Stunning Seville!

Traditions of the bullfight and flamenco are very strong in Seville and few visitors can fail to admire the Royal Alcazar and Seville Cathedral with the Giralda Tower…. but we found so much more to enjoy in our short break!

We travelled in April but still saw trees on the streets adorned with Seville oranges. Not for eating though – these are a speciality variety which is used predominantly for marmalade. With over 14,000 orange trees in the city it’s a hard task to harvest them all before they fall and get swept away. If you look up past the orange trees you’ll probably see beautiful blue and white tiles, mosaics and vases on some buildings. Also ornate ironwork balconies and Moorish latticework feature heavily in the Old Town.

If you love gardens and intricate mosaics then you have to visit the Royal Alcazar which is stunning. The Alcazar’s walls themselves date from the 11th century and if you’re a Game of Thrones fan you will recognise some areas as the Water Gardens of Dorne. Our afternoon took us to the Plaza de Espana – somewhere we went to because it was close to the Alcazar and the Parque Maria Luisa. What an amazing place – it was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and is a huge horseshoe shaped pedestrianised plaza. The walls have alcoves that have beautiful mosaics of all the provinces and you can hire a boat to paddle along the moat! We were also treated to an impromptu Flamenco performance which was great fun. Another film moment – the plaza was used in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. It was Theed Palace on Naboo, the stunning home to Padmé, Amidala and her people.

We were staying close to the Guadalquivir River and next to Isabel II Bridge we discovered Lonja del Barranco Market. It stands on the site of the old Seville market and has lots of different food counters and seating areas which is great for tapas and some evening music. Whilst wandering the city you can’t help but come across the 26 metre tall Setas de Sevilla – fondly nicknamed ‘the mushrooms’. You can walk along the raised walkway for a panoramic view of the city or take the lift down to the underground museum. Hidden inside there is also the Encarnación Market with 40 food stands.

Before we came home we also visited the 5* EME Catedral Mercer hotel. The only hotel in the city that has a rooftop bar looking straight at the Catherdral and the Giralda Tower!