide To Seville, Spain

As well as being the capital of Andalusia, Seville is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and popular cities in all of Spain. Seville attracts tourists by its architecture, history, and delicious tapas. To help organize your trip to this city and hit all the most beautiful spots, I wrote this comprehensive guide to Seville to include all the significant information you’ll need regarding sights, when to see them and a cost breakdown to keep you on budget.

How To Get To Seville

Being a big city, Seville’s international airport allows international flights as well as national flights from many of its cities within Spain. Seville can easily be reached from Madrid in 1h or Barcelona in 1h40m.

Getting to Seville by train is quite easy as well. If you prefer a beautiful train ride, Spain is one of the countries with a wonderful railway system. Getting to Seville from Madrid will take approximately 3h and from Barcelona 5h30m. 

Click here to check train and bus tickets in Spain.

Spain also has a very good bus system. Although the bus from Barcelona would take quite a while, you definitely can use it to get to Seville from closer cities (for example the bus from Madrid to Seville takes 5h40m).

To take a taxi from Seville train station to the center of the old town costs around €20. I think from the train station they added a surcharge, or maybe it was for having baggage. To the airport – €16; to the bus station – around €9.

The Best Time To Visit Seville

Since Seville is not a beach town, it really doesn’t depend as much on warm weather. In fact in Summer it can be really too hot, and too crowded to explore Seville. 

The best time to visit Seville is spring. The weather is the most comfortable for walks, the city is covered in colourful flowers, there are fewer huge crowds, and the hotel prices are more pleasant than during high season. 

Where To Stay In Seville

Seville has many good hotels and AirBnBs in the old part of the city. The historical part of Seville is very walkable, and you can get pretty much anywhere you need without using public transportation or a taxi. 

However, after spending some time in Seville, I found that the best location to stay is around the Real Alcazar and the Plaza de España.

Where To Eat In Seville  

Seville is famous for its amazing tapas. The idea behind tapas in Seville is quite different than in Granada, but nevertheless that is something they are famous for and they do it well. 

Seville is full of restaurants and tapas bars. Almost every place is worth a visit, but I highlighted for myself a few of them:

El Rinconcillo

El Rinconcillo is the oldest tapas bar in Seville. In fact this place is also on my list below of Things To Do In Seville. This place is a big tourist attraction, since it was mentioned in many articles and TV programs. And even though El Rinconcillo is usually very crowded, their tapas are worth the wait.

Hours: from Monday to Thursday: from 1 PM to 5 PM, reopens from 7:30 PM to 12 AM; from Friday to Sunday: from 1 PM to 6 PM, reopens from 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM

Location: C. Gerona, 40, 41003 Sevilla, Spain

Official website: https://www.elrinconcillo.es/

Casa Ricardo

Casa Ricardo is another great tapas bar. It is not as crowded as El Rinconcillo, but they often have a line outside the bar as well. Here I have tried the best mini burger tapa and the creamiest croquettes.

Hours: Monday – closed; Tuesday to Saturday 1PM to 4PM and 8PM to12AM; Sunday – 1PM to 4PM

Location: C. Hernán Cortés, 2, 41002 Sevilla

Official website: http://www.casaricardosevilla.com/es/

ESPACIO ESLAVA

Espacio Eslava is the place to try award winning tapas. Two of the most famous tapas here are: Yema Sobre Bizcocho De Boletus (slow-cooked egg yolk on boletus edulis sponge cake and caramelised wine) and Cigarro Para Becquer (smooth bechamel with squid ink, cuttlefish and seaweed wrapped in pastry). And believe me they are that good and you must try them. They’ve literally won the best tapa of the year award for the entire country.

Hours: Monday – closed; Tuesday to Sunday from 12:30 PM to 12 AM

Location: C. Eslava, 3, 41002 Sevilla

Official website: https://espacioeslava.com/

Alcázar Andalusí Tapas

Alcázar Andalusí Tapas is a cute place on one of the more local streets with tons of restaurants. This restaurant has a big menu of tapas and mains and it is extremely pleasant to sit outside in warm weather with some good beer and good friends.

Hours: every day from 12 PM to 12 AM;

Location: C. Peris Mencheta, 22, 41002 Sevilla

Official website: https://alcazarandalusitapas.com/

Internet & Sim Cards

For those who are planning on staying in Spain for a while or who need to be online all the time, it is a good idea to buy a Spanish sim card with data. 

In Seville you can find a sim card in most of the souvenir shops. Usually the sales person will ask for your passport and register your new phone number for you. You’ll just need to place the sim card in your phone and input a pin code that is written on the plastic card where your sim card just was. 

