A quiet pastel street corner in Seville with cafe tables, orange trees and a bicycle on patterned Andalusian paving

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SevilleTravel Guide

Spain8 stories

Seville is Andalusia distilled: orange trees, Moorish palaces, flamenco drifting from open windows — and a tapas culture so central to daily life that dinner is less a meal than a slow migration between bars. Spring and autumn are glorious; high summer regularly passes 40°C and empties the streets until dusk.

When to come

March–May, October–November

What it costs

Mid-range. Comfortable without planning around money, expensive if you stop counting.

What we've planned, and who for

We publish a multi-day route for this one.

Three days, planned

Our editors pick it for a trip with one other person.

Seville is inDeepest in Europe Just the two of you Where the food is the reason

When to go

March–May, October–November

Budget level

Mid-range

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with

Málaga160 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in March, April, May
The Algarve, Portugal180 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in May, October · a different price level (mixed)
Granada210 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in March, April, May · a different price level (budget)
Lisbon, Portugal310 km
a short hop — comfortable overland · both good in March, April, May

Plan itWhere to stay in Sevillead · Booking.comTours and tickets

On the map

Finding Seville

Open in Google Maps Larger map

The stories

Reading Seville

Food

A Market-to-Table Food Day in Seville

Spain · 11 min

A Spanish tapas spread on a dark wooden bar table: a paella pan, a board of jamon and cheeses, plates of pintxos and montaditos, skewers, and glasses of vermouth and gin tonic

Destinations

Seville essentials: arriving, getting around and doing it right

Spain · 13 min

Planning

Seville, place by place

Everything below is named in one of our own stories about Seville. The line under each is the sentence that recommended it, and the link goes to the piece it came from.

Where to stay

The areas and addresses our writers put first

Santa Cruz
Seville
The old Jewish quarter is Seville's most atmospheric address — a maze of whitewashed lanes, wrought-iron balconies and hidden plazas beside the Alcázar.
The Storied Hotels of Seville Check prices
Alameda de Hércules
Seville
North of the center, the long tree-lined Alameda is the city's bohemian living room — terraces, vintage shops and a younger crowd.
The Storied Hotels of Seville Check prices

Where to eat

Tables worth crossing the city for

Bodega Santa Cruz
Seville
Begin in the flower-hung lanes of Barrio Santa Cruz at Bodega Santa Cruz, known to everyone as Las Columnas — a loud, standing-room institution where waiters chalk your bill directly onto the bar.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Bar Alfalfa
Seville
Tiny, corner-set Bar Alfalfa blends Andalusian and Italian instincts; its salmorejo — the thick, cold tomato cream of the south, topped with jamón and egg — is the version to measure all others against.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
El Rinconcillo
Seville
A short stroll away on Calle Gerona stands El Rinconcillo, founded in 1670 and generally cited as the oldest bar in Seville: carved dark wood, hams overhead, tabs chalked on the counter.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Casa Morales
Seville
Casa Morales, near the Avenida de la Constitución and pouring since the 19th century, keeps its towering old wine tinajas as furniture.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Bodeguita Romero
Seville
End in El Arenal at family-run Bodeguita Romero, whose montadito de pringá is widely argued to be the city's best — order it even though you had one at stop one; this is a controlled experiment.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Casa Cuesta
Seville
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Mercado de Triana
Seville
Cross the river to the Mercado de Triana, on the Altozano, the square at the Triana end of the iron bridge.
A Market-to-Table Food Day in Seville See on the map

What to see

The things that justify the trip

Taisia Karaseva
Triana
Cross the Puente de Isabel II into Triana, the old potters' and flamenco quarter, where Casa Cuesta's tiled, mirror-backed dining room has anchored the neighbourhood since the 19th century.
The Perfect Tapas Crawl Through Seville See on the map
Museo de Bellas Artes
Seville
Often called Spain's second painting gallery after the Prado, and housed in a former convent arranged around plant-filled courtyards.
The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville See on the map
Archivo General de las Indias
Seville
A UNESCO World Heritage site alongside the Cathedral and the Alcázar, this severe Renaissance building — originally the merchants' exchange — holds the documentary record of Spain's American empire: maps, logs and cor…
The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville See on the map
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo
Seville
Contemporary art inside the Monasterio de la Cartuja, the former monastery on the island that hosted Expo '92.
The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville See on the map
Antiquarium
Seville
Beneath the swooping timber canopy of the Metropol Parasol lies Roman Seville: mosaic floors, house foundations and fish-salting works excavated when the structure was built.
The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville See on the map
Museo del Baile Flamenco
Seville
Founded by the celebrated dancer Cristina Hoyos in the old quarter, this museum treats flamenco as art history rather than souvenir.
The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville See on the map

Our picks

What we'd do in Seville

See and do

Eating on Seville time
The adjustment that matters most is to your clock.
Read: Seville essentials: arriving, getting around and doing it right
Find tickets
Museo de Bellas Artes
Often called Spain's second painting gallery after the Prado, and housed in a former convent arranged around plant-filled courtyards.
Read: The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville
Find tickets
The free gardens nobody queues for
Fringing Barrio Santa Cruz, the Jardines de Murillo offer dense shade and tiled benches within minutes of the cathedral crush — the best regrouping point in the old city, and free.
Read: Green Seville: gardens, orange trees and easy escapes
Worth the detour
Itálica, at Santiponce a short bus ride north-west, is a Roman city with a mosaic-floored street grid and an amphitheatre thought to have held something in the order of 25,000 people.
Read: Seville essentials: arriving, getting around and doing it right
Find tickets
Archivo General de las Indias
A UNESCO World Heritage site alongside the Cathedral and the Alcázar, this severe Renaissance building — originally the merchants' exchange — holds the documentary record of Spain's American empire: maps, logs and correspondence from the age of the galleons.
Read: The Finest Museums and Galleries of Seville
Find tickets

Eat and drink

Around midnight — The last stop
End with one final glass in a plaza: the Alameda de Hércules if you want the city still awake around you, a quiet square in Santa Cruz if you do not.
Read: A Market-to-Table Food Day in Seville
The sweet inheritance
Seville's sweet tooth goes back centuries and some of it is still baked behind convent walls.
Read: Coffee, cake and people-watching in Seville
Lunch
rarely before 2 pm; dinner rarely before 9:30 pm
Read: A Market-to-Table Food Day in Seville
The local sweets
convent-made pastries sold through a revolving hatch, torrijas through Lent, and churros dipped in thick chocolate at weekends.
Read: Coffee, cake and people-watching in Seville

Where to stay

The grande dame by the gardens
Between the old tobacco factory — now the university — and the gardens laid out for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition stands the Hotel Alfonso XIII, commissioned for that world's fair and named for the king who inaugurated it.
Read: The Storied Hotels of Seville

Before you go

Practical essentials for Spain

Money

Euro (EUR)

Language

Spanish, with Catalan co-official in Catalonia and the Balearics, Basque in the Basque Country and Galician in Galicia; English is workable in tourist settings but not assumed

Power

Type C/F, 230V 50Hz

Getting around

Every city has a metro and bus network with fast Renfe trains between them; in Barcelona and Madrid you can tap a contactless bank card straight onto metro and bus, while smaller cities still use their own local card.

Tipping

Spaniards mostly do not tip - leave the coins from your change or round the bill up, and reserve 5-10% for a good meal in a proper restaurant.

Tap water

Tap water is potable throughout Spain; on parts of the coast and the islands it tastes heavily treated, which is why locals often buy bottled.

Driving

Right-hand side; an EU or UK licence is accepted as it stands.

Emergency

112

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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