Seville · Spain
Seville
A practical guide to Seville in 2 days plus one for Córdoba: Triana, Santa Cruz, the Cathedral and the Alcázar, Las Setas at sunset, tapas bars, what to book and how to get around on foot.
Two full days are enough for the essentials if you book the Cathedral, the Alcázar and Las Setas with timed entry. What makes the difference is the clock: Santa Cruz before ten, a roof over your head in the hot hours and back out on the street as the afternoon cools.
Seville is a city you cover on foot. The center is flat and compact, the Guadalquivir separates it from Triana, and a single bridge joins the two sides. The challenge is not the distances but the clock: in May, middays go past 30 °C, the big monuments have timed entry, and the prettiest neighborhoods change completely depending on when you get there.
Our experience
We spent three nights in Seville, in an apartment in Triana. On day 8 we arrived on the 7:05 flight from Porto and gave the morning to Triana: market, river and tapas at midday. Check-in was 15:00 with no exceptions, so we slept through the hot hours and in the evening crossed into the center for flamenco, sunset at Las Setas and dinner at El Rinconcillo.
Day 9 was the longest: Santa Cruz at 9:30, Casa de Pilatos, the Cathedral and the Alcázar on a 13:00 tour, and a tapas crawl through Triana. Day 10 we spent in Córdoba and came back for dinner at Espacio Eslava. On day 11 we left at 5:30 for Santa Justa to pick up the car and drive to Granada by way of Ronda.
How to plan your days
Group by area and by hour. Triana and the river go together, and they work well on arrival day because everything is close. The second day is for the monument block: Santa Cruz early, then Casa de Pilatos, which is best seen before the Alcázar, and at midday the Cathedral and the Real Alcázar, which sit side by side and keep you indoors through the worst of the heat.
Las Setas are for the end of the day. We bought the 20:15 slot to watch the sunset and stay for the Aurora lights; the ticket lets you come back within 48 hours. If you want a third day, Córdoba is two hours away by bus, and Ronda 90 minutes by car.
What to eat and where
In Triana we had toast with tomato and café con leche at the Mercado de Triana, and lunch at Las Golondrinas, from 1962: puntas de solomillo and tortillitas de camarones. Watch out for old guides: in 2026 the puntas come in portions of six for about €21, and two people spend €40 to €50. Our Monday tapas crawl was Bar Santa Ana, for vermouth on tap; Casa Ruperto, for its fried quail; and Casa Cuesta, from 1880.
In the center, Bodega Santa Cruz “Las Columnas” serves the serranito with manzanilla, standing up, and El Rinconcillo, open since 1670, the braised pork cheek, the spinach with chickpeas and a glass of oloroso. Casa Morales pours manzanilla from its casks. The yemas from the San Leandro convent are bought through the turntable, about €7 for a small box. For the last night, Espacio Eslava, in San Lorenzo: ribs with rosemary honey and the “cigarro para Bécquer.” The bar takes no reservations; we arrived at 20:00 sharp.
The Mercado Lonja del Barranco is worth it for the building and a quick beer, not for the food: prices are double Triana’s.
Getting around Seville
We did not use public transit. We walked 9 to 12 kilometers a day. From Triana, the Cathedral is about 15 minutes away across the Triana Bridge; from Casa del Flamenco to Las Setas it is 700 meters, and from Las Setas to El Rinconcillo, five minutes. For the airport and the station we used a taxi or Uber. Always carry water and walk on the shady side.
A bit of history
Julius Caesar refounded the city in 45 BC as a Roman colony, and Trajan and Hadrian were born in Itálica, 10 kilometers away. Under the Almohads Seville was a capital: the Giralda and the Torre del Oro date from then. Fernando III conquered it in 1248 and Pedro I built his Mudéjar palace in the Alcázar. In 1391 a pogrom destroyed the Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz, and in 1481 the Inquisition set up its first tribunal in the Castillo de San Jorge. With the monopoly on trade with the Americas, every ship to the New World sailed from its port. The expositions of 1929 and 1992 gave it its modern face.
What we skipped and why
Plaza de España and the Parque de María Luisa came off day 8 when we were refused early check-in: the nap ate up that afternoon. We only saw the Torre del Oro and the Maestranza from outside: the tower’s maritime museum is small and we preferred to give that time to the Cathedral and the Alcázar. The Antiquarium, with the Roman ruins under Las Setas, closes at 14:00 on Sundays, so it did not line up with our sunset slot.
What to see, in order
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Triana and its market
The neighborhood across the river, the cradle of Seville's ceramics and of flamenco. At the Mercado de Triana you have toast with tomato standing at the counter, and underneath is the Castillo de San Jorge, the former seat of the Inquisition, free. Look for the glass panels in the market floor that show the ruins below.
