Seville · Spain
Metropol Parasol (Las Setas)
A practical guide to Metropol Parasol (Las Setas) in Seville: what time to go for sunset, how the timed tickets work, what to see from the walkway and which traps to avoid in the square.
Worth it at sunset, with time to stay for the Aurora lights. At midday it's an expensive half-hour viewpoint.
Las Setas, “the mushrooms,” is the huge wooden structure covering Plaza de la Encarnación in the center of Seville: 150 by 70 meters, about 26 high, six parasol-shaped columns. Up top there’s a walkway of about 250 meters that rises and falls over the wood, with a view of the whole city. Down in the basement are the Roman ruins that turned up when it was built.
Our experience
We went up on Sunday, May 17, our first day in Seville, with a 20:15 ticket bought on GetYourGuide. We walked over fast from Casa del Flamenco, which ended at 20:00 and is 700 meters away. We picked that slot because sunset, a little after 21:15, is when the Cathedral and the Giralda are backlit from up top, and the ticket included staying until the Aurora lights came on. Dinner afterward was at El Rinconcillo, five minutes away.
We didn’t pay for the Antiquarium: on Sundays it closes at 14:00, so at that hour it wasn’t an option.
A bit of history
In 1973 the city demolished the old Encarnación market, and the square spent 30 years as a parking lot. In 2003 there was an international competition, won by German architect Jürgen Mayer out of 65 entries. Construction began in 2005 and got complicated: bending laminated wood at that scale had never been done, the engineers had to redesign the joints and the cost went from about 50 to about 100 million euros.
It opened in March 2011, four years late and in the middle of the economic crisis, and many sevillanos hated it. The nickname “las setas” started as mockery and stuck. In 2021 the city officially renamed it Setas de Sevilla, and in 2022 the Aurora light show was added. It’s billed as the largest wooden structure in the world, a title some people dispute.
While digging for an underground parking garage, workers found Roman streets and houses with mosaics, dating from the 1st century BC to the 6th century AD. Instead of removing them, the project was redesigned around them, and today they make up the Antiquarium.
How it fits into your day
It works best as a finale: flamenco in the Santa Cruz quarter, sunset here and dinner at El Rinconcillo or the Alameda de Hércules, both five minutes away. That’s how we did it on our first day in Seville.
What to see, in order
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The Antiquarium
In the basement, the remains of Roman Hispalis that turned up during the excavation: streets, houses with mosaics and tanks for salting fish. Separate ticket, and on Sundays it closes at 14:00.
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The structure from the walkway
The laminated-wood ribs pass over and under you in continuous curves. This is where the engineering makes sense.
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The highest point
From the top of the route you see all of Seville's old town in 360 degrees.
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Seville Cathedral and the Giralda
To the southwest, outlined against the sky at sunset. It's the photo everyone comes for.
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Triana and the river
Across the Guadalquivir, to the southwest. To the south you can make out the gardens of the Alcázar.
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Aurora
When it gets dark, LED lights built into the wood slowly change color. It's a slow, quiet show, not fireworks.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Stake out the west side as soon as you get in: that's where people crowd as sunset approaches.
- Bring a light layer. It's windy up top, and in May it drops to 15 or 17 °C after sunset.
- The ticket office and the bar up top take cards.
- Your ticket lets you come back within 48 hours, subject to availability: you can go up at sunset and return in the morning.
Do
- Buy only on the official site or a well-known platform.
- Arrive 15 to 30 minutes before your slot, as the monument asks.
- Look at the structure from the square too: with people walking on top, you get a sense of the size.
Don’t
- Don't buy tickets from resellers in the square or pay to "skip the line": the ticket already has a set time.
- Don't let a photographer in the square take a "free" photo of you: afterward they ask for €5 to €10.
- Don't eat at the tourist menus around the edge of the Encarnación. Walk one more block, toward the Alameda or Calle Regina.
- Don't go expecting a big show from Aurora: it's 10 to 20 minutes of slow colors.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a visit to Metropol Parasol take?
About 40 minutes to walk the walkway. If you go at sunset and stay for Aurora, plan on 60 to 90 minutes.
What time is best to go?
At sunset, with a ticket that starts an hour before the sun goes down. It's the most requested slot, so buy it ahead.
Does the ticket include the Antiquarium?
No. The Antiquarium is paid separately (€2) and has different hours. According to our research, a Royal Alcázar of Seville ticket gets you in free.
Can you go back in with the same ticket?
Yes, within 48 hours of your first entry, subject to availability and capacity.