Stunning Seville
Having sent clients to Seville throughout my career, in the couple of years leading up to the pandemic when I was creating trips to this city, it was pushing its way higher and higher up my list of top European cities that I wanted to visit. We took an early flight out of Gatwick and after both the short flight and a quick transfer into the city, we arrived at our hotel Fernando III. As we had arrived by midday, our room wasn’t ready however we were able to store our cases and go out into the city and explore. This hotel is centrally located and easily accessible to the key sights of the city.
As we were there on a Monday, we were able to visit the Royal Alcazar of Seville free of charge. TIP: pre-book your tickets online prior to travel and entry after 1600 on Monday’s is free. The Alcazar is the oldest royal palace in Europe that was originally a Moorish fort but over the years the architecture has been developed and influenced from many areas of the world. Spend a couple of hours wandering through the grounds and take a moment to sit in the beautiful gardens and escape normality.
My favourite tourist spot of the city was Plaza de Espana. This is the most instagrammable spot as well as the most famous square in Seville and it is not hard to see why once you arrive! Located in Parque de Maria Luisa, this was a little further away from our hotel but still walkable. You could spend hours sitting listening to the flamenco dancers perform followed by casual walks through the park whilst stopping at one of the cafes located around the edge of the park. A top highlight of the trip for me!
On our last morning, we had booked an electric bike ride tour which none of us had done before. We were a little apprehensive about riding on an electric bike but after a couple of minutes on the bikes, we were loving this way of exploring the city! Our guide Phillipo, from ELECMOVE, was incredible. He speaks great English and took us around lots of the key sights of the city that we had already seen along with many others. En-route we made several stops where Phillipo would give us the history of the sight and answer any of our questions. If you are looking at exploring the city in a different way, I would highly recommend this and it doesn’t matter at what point of your trip that you add this in as you will gain something from it.
Another hugely popular spot and highlight of our trip was to the Metropol Parasol, also known as ’The Mushroom’ to locals. The largest wooden structure in the world and a great spot to head to and watch the sun set. Once the sun has gone down you can enjoy the immersive light show. Whilst we were at the top of this, we spotted a little rooftop bar and managed to find it once we had left. Casa de Indias is located opposite The Mushroom and served great sangria with a close up view of the light show.
Seville was amazing and the weather perfect for being able to wander and explore under our own esteem. Take the trip and go and explore this beautiful city that offers rich architecture, plenty of Spanish culture whilst you enjoy tapas, sangria and flamenco!