A Fabulous Two Days in Seville

Seville is the largest city in Andalusia in southern Spain. It is a fantastic city to visit – with loads of history and culture. Andalusia is known as the breadbasket of Spain, so the food is splendid as well. Here’s our guide for spending two days in Seville which will give you a flavour of the city – in all senses of the word!

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How To Get To Seville

Sevilla has its own airport which is located around 10km from the city centre. Some people may fly into the popular Málaga airport on the coast, and you can either catch a train or hire a car to drive to Seville from there. It takes between 2 and 2.5 hours to reach Seville from Málaga . The city’s Santa Justa train station is a railway hub, connecting with Barcelona (about five and a half hours) and Madrid (about two and a half hours). Regional trains are also available to/from Málaga , Córdoba, Cádiz and Jerez.

When To Visit Seville

Seville can be visited at any time of the year, but it can get incredibly hot during the summer months – around 40C. Popular times are during spring (March to June) and autumn (September and October). We visited at the end of winter, in February and the temperature was a balmy 20C – perfect for exploring. The advantage when travelling in winter is that there are fewer crowds, so we didn’t need to pre-book tickets for the places we wished to visit.

Where To Stay in Seville

The city has accommodation options to suit all budgets. If you are renting a car check whether the hotel offers parking. The old city is compact with narrow streets and some hotels in this area may have limited facilities. There are plenty of hotels on the outskirts of the city centre and are just a few minutes walk into the old town.

A Fabulous Two Days in Seville

The city has loads of attractions and you could easily spend several days exploring, but our two day Seville itinerary will ensure that you see the essentials. The city is large but the sites mentioned here are within walking distance from each other. Seville is a very pretty city, especially the old town, and we recommend not rushing from attraction to attraction but taking some time to explore. And don’t forget to indulge in the excellent food on offer.

Day One – Morning

Exploring Barrio de Santa Cruz – Real Alcazar

Make your way to this historic district to explore the city’s key attractions. The Lion’s Gate, the Puerta del Leon, is one of the entrances to the Real Alcazar, the royal palace of Seville. This beautiful building bears architectural influences of the Moors (the Muslim people of North African descent, who controlled the Iberian Peninsula between the 8th and 15th centuries) and Christians.

The palace dates back as far as the 10^th century, when the first caliph Al-Andalus Abd al-Rahman III constructed a fort. This was expanded significantly by caliph Abu Ya’qub Yusuf in 1169 who decided that the Alcazar would become his residence. The Christians conquered Seville in 1248 and the Alcazar then became the palace of the Castilian monarchs.

The architecture and particularly the tile decoration are remarkable and we recommend spending at least a couple of hours exploring this beautiful palace.

There are also adjacent gardens, Jardines de Murillo. These are extensive and have some gorgeous water features.

Tip: If you are visiting during the high season we advise booking tickets in advance as the Alcazar has a maximum capacity of 750 visitors.

Cathedral of Seville & La Giralda

Close by the Alcazar is Seville’s cathedral, Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See.

It is a large and stunningly beautiful Catholic cathedral that was a former mosque and is now a UNESCO site. In its time it was the largest cathedral in the world. It contains a number of holy relics and the altarpiece, designed by Pierre Dancart, is remarkable in its scale and detail.

The cathedral is also the site of the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The statues of the four tomb bearers represent the kings of Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre. We loved the detail in their opulent clothing.

The Giralda Tower, the cathedral’s bell tower, was originally the minaret of the city’s first mosque.

It’s possible to climb the tower and it’s surprisingly easy because you actually walk up a very long ramp with lots of right angle turns. You will ascend 32 stories but only need to step up a flight of 16 stairs right at the top of the tower. Spectacular views of the city are guaranteed.

Don’t Forget: You will need to get a ticket to visit both the cathedral and tower. These are very popular attractions so we recommend booking tickets online to reserve a time slot at peak times.

Day One – Afternoon

The Spanish Steps of Seville

Visiting both the Alcazar and the Cathedral and Giralda will likely take you into the early afternoon, so we suggest a late lunch at one of the many tapas bars in the area and then a relaxing visit to the Plaza de España, the delightful Spanish Steps of Seville.

The plaza is a wonderful showcase for the typical tiles of Andalusia, with all 52 regions of Spain represented by tiled frescoes. They are placed in alphabetical order and you will often see visitors from all over Spain searching for their region.

Maria Luisa Park

Then stroll through the lovely Maria Luisa Park, Seville’s most famous park, which is adjacent to the Spanish Steps. These extensive grounds used to be part of the San Telmo palace gardens but were donated to the city in 1893, so that everyone can enjoy them. Because temperatures are mild, even in winter, the gardens can be visited all year round.

Day One – Evening

Take a Cookery Class or a Enjoy a Flamenco show

We enjoyed a cookery class learning how to make various dishes. Although Valencia lays claims to the origin of paella, this dish is eaten widely in Seville. The class involves a demonstration with loads of tips on how to make this delicious rice dish at home and where to source ingredients in the city.  

Foodie Tip: Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is relatively cheap to buy in Spain, and makes for a fantastic souvenir which will take up virtually no additional weight in your luggage.

