Things to do in Seville

If you love old buildings, you’ll love this beautiful city. Seville Cathedral was conceived in 1402 as an unrivalled monument to Christian glory - when it was built, it was (apparently) said that ‘a building on so magnificent a scale that posterity will believe we were mad’. The total area covers 11,520 square metres, and new calculations - based on cubic measurement - have now pushed it in front of St Paul’s in London and St Peter’s in Rome as the largest church in the world. Inside you’ll find a grand monument to Christopher Columbus and paintings by Goya, Valdés Leal and Zurbarán - but the high point of the cathedral is its 94m tower, La Giralda, the most beautiful building in Seville.

Sensual. Seductive. Sexy. Flamenco is highly expressive and highly charged. The good news is that you can learn all about it in the Flamenco Dance Museum, an innovative and entertaining museum dedicated to the history and evolution of this emblematic andaluz art form.

The second architectural jewel in Seville is the Real Alcázar, the fortress-palace of both Muslim and Christian rulers. Highlights include the Sala de Justicia, considered to be the first example of Mudéjar architecture, the Chapel and the magnificent Salón de los Embajadores (Ambassador’s Hall), effectively the throne room. The latter has an intricately carved and gilded dome.

Whatever your view on bullfighting, you can still admire the beauty of its Seville home. The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza is more than just a bullring; it is a legendary venue for lovers of la corrida. The 13,000-seater can be visited on a 55-minute guided tour (in both Spanish and English).

The Santa Cruz quarter is a cluster of narrow picturesque streets and squares, white houses, secret azulejo-decorated patios, window grilles and flowerpots. The delight here is taking things slowly and following your nose to wander around and peer down alleyways and into little squares. Start at the Plaza de Santa Cruz, the true heart of the quarter.

The Seville Museum of Fine Arts is one of Spain’s most impressive art galleries, housed in a beautiful former convent. Inside are works by El Greco, Goya, Murillo, Zurbarán, Velázquez and Valdés Leal, among others.

Despite being much shorter than La Giralda, the riverside Torre del Oro is almost as much of a landmark in Seville. Dating from 1220, it was built outside the city walls as a watchtower. Its history reads like a page of pirate fiction - it has anchored a defensive chain that stretched across the river, stored gold brought back from the America’s and served as a prison.   

Anyone looking for Seville holidays - with deep pockets - should consider staying at the palatial Hotel Alfonso XIII. It was built in imitation of the Seville patio style for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition, with elegant salons around a central courtyard and many ornamental flourishes.

Next door to the Hotel Alfonso XIII is the Real Fábrica de Tabacos, a reminder of one of the most cherished discoveries of the New World and the setting for Bizet’s Carmen. By the 18th century, when this vast and handsome factory building was erected, tobacco was smoked all over Europe. Much of it was supplied by the 3,000 female workers, cigarreras, who worked here rolling cigarettes on their thighs.

Visiting the vast Parque María Luisa is one of the best things to do in Seville - you'll instantly feel a million miles away from the hustle and bustle. The park represents the former gardens of the long-vanished Palacio de San Telmo and the site of Seville’s Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929. Inside the park is the most eye-catching remnant of the exhibition and one of Seville’s greatest monuments, the Plaza de España - you may recognize it from the Star Wars films. The extraordinary semi-circular building half enclosing it took 15 years to build.

Anyone still struggling with what to do in Seville should make for the Las Setas de Seville, a series of undulating wood-waffle flat-topped mushroom structures on giant concrete pillars. Only visit if you’ve a head for heights - its German architect, Jürgen Mayer, claims it to be the world’s largest timber construction. There are stunning views from the sky deck.