Seville · Spain
Calle San Jacinto
A practical guide to Calle San Jacinto in Triana: what to see from Plaza del Altozano to the church, when to go, how to pick a bar without falling for the touts and how to pair it with the market and the river.
Worth walking, as long as you don't expect monuments. It's the street where Triana lives, and the good part is the middle and far end, away from the bridge.
Calle San Jacinto is Triana’s main street: about 670 pedestrian meters that start at Plaza del Altozano, at the foot of the Triana Bridge, and run to the Iglesia de San Jacinto. It has no palaces or famous facades. It’s where people in Triana run their errands, have their coffee and go out for a stroll in the evening.
Our experience
We walked it on Sunday, May 17, the morning we arrived in Seville. After breakfast at Mercado de Triana and the walk along Calle Betis, we turned toward San Jacinto at about 11:55 and gave it around 15 minutes, looking at ceramics shop windows. From there we headed back toward the bridge and down to lunch at Las Golondrinas at 12:30.
We put it in that slot because it was on the way between the river and lunch, and because on a Sunday morning many of Triana’s small shops close around 14:00. The full day is in our first day in Seville.
A bit of history
San Jacinto has been Triana’s backbone since at least the 13th century, when it was part of the Camino Real linking Seville with the Aljarafe farmland across the bridge of boats. That’s why it’s so straight, which is rare in Seville. It takes its name from the Dominican convent of San Jacinto: the friars moved to Triana in 1679, the first church collapsed in 1730 and the current one, built under Matías José de Figueroa, opened in 1775.
In the 19th century Triana was a working-class district of sailors, potters, fishermen and Romani families, and the shops on the street lived off them. In December 2009 work began to make it pedestrian. A later University of Seville study found that purchases on the street went up about 47% and spending in bars about 55%.
What to see, in order
-
Plaza del Altozano
The starting point. The bronze statue of the bullfighter Juan Belmonte, "el Pasmo de Triana," from 1972; the small Capilla del Carmen by Aníbal González, from 1928; and the Monument to Flamenco Art, from 1993, with a dancer standing on an anvil.
-
The first 100 meters
Cafés, bakeries and the terraces with menus in four languages. Walk through without stopping.
-
The middle stretch
Ceramics shops, neighborhood terraces and everyday Triana life. Look up: people sing saetas from those iron balconies when the Holy Week processions pass below.
-
The Iglesia de San Jacinto
On the corner with Calle Pagés del Corro, where the pedestrian stretch ends. Plain on the outside; if you find it open, inside there's a bright neoclassical nave and painted altarpieces.
-
Calle Alfarería
A two-block detour west: the historic ceramics street, with tiled facades and the Centro Cerámica Triana, built over a 16th-century kiln.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Walk on the shady side, the way locals do. At midday in May the sun hits hard.
- The 50-meter rule: if the menus are in four languages and someone steps onto the sidewalk to wave you in, walk one more minute.
- There are no public restrooms. Order a coffee or a caña at a bar and use theirs.
- During Holy Week and the Velá de Santa Ana in July, the street is packed and the pace is completely different.
Do
- Come in from the bridge and Plaza del Altozano: the view of the straight street with the church at the end is the best way in.
- Detour to Calle Pureza, parallel and closer to the river, to see the Iglesia de Santa Ana, the 13th-century "cathedral of Triana."
- Buy ceramics inside shops with a workshop or the artisan's mark, not from tables on the street.
Don’t
- Don't take the sprig of rosemary offered to you on the Altozano: afterward they ask for €5 to €10 to tell your fortune.
- Don't sign petitions or buy lottery tickets "for charity" from strangers. The official ONCE lottery booth is a fixed kiosk with uniformed staff.
- Don't follow anyone offering "real gypsy flamenco around the corner": these are usually staged, overpriced shows.
Frequently asked questions
How long is Calle San Jacinto?
About 670 meters of pedestrian street, from Plaza del Altozano to the Iglesia de San Jacinto. It's a 10-minute walk without stopping and half an hour at an easy pace.
Is it better than Calle Betis?
They're different. Calle Betis is the riverside promenade with the view of Seville; San Jacinto is the street of everyday neighborhood life. They're two minutes apart and worth doing both.
Is it safe at night?
Yes. There are plenty of people out until late, and Triana has less street crime than the Cathedral area. Watch your bag on the Altozano at the busiest times.
When did it become pedestrian?
Work began in December 2009 and the car-free stretch was finished in 2010.