Note: Don’t throw away the plastic card with your pin code, since every time you reboot your phone, it will ask you to input that pin code. 

Price: (at Vodaphone) 40 GB – €15; 70 GB – €20;

The Best Souvenirs To Buy In Seville

Seville, like every other touristy city in Spain, has tons of souvenir shops. All of them have pretty much the same stuff, so you can get all your souvenirs and not worry about missing something. 

Here are some of the best souvenirs you can buy in Seville:

• Colorful coasters that look like tiles
• Flowery plates and bowls
• Small figurines of bulls and bullfighters
• Exotic flamenco dresses 
• Handbags and backpacks with Seville scenery 
• Antique things (as with souvenir shops, Seville also has antique stores with many charming things you might want for your home)
• A bottle of a good sherry from the area called Sherry triangle.

Cost Of Living

Seville is not the cheapest place in Spain, so if you are planning on having comfortable accommodation, eating delicious food, and visiting all the cool sights, you better be ready to spend some money.

Lunch or dinner including drinks can cost you between €12 to €20. 

A small glass of beer is between €1.5 and €2.5 depending on the place. 

Tapas in Seville cost mostly between €2.5 to €3.5 per tapa. 

Things To Do In Seville

The Real Alcazar 

The Alcazar palace is the most important and the most crowded tourist location in Seville, Spain. The Real Alcazar (Royal Alcazar) was built by King Peter of Castille on the remains of an Arabic fortress. 

The Alcazar palace, like every other palace in Seville, has Moorish influence in its architecture. It is a maze of huge rooms covered in tiles, cute courtyards, and charming gardens. In fact, the gardens are the best part of the Real Alcazar in my opinion. 

There are two ways to get a ticket to the Real Alcazar: buy a ticket at the back entrance of the Alcazar palace (that includes standing in a pretty long line), or buy your ticket online and choose a convenient time for a visit. 

Location: Patio de Banderas, s/n, 41004 Sevilla

Hours: every day from 9:30 AM to 7 PM

Official website: https://realalcazarsevilla.sacatuentrada.es/en

Price: €14.5

Seville Cathedral (Christopher Columbus Tomb)

Seville Cathedral is definitely one of the most grand and beautiful cathedrals I have visited. It is the 4th biggest cathedral in the world  and the largest Gothic cathedral. Just so you know, at one point it had the title of the largest cathedral in the world that it took from the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

The history of the Seville cathedral is very long and very interesting. A few times this place was turned from a mosque to a cathedral and vice versa. And every time something new was added to an existing area until it became the Seville Cathedral we know now. 

The Seville cathedral together with Alcazar are the two most crowded locations in Seville. There is almost always a line to get a ticket or to get inside, or to get on top of the Giralda (a bell tower). 

To get your ticket you can either wait in a long line, or buy it online and choose a comfortable time for a visit. Click here to go to the official website to buy your ticket for the Seville Cathedral. 

Once you are inside the cathedral (by the way, the entrance is located next to the Giralda) the first thing you will have to do is climb the bell tower. One of the big pluses of this tower, besides how pretty it is, is the absence of stairs. That is right there are no stairs to climb, just walk up the ramps, which makes it way easier to get to the top of the Giralda.

After your visit to the top of the bell tower, you will follow to the cathedral itself. This is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have visited so far. But the highlight of this place (if you can say it) is a tomb of Christopher Columbus that is located on the left side of the Seville cathedral. You won’t miss it, there are usually lots of people around it.

Christopher Columbus’ coffin is carried by four kings of Spain. Inside the coffin there is actually just a small box that contains the remains of Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus wasn’t buried in Seville. His remains were brought to Southern Spain from the New World (Dominican Republic). In 2003 they took DNA from the remains and compared it to the remains of Christopher Columbus’ brother. The DNA analysis showed that both people had the same mother. 

Interesting Fact: in 1877 in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) a priest found a small box with an inscription that said: “Discoverer of America, First Admiral” and the next year they found another inscription:  “Last of the remains of the first admiral, Sire Christopher Columbus, discoverer.” In the box there were bones of an arm, a leg, and also a bullet. Unfortunately, the government of the Dominican Republic never allowed scientists to exhume the remains, so there is no 100%  certainty that the remains belong to Christopher Columbus. 

Location: Av. de la Constitución, s/n, 41004 Sevilla

Hours: every day except Sunday from 10:45 AM to 6:30 PM, Sunday from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Official website: https://www.catedraldesevilla.es/

Price: €10

Plaza de España (Parque de Maria Luisa)

Plaza de Espana is one of the highlights of Seville city. It was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition (was a big thing by the way), and it’s located in a charming park called Maria Luisa. 

