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Seville (Sevilla) [1] is the capital of Andalucia, the cultural and financial centre of southern Spain. A city of just over 700,000 inhabitants (1.6 million in the metropolitan area, making it Spain's 4th largest city), Seville has much to offer the traveller.
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Visitors to Seville should consider the Sevilla Card [3], designed to aid city exploration and conserve precious travel funds. The card includes free admission to most Seville museums and monuments, unlimited use of public transportation (TUSSAM Buslines, NB: only for Cards with Public Transport), a guided visit of the Real Alcazar of Seville, the unlimited use of sightseeing buses, boat rides on the Guadalquivir River and admission to the Isla Mágica Theme Park. The card also allows access to significant discounts in shops, restaurants, shows and leisure centres for adults and children. The Sevilla card is accompanied by a guide and city map.
The Sevilla card comes in three denominations of 1, 2 or 3 days’ duration in blocks of 24 hours from the time of first activation when inserted into the electronic validation terminal of the suppliers associated with the Sevilla Card Programme (be careful not to activate too soon).
Prices: 1 day €50 (with transport €53), 2 days €60 (with transport €66), 3 days €65 (with transport €72). The 2 and 3 day options attract a discount of €3 per card when purchased on the website.
The Sevilla Card can be purchased by the folllowing means: Online [4]; by telephone +34 91 600 21 21 / 902 088 908; and, once in Seville, at tourism offices, the airport, the train station, travel agencies and through national and international tour operators (check the website for addresses).
If you are simply interested in using the local buses [5] (€ 1 single fare), you can get a bonobus, a 10 trip travel card. Bonobuses are found at most kiosks. Regular times are kept until around 11:30 pm, after which night buses run, with different routes, on the hour until 2am.
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- Semana Santa - the sombre Easter week processions feature thousands of people and go on all week - a spectacular display of conspicuous Catholicism
- Feria de abril - a release after the sombreness of Semana Santa, a huge party of eating and drinking
- Go out - the nightlife of Seville is fantastic; no other European city has so many bars per inhabitant than Seville. In summer go to Isla Cartuja and find out why the Spanish night doesn't stop before 7 AM. There you can find plenty of open-air discoteques. Other nightlife spots include Calle Betis in Triana, La Alamede de Hércules, and Plaza Alfalfa.
- Flamenco - Flamenco is in fact very popular at the moment in Spain and is not just for tourists, however finding the right place is hard (unless you ask a local). El Arenal is one place to consider. The Cultural Centre, C/ Ximénez de Enciso, 28 (Santa Cruz). Tel 954 56 06 70, is a good spot to see real flamenco, performances are daily at 9:00pm, it costs €22, €10 for students and Sevillians, €6 for kids (4 to 10).
- Private Guided Tours, Discover Sevilla with Antonio Doblas (Phone 34-616253798 / guiassevilla@terra.es [6]), This professional tour guide offers guided tours for groups and individual travellers to the most important monuments, bike tours, tapas and wines tours, sightseeings by horse carriage, cruise along the Guadalquivir River and sevillian ranch tours.
- Walking Tours, mailto:info@sevillawalkingtours.com, 902 158 226, 616 501 100, [7] - fascinating and integral to the enjoyment of a city are all the little bits and stories that audioguides don't provide. The guide is interesting and interested in what she does—if she doesn't know something she will endeavour to find out. Entry to buildings is not included—consider combining the tour with a Seville tourist card. Reductions are available for taking various combinations of these tours.
- City Tour, Mo-Sa, fee €10, meets at 10:30am in front of the statue in Plaza Nueva
- Cathedral Tour, Mo, We, Fr, fee €6, meets at 1:00pm in the Plaza del Triunfo.
- Alcazar Tour, Tu, Th, Sa, fee €6, meets at 1:00pm in the Plaza del Triunfo.
- Horse drawn carriage rides found near the cathedral take you to the nearby park and other sites of interest - for the sake of the animals, try to avoid / discourage the use of carriage rides in the heat of the day in summer
Entrance to the Bull Fighting Arena, Seville
- Attend a Bull Fight at the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza - not for the squeamish or those with convictions on animal welfare! Failing that, a visit to the arena and the attached museum of bull-fighting (€5.00) is well worth the time...
- Wander through an open-air market. Vendors in many parts of the city sell on the streets, but on Sunday, when everything else is closed, a few spots really fill up. One market is located behind the Alcampo shopping center at Ronda del Tamarguillo on Avenida de la Paz (Bus lines 30, 36 from Prado de San Sebastian), but it is easily outdone by a large fleamarket, selling clothes, furniture, trash, books, shoes, CDs, food, tools, and probably everything else just Northwest of Triana near Avenida Carlos III (off of the lefhand side of most tourist maps).
- Rent a bike in María Luisa Park. Seville is in the process of building many bike paths; one pleasant route covers most of the East bank of the river.
- Climb to the top of the Cerro de Carambolo for a view of the whole city. The hill is outside of the town but can be reached on the M-170, M-171, and M-173 from the Plaza de Armas bus station.
- Cruises, an hour in duration, leave from beneath the Torre de Oro and travel a circuit on the Guadalquivir river.
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Seville, like most Andalusian destinations, is known for its tapas. "Tapa," while it is associated with certain dishes, is actually a size and many restaurants or bars will offer a "tapa," "1/2 ración" (half serving, although sometimes enough to make a meal) and "ración" (serving) of the same dish. There are many great tapas places around the foot of the cathedral in the center of town. You can't go wrong, simply order one of everything to find your favorite! Some tipical tapas include "tortilla española" (potato omlette), "pulpo gallego" (galician octopus), "aceitunas" (olives), "papas bravas" (spicy potatoes), and "queso manchego" (goat cheese from the nearby La Mancha region). Also be sure to try the ham, which you often see hanging above the bar.
Some bars near the river, such as "Pedalquivir" and "El Faro de Triana," offer a nice view but aren't as good of a deal in terms of the quality of the food. A good deal can more easily be had at less characteristic places such as "Sloppy Joe's Pizza Inn" and "Papasá." For the most typical and interesting meal, stop at one of the many bars, especially one which doesn't offer English menus (the prices are likely to be lower).
If you're vegetarian, make sure you specify that you eat no fish or tuna as vegetarian only implies no flesh here. A place with a very good selection of
vegetarian and vegan foods is Habanita, a quiet open air restarurant in the center of the city.
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