Many of the classes not only cook paella but also offer lessons in creating tapas dishes, such as tortilla and salmorejo. And, of course, the evening includes a delicious dinner after your class.

If cookery isn’t of interest, Andalusia is the home of Flamenco, the dramatic and expressive dance form. There are many shows in the city where you can enjoy watching the dancers showing their superb technique.

Day Two – Morning

Along The Guadalquivir Riverbank

Walk along the riverbank along P. de las Delicias, starting at the Torre del Oro, the Tower of Gold. It is a beautiful twelve-sided tower constructed in 1220 at the behest of Abu l-Ulà during the Moorish occupation. It was part of the city wall and it was constructed to control shipping on the river. You can climb up the tower and visit a military museum.

Continuing northwards along the river, you will pass Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, the bullring. This is the largest bullring in Spain and one of the most important. Although bullfighting is part of Spanish culture, it wasn’t a place that we wanted to visit. If you are interested, however, guided tours are available.

Cross the river at the Pasarela de la Cartula bridge to visit Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo. This is a modern art gallery set in a former monastery. There are exhibitions from both local and international artists.

An alternative option is a boat cruise along the river.

Day Two – Afternoon

Explore The Old Town

Walk back along the bridge and into the city again. There are plenty of options for places to see, depending on your interests, whether they be art, architecture or history.

If art is of interest, walk along C san Laureno and then C Alfonso XII to find the Seville Museum of Fine Arts, Bellas Artes de Sevilla, at Pl. del Museo, Casco Antiguo. This is a classical art gallery set in a fine building with a grand courtyard. It is a prestigious museum which exhibits classical paintings and specialises in Sevillian art from the 17^th century. Entry is free to citizens who reside in the EU, or 1.5 Euros for everyone else.

The Mushrooms of Seville, the Setas de Sevilla, is a large wooden structure located by La Encarnación square. It is the largest wooden construction in the world. It cleverly integrates Roman ruins into the construction. Tickets are available.

The nearby Antiquarium continues the Roman theme. It’s a small subterranean history museum which contains a number of mosaics.

Other attractions in this area include the Palace of the Countess of Lebrija and the Flamenco Dance Museum on C. Manuel Rojas Marcos.

But we do recommend spending time in the old town, just wandering, exploring the charming streets.

Day Two – Evening

Relax and enjoy watching the sunset from one of Seville’s many rooftop bars, whilst enjoying food and drinks.

Seville For Foodies

Spanish cuisine is one of the best in the world and Andalusian produce is top quality. Amazing food is produced in this region and Seville offers a broad range of delicious dishes from the land and sea. We recommend eating tapas at every opportunity.

Tapas are small plates of food which means you get to choose lots of different dishes and can either share them with your dining companions or scoff them for yourself. Tapas can be hot or cold. It could be as simple as a plate of cheese or meat, or a sophisticated cooked dish. They are a fantastic way to get to taste lots of different dishes. You can often choose from multiple tapas (small plate) or platos (a main dish portion).

We recommend Bar Agustin & Company, Calle Alvarez Quintero 3 and Bodega San Jose, Calle Adriano 10 for excellent tapas.

Some of the best tapas we enjoyed were:

Salmorejo, a cold tomato soup which is very different to the more well-known gazpacho. Thickened with bread it is garnished with boiled egg and ham. It was so delicious that we learned to make it at home. Here’s our salmorejo recipe.

Marinated anchovies – forget those intensely hyper-salted strips of fish you get in tins (which, to be fair, are great for use as a seasoning), these anchovies are bigger, juicier, silkier and marinated in a vinegared dressing.

Grilled baby squid with green sauce – the squid were delicate and cooked to perfection and served with a lovely green herb sauce.

Beef cheeks in sauce with fried potatoes are rich and hearty.

There will usually be excellent vegetarian options as well. Grilled artichokes in a dressing and tortilla are delicious veggie dishes. Manchego, a hard cheese made from sheep milk, is also popular. It has a lovely nutty flavour.

Sherry

Seville isn’t too far away from the town of Jerez, home of sherry. We have a strange perception of sherry in the UK. It’s often considered to be an old person’s drink – I have memories of my great-grandmother quaffing Harvey’s Bristol Cream, which is actually a blend of multiple types of sherry and is quite sweet.

But sherry in Spain is a revelation. There are so many different varieties. Some of the tapas bars we ate at also offered a wide variety of sherries. Here is a listing of those we tried:

Fino is like a dry white wine. Perfect for quaffing on a sunny day with tapas. Manzanilla is very light, dry but fruity. It has a flavour that reminded us of melon. Amontillado is light with a delicious nutty flavour. Palo cortado is an aged sherry that that’s dry and sweet and has a spicy aftertaste. Oloroso is darker than amontillado and, for us, had the most ‘sherry’ like flavour. The sweet sherries use dried Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes in the fermentation process and the result is very sweet and rich.

Have More Time in the Region? Here Are Some Ideas for Day Trips

Resources To Help You Plan Your Trip

Accommodation: Hotels in Seville

Transportation: Car Rental