Places And Charm

Barrio Santa Cruz

Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Barrio Santa Cruz - originally the Jewish neighborhood - offers its visitors offers its visitors the magnificence of the city's cathedral, the palaces of the Alcazar and the Archive of the Indies. A stroll along its streets will bring you past the shop windows with Azulejos and ceramic works depicting religious images, or shops with beautiful fabrics and clothes, mother of pearl fans and inlaid wooden objects. The houses in the barrio are whitewashed, cared for and always decorated with beautiful flowers and plants, surrounded by narrow lanes that come out in front of the orange trees of Plaza Dona Elvira or in the beautiful Plaza Santa Cruz. Nearby, in the tiny Plaza Refinaderos, is the monument to the great seducer of Seville: the Christian knight Don Juan Tenorio, a character born from the imagination of the novelist Josè Zorrilla. The heart of Seville beats in Barrio Santa Cruz!

Barrio de San Bartolomè

In addition to Casa Pilatos, this ancient and fascinating neighborhood offers a chance to visit the Church of Santa Maria la Blanca, another Baroque Sevillian masterpiece, with red marble columns and works such as the Last Supper by Murillo and La Piedad by Luis de Vargas. Not too far away, after crossing a picturesque alley, you will arrive at Plaza de San Francisco, once the heart of Seville. It was the site for parties, celebrations, festivals, bullfights and the terrible trials of the Inquisition. The City Hall is still located here.

Barrio de la Macarena

It is the most popular neighborhood in Seville and its basilica contains the statue of the Virgin, the protagonist of Holy Week. Walking through its streets you can breathe in the atmosphere of Andalusia, among beautiful palaces and Baroque churches, such as the Church of San Luis. The nearby parish of St. Lawrence contains the image of Jesus del Gran Poder, one of the most venerated in Seville.

Plaza de Santa Marta

This tiny square is right in the city center, just a few steps away from the Cathedral of Seville, wrapped in a distant and quiet atmosphere, set among orange trees and geraniums that decorate the wrought-iron gates. Pure poetry!

Parque Maria Luisa

Designed by French landscape architect Le Forestier, this beautiful park is one of the most important green spaces of Seville. It is named after Maria Luisa Fernanda de Orleans, who donated the large area where it was developed, following a French style, with orange trees, cedars and plane trees, a triumph of ponds, fountains and waterworks. The famous 1929 Universal Exposition had its seat in some of the buildings in the park, which also includes two of the most beautiful squares in the city: Plaza de America and Plaza de España.

Isla Magica (Magic Island) theme park

If you are traveling with children, you must make a detour to Isla Magica! It is located on the Island of Cartuja and can be reached crossing the Barqueta bridge. You will travel through time with multimedia shows that will transport you to time of the discovery of the Americas, you'll scream on the red mountains of Anaconda or while rafting on the rapids of the Orinoco! There are also pirate's coves, Amazon "forests", free-falls from over 60 meters high and much more, for a day of carefree fun. There are restaurants, bars and plenty of refreshment stops.

Buildings And Monuments

The Giralda

The construction of the Cathedral of Seville took place in the same spot where the city's main mosque once stood. Only the ancient Almohad minaret from the twelfth century remains of the Moorish building. Almost 100 meters high, it still dominates Seville and offers an extraordinary view for those willing to take on its 34 ramps. The beautiful final appendix and revolving statue that gives the minaret its name were added to the original Arabic structure in the sixteenth century.

Royal Fortresses (Reales Alcazares)

The Royal Fortresses are located around Plaza del Trunfo and we recommend a visit. They are the shining witness of the transformation by the Reconquest on the ancient fortress built by the Arabs. Their beautiful appearance to shows many different styles that embellish lounges, patios and gardens, brilliant examples of what is called Mudejar art, such as the Hall of Ambassadors - capped by a stunning golden dome from the fifteenth century - the Patio de las Doncellas and the adjacent Salón del Techo. The Palace of Charles V is also beautiful. It was built to honor the marriage of the king and the Portuguese princess Isabella, complete with decorated tapestries that tell of Charles' businesses in faraway Tunis. Just outside the palace, you can quickly reach the gardens of Alcazares, Arabic style masterpieces that enchant every visitor with the unusual artistic contamination of Renaissance elements. There are caves, pools and impressive waterworks!

Casa de Pilatos

A patio with 24 arcades and numerous busts of Caesar, Roman statues and Mudejar style walls. Casa de Pilatos is also rich with frescoes and great halls, such as the beautiful Fresco Room. The gardens are also remarkable. A Renaissance masterpiece that hides a single story, that of the Marquis of Tarifa, Don Fadrique. Noticing that the distance between his home and the church was the same as the Calvary