Plaza de Espana is a mix of different architectural styles like traditional Andalusian – Moorish style, Baroque Revival, and Renaissance Revival. This killer combination turned out to be a great idea, since Plaza de Espana is one of the most recognizable places in Spain among international tourists.  

Plaza de Espana is a half circle building that has a long canal in front of it. There are four majestic bridges covered in beautiful tiles and decorated with fancy porcelain finials that cross the canal. 

Plaza de Espana has two floors, except the center building which has three. At each side of Plaza de Espana you can find an open entrance to the second floor. But don’t get your hopes up, there is just a small part of the second floor that is open for tourists. Not much, but you can get a few nice pictures. 

The most popular attraction at Plaza de Espana is a boat ride on the canal in front of the plaza. You can buy boat tickets at the vendor near Plaza de Espana (€6 per boat for 35 minutes or €10 for 70 minutes). The boat capacity is 4 people, so the price is pretty good I think. 

Note: you have to leave an additional €4 as a deposit in case you will exceed your time, otherwise you’ll receive your deposit back. 

Location: Av. Isabel la Católica, 41004 Sevilla

Hours: every day from 8 AM to 10 PM

Price: it’s free to visit Plaza de Espana; boat tickets are: €6 – for 35 minutes, €10 – 70 minutes

Palacio de las Duenas

Palacio de las Duenas is one of the precious gems of Seville. The palacio de las Duenas was built in the 16th century and has a distinctive Andalusian style. 

This historical sight was opened for the public eye fairly recently – in 2016. Palacio de las Duenas is still private property of an aristocratic Spanish family and it’s official name is Palace of the Dukes of Alba. 

Palacio de las Duenas is a less popular sight compared to the Alcazar, but the beauty of the palace, beautiful exhibitions of antiques, and smaller crowds made this place my favorite thing to visit in Seville. 

Palacio de las Duenas has two floors, but tourists are allowed just on the first. There you can find a main courtyard with a fountain in the center of it, and lots of greenery around. The arches around the courtyard make it look almost magical. You can spend hours just looking at all the small details in the courtyard. And that is just the main courtyard, there are a few smaller ones that are located on the sides of the palace. 

In all the rooms on the first floor you will find exhibits of the beautiful and probably priceless antiques that belong to the Alba family.

On the right side of the palace there is a garden that is known as the “Lemon Garden”, although I didn’t see any lemons there, just oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits. The garden has a few benches where you can rest and a few cute statues. 

The whole place is just a maze of courtyards and hidden gardens. Palacio de las Duenas is definitely a place that you have to visit in Seville

Price: €10 per person;

Time needed to visit: 30 minutes to 1 hour;

Hours: every day from 10 AM to 5 PM;

Location: C. Dueñas, 5, 41003 Sevilla, Spain.

Climb Metropol Parasol

One of the must do things in Seville is to climb the Metropol Parasol. This unique construction was created fairly recently, in 2011. The whole construction is made of wood which I found very impressive, because I would have never guessed it if not for reading about this. 

The Metropol Parasol is located in the old town of Seville and you might think that this construction is out of place here. But at the same time it’s so grand, the whole scene just takes your breath away.

One of the popular ways to see the Metropol Parasol is to climb it. You can go down the escalator to the ticket office, get your ticket, get inside the elevator and you will end up at the top of the parasol. 

The best time to come would be the sunset (around 7:30 PM at the end of October). But you should be aware that at that time the line is quite big. That is why when we came the first time at 7:20 we just turned around and decided to come the next day. 

So, how did we manage it? We got into the line to buy tickets at 6:30 PM. It took us 40minutes to get our turn (for some reason the lady who sells tickets was in no rush to process the line). 

At such a time (7:10 pm) you will be offered two types of ticket: a Day pass which costs €5 per person, and a Night pass – €10 per person. The difference between them is that the Day pass allows you to stay at the top of the Metropol Parasol until 7:30 PM, and with the Night pass you can see the light show. 

We didn’t really care about the light show, mostly about golden hours and sunset, so we got a day pass and enjoyed an amazing view and beautiful sunset from the top of this weird, but beautiful construction.

Location: Pl. de la Encarnación, s/n, 41003 Sevilla

Hours: every day 9:30 AM to 12PM 

Prices: Day pass (from 9:30AM to 7:30PM) – €5; Night pass (after 7:30 PM) – €10

Casa de Pilatos

Casa de Pilatos was built in the 16th century (no surprise there). It is a great example of the Italian Renaissance with many elements that were influenced by Islamic art. 

This palace is still a private residence of the Duke of Medinaceli. That is why I guess tourists are not allowed to visit the second floor without a tour guide. 

Casa de Pilatos has a beautiful tiled courtyard with a great collection of Roman and Greek statues. It seems like every centimeter of this place is covered with tiles, or super detailed moldings. By the way, pay attention to the ceilings. I know there are a lot to look at around, but don’t forget to lift your head once in a while.

Casa de Pilatos also has two gardens on both of its sides. You can freely explore them and spend some time just sitting and relaxing among many rose bushes. 

Price: €10 per person;

Time needed to visit: between 20 and 40minutes;

Hours: every day from 9 AM to 6 PM;

Location: Pl. de Pilatos, 1, 41003 Sevilla, Spain

Visit The Oldest Tapas Bar in  Seville – El Rinconcillo

Seville has a big tapas culture. There are hundreds of bars that offer a good selection of tapas. Although, compared to Granada’s tapas, Seville tapas are not free. Usually you will have to pay between €2 and €4 for a tapa.

There is one tapas place in particular that you need to visit – El Rinconcillo. El Rinconcillo is the oldest tapas restaurant in Spain. It was opened in 1670 as a small taverna and with time it expanded. Nowadays, El Rinconcillo is a three story building where you can get tapas or a full meal. 

Tapas are served on the first floor next to the bar and everything else is a sitting down space. If you are planning on having a full meal you better make a reservation online. It definitely will help you to save time, since this place is always packed. To get tapas here, you will have to wait in line to be seated, since it’s first come – first served here. 

We came to El Rinconcillo at 1:30 PM and there was already a huge line outside (the bar opens at 1 PM). While we waited for 40 minutes, the waiter came to us and asked our name, how many people and what exactly do we want: a table or tapas. 

Don’t be surprised when you finally will be invited inside to find out that there are not enough chairs and some of you or all will have to stand next to the bar. 

Our party had four people and we always ordered quite a lot to try different tapas. You can go to my full review of El Rinconcillo and check out which tapas we liked the most and how much they cost. 

Hours: from Monday to Thursday: from 1 PM to 5 PM, reopens from 7:30 PM to 12 AM; from Friday to Sunday: from 1 PM to 6 PM, reopens from 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM

Location: C. Gerona, 40, 41003 Sevilla, Spain

Official website: https://www.elrinconcillo.es/

Visit Plaza del Museo On Sunday

Not many people know that Plaza del Museo (a cute park next to the museum of Fine Art) hosts a small market of paintings and interesting art.

For those who want to get something special for your home from Seville, this market would be the place you visit. 

Of course there are lots of souvenir shops with mass produced things all over Seville. There you can get pretty colorful plates and magnets, but for something really special go to the Sunday market at Plaza del Museo.

Location: Plaza del Museo

Museum of Fine Art

Seville itself is a city/museum. Everywhere you look there is something interesting, historical, unique. But there is also one of the museums that I recommend you visit. The Museum of Fine Art is located in the center of Seville, next to the Plaza del Museo. 

During our stay in Seville, the Museum of Fine Art was a must do, since they hosted a temporary Picasso exhibition at that time. 

It took us about 40 minutes to an hour to see all the pictures. 

Ticket price: €1.5 per person;

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 9 AM to 9 PM; Sunday from 9 AM to 3PM; Monday – closed.

Location: Pl. del Museo, 9, 41001 Sevilla

Official Website: museosdeandalucia.es

Flamenco Show 

Flamenco shows are one of the things you must see in Spain. Seville, just like Granada, is a great place to do it. The city offers a lot of options for such an activity. 

There are some shows where only adults are allowed, and some shows where you can bring your kids. Some venues offer dinners and drinks included before the show. 

Click here to book your ticket for a flamenco show at Casa de la Memoria!

Visit A Mercado 

A Mercado is a fresh produce market and there are a few of them in Seville. I would recommend two due to their locations: Mercado de Triana and Mercado de Feria. 

Mercado de Triana is located on the other side of the river and if you are going for a walk along it, it would be a perfect opportunity to visit Mercado de Triana.

Mercado de Feria is located in the Macarena district of Seville. There you’ll find fresh vegetables and fruits, meat and fish, spices and sweets. There is also a nice food court (the best part of all mercados) where you can get your lunch. 

Mercado de Triana

Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM; Sunday – from 12 PM to 5 PM.

Location: C. San Jorge, 6, 41010 Sevilla

Official Website: Mercado de Triana

Mercado de Feria

Hours: Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 12 PM; Sunday – closed.

Location: Feria, s/n, 41003 Sevilla

Official Website: Mercado de Feria

The Comprehensive Guide To Seville, Spain