Seville was absolutely amazing.
It did trigger some epic hayfever, though—I tried several different antihistamines, none of which fully worked. Even with the sniffles, I loved it.
Seville – Day 1
Our first activity for the first full day in Seville was a bike tour Jake had organised. He’d already headed out that morning, and I met up with him at the bike tour location.
Our tour guide, Daniel, was excellent. He took us to a replica of Magellan’s ship on the river, the Torre del Oro (“Tower of Gold”), we rode through Parque de María Luisa, stopped at the amazing Plaza de España, passed by the Alcázar and Cathedral, and cycled past Hotel Alfonso XIII before finishing up.
It was such an eye-opening tour—just learning how old the city actually is. They don’t even know exactly who founded it. Seville has such rich history, from being one of the wealthiest port cities in the world for a time to the incredible blend of architectural styles from the various cultures that have lived here over the centuries.
We finished the day with dinner near Alameda de Hércules at a restaurant called Casa Paco. A top start to our time in Seville.
Seville – Day 2
Jake headed out early to explore, and I met up with him on a bridge leading to Triana, the old gypsy district. We visited a church and had lunch at a brilliant tapas bar called La Parrala.
Our arrival had coincided with the Feria de Abril (Seville Fair), a week-long event where people from all around dress in traditional outfits, set up tents (mostly private), and get together to eat, drink, dance, and celebrate.
We’d noticed quite a few locals walking around in traditional dress since we arrived, and it all made sense once we reached the fairgrounds.
Thousands of people were dressed to the nines, many arriving in decorated horse-drawn carriages. It felt like stepping into the past… well, a little—there were plenty of selfies being taken.
Jake and I wandered through avenue after avenue of tents, all terraced together, most with security out front to make sure the likes of us common folk couldn’t enter. There were public tents, though, and we stopped in for a quick beer and watched some flamenco lessons on stage before heading back to the Jewish Quarter for our next activity: a walking food tour!
We met our guide, Alejandro, who turned out to be an awesome host—he loved history as much as he loved his tapas. He took us to four family-run tapas bars, each with roots going back generations.
We learned about the four tiers of jamón ibérico, and even tried the top-tier black label. We sampled Spanish vermouth, summer wine, shark, and loads more. Overall, it was an awesome tour with some truly delicious food.
After a very long day on our feet, we headed back to the apartment and turned in for the night.
Seville – Day 3
Our last full day in Seville. We began at the Setas de Sevilla, where there’s an underground museum called the Antiquarium that displays ancient Roman ruins. We walked across suspended gangways over the site—it’s incredible to think the modern city was built right over it.
With a bit of time before our big tour of the day, we wandered up to the Macarena Arch, then stopped for lunch at Mercado de Feria.
Our main activity was a guided tour of the Catedral de Sevilla and Real Alcázar de Sevilla. We made our way to the meeting point and found out it was a larger group tour with earpieces so we could hear the guide clearly.
We started with the Cathedral. From the outside, I could guess its scale—but stepping inside really drove home how massive it is.
Before entering the Cathedral proper, we climbed the bell tower, the Giralda. Instead of stairs, it has ramps—built that way so that the Moors could ride up on horseback. Thirty-five ramps later, Jake and I squeezed through the crowd to catch a view from the top. Totally worth it—Seville stretched out in all directions, and the view was amazing.
Back down, we explored the Cathedral interior.
Holy moly (pun intended)—it’s a colossal space. It’s the second-largest cathedral in the world after St Paul’s in London. Every inch was decorated or adorned, from floor to ceiling.
I wouldn’t be able to summarise everything the guide told us, but hopefully the images below give a sense of what captured my attention.
We moved on to the Alcázar, which was no less impressive. We learned how each generation of royalty added to or renovated the palace to suit their own tastes. The intricate mosaics were astonishing, the ceilings looked like they took years to complete, and the gardens seemed to go on forever. Though, by that point, we were so tired from walking we probably only saw about 20% of them.
Later, we revisited the tapas joint where Alejandro had introduced us to premium jamón. After another delicious meal, it was time for our final Seville activity.
Back to Las Setas for a flamenco show!
The guitarist was bloody amazing—I think that was my favourite part of what was a very good show. The dancers were incredible, and the singers really added to the energy and intensity of the performance. Tablao Flamenco Las Setas really puts on a top-notch show.
By the end of the day, we were absolutely knackered.
Seville is a truly wondrous city—we had an awesome time, and I’m so glad we got to experience it.
Next stop: Granada – Alhambra – Málaga.
Sorry for the delay in blog posts—I’ve been flat out enjoying the journey. But I’ve got a bit of time now, so I’ll be catching up on the blog. Expect a few more posts coming out over the next few days!