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Calle Betis and the Torre del Oro
The riverside walk along the Guadalquivir, on the Triana side. This is where you get the best photo of the Torre del Oro, the Almohad tower from 1220, with its reflection in the water. Calle San Jacinto, pedestrian since 2010, is everyday Triana.
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El Arenal and the Maestranza
Across the bridge: the Maestranza bullring seen from outside, the Mercado Lonja del Barranco, the only iron market Seville has left, and Casa Morales, an 1850 bodega with clay wine vats and the dishes written in chalk.
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Barrio de Santa Cruz
The old Jewish quarter, a maze of squares with orange trees pressed against the Alcázar wall. You can walk it in about 75 minutes, and the hour decides everything: before ten it is calm, from eleven it fills with tour groups.
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Casa de Pilatos and Calle Mármoles
The Medinaceli palace, with some 150 tile designs in the courtyard and almost nobody there in the morning. On the way, three Roman columns about 2,000 years old, sunk 4.5 meters below the street.
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The Cathedral and the Giralda
The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, built between 1402 and 1506 on the site of the Almohad mosque. The Giralda was its minaret, from 1184, and you climb it by 34 ramps.
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The Real Alcázar and the Patio de Banderas
Pedro I's Mudéjar palace, still a royal residence, with the Patio de las Doncellas and gardens that stay cool at midday. Next door, the Patio de Banderas gives you the best photo of the Giralda between orange trees, for free.
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Setas de Sevilla
The wooden structure over Plaza de la Encarnación, with a walkway on top. At sunset you see the Cathedral and the Giralda in silhouette to the southwest, and after dark the Aurora lights come on.
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San Lorenzo and the Alameda de Hércules
The north of the center, more of a neighborhood. Here are El Rinconcillo, the oldest bar in Seville, and Espacio Eslava. At the south end of the Alameda stand two Roman columns that were brought over from Calle Mármoles in 1574.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Check the day of the week before you plan your meals. On Mondays Las Golondrinas, Bar Bistec and Espacio Eslava are closed; on Sundays Las Golondrinas serves lunch only and many of the ceramics shops on Calle San Jorge stay shut.
- Between 14:00 and 17:00 many shops close and kitchens stop until 20:00. That is the time for an indoor monument, a tour or a nap.
- In the old bars your tab is written in chalk on the counter. Keep your own count: if the total sounds high, ask "¿me lo desglosa, por favor?".
- Carry small bills and coins. The San Leandro turntable is cash only, and Bodega Santa Cruz prefers cash. Las Setas, on the other hand, only takes cards.
- For taxis, download FreeNow before you arrive. From the airport to the center the taxi has a flat fare of €22.
Do
- Go into Santa Cruz before 10:00 and treat Mateos Gago as a street to walk through, not to linger on.
- Visit Casa de Pilatos before the Alcázar. The other way around, the Medinaceli palace feels small.
- Cross to Triana or head up to San Lorenzo to eat: three streets away from the Cathedral, prices drop and the food gets better.
- Ask for tap water, which is free and good, instead of a €3 bottle.
- Cover your shoulders and wear closed shoes on Cathedral and Alcázar day: the dress code is enforced at the door.
Don’t
- Do not take the sprig of rosemary offered next to the Cathedral, in Santa Cruz or near the Torre del Oro: afterward they ask for money to read your palm.
- Do not buy flamenco from the promoters on Mateos Gago or "dinner and show" packages: they take you to big halls with microphones.
- Do not ride the horse carriages: about €45 for a ride you can do on foot.
- Do not pay for "Inquisition tours" or skip-the-line tickets for the Castillo de San Jorge: entry is free.
- Do not count on free Monday at Casa de Pilatos unless you have an EU passport: it is for EU citizens only, with an hourly cap.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need to see Seville?
Two full days for Triana, Santa Cruz, the Cathedral, the Alcázar, Casa de Pilatos and Las Setas. We stayed three nights and used the third day for Córdoba.
How do I get from Seville airport to the center?
By taxi, with a flat fare of €22 and about 15 minutes to Triana. The rank is right outside arrivals.
Where should I stay in Seville?
We chose Triana: it is a real neighborhood, with a market and tapas bars, very safe, and one bridge away from the center. From there we did everything on foot, including the pickup for the Córdoba tour.
Is Seville safe for tourists?
Yes. The risk is pickpockets and the scams around the Cathedral and Mateos Gago: the sprig of rosemary, the signatures for a so-called charity and the bracelets someone ties to your wrist. Triana has very little crime.
What should I eat in Seville?
Toast with tomato for breakfast, churros with chocolate, tortillitas de camarones, puntas de solomillo, a serranito, spinach with chickpeas, braised pork cheek, convent yemas and a glass of manzanilla. In the food section we tell you where we ordered them.
Can you visit Córdoba in a day from Seville?
Yes. We went on a bus day trip of about 10 hours, with the Mosque-Cathedral, the Jewish quarter and the Synagogue with a guide. We left at 9:00 and were back by 19:00.