Seville Guides

Real Alcazar

There’s nowhere which displays and represents Seville’s past so vividly as both Christian and Mudejar architecture come together to create this quite phenomenal spectacle.  Game of Thrones fans may recognise Alcazar from the hit series but be sure to spend more than the length of an episode exploring all corners of this palace, which dates back to the early 10th century. Now a World Heritage site, the palace has seen multiple transformations and renovations over the years, which adds to the intrigue – no building in the grounds is worth ‘skipping’, nor the Alcazar Gardens. Fruit trees, palm trees, fountains and pavilions provide a stunning setting to wander round and escape in – there’ll be tourists aplenty here, but you can somehow always find a quiet spot to truly admire these beautiful grounds.

Catedral de Seville

At the start of the 15th century, the mosque which came before was torn down and replaced by the Cathedral, the 3rd largest church in Europe and reportedly home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus – they did however keep the original bell tower at the side – known locally as La Giralda. Fascinatingly, despite being over 98 metres tall, La Giralda houses just 17 steps in it – with a spiral ramp making up much of the core. Whilst this may seem a strange decision nowadays – its practical purpose allowed someone to climb quickly to the top of the tower by horseback to put out the call for Muslims to pray – a whole lot easier than climbing up and down stairs 5-times a day, if not so for the poor horse. Whilst the spiral ramp remains, nowadays it’s main purpose is to offer tourists astonishing views of Seville and all that surrounds it – and will help to burn you off some of that tapas!

Las Setas

We’ve recommended culturally rich and historic buildings, where past influences of different civilizations have made their mark, where kings have lived, and famous explorers are entombed – now we’re also recommending a 26 metre high mushroom in the middle of the city. You might think this looks a bit out of place in our what to do section, you might even think it probably would look out of place in the middle of this beautiful city – but somehow, it works – or at least we think so. It isn’t to everyone’s taste to look at, but the panoramic views from the top can’t be argued with and are well worth the few euros entrance fee – and if you’re still on the fence about it, there’s a bar at the top too.

History

The history of Seville is based around a fascinating tug of power and influence between Muslim Moors and Christians – the impact of both is prominent in the city. Starting in 711, North African Muslims captured the Iberian Peninsula and ruled for 5 centuries. Whilst the Muslim State was diminishing, Christians against the Moorish rule led a successful movement to expel the Moors from Spain.

The Moors’ distinct mark on Andalucian culture can still be seen all over the city today – in the spectacular palace of Alcazar which was rebuilt in a Moorish style, albeit for Christian purposes.

In 1503, Seville was to become one of the wealthiest and largest cities on the planet, after being awarded a monopoly on Spanish trade with the Americas. The smaller ships at the time could easily navigate through the Guadalquivir, bringing gold and silver to Seville and turning it into one of Europe’s most beautiful cities – the latter still being the case today.

However a combination of a plague in 1649, killing half of the city’s population, and the increase in size of the ships meant that Seville was not the ideal place to home the Casa de la Contratación. This was instead moved to the big-port city of Cadiz, and consequently took the trade and wealth with it, away from Seville.

Nightlife

It’s not the party capital of Spain, but there is certainly enough going on to keep you entertained 7 nights of the week. First things first, forget about Sangria because you’ll do well to find it here – instead, opt for a Tinto de Verano – red wine and Fanta lemon, a taste sensation that will also win you points with the locals. As for where to go, head to El Arenal neighbourhood where you’ll find an array of cocktail bars (and more tapa obviously) or try out Alameda if it’s live music you’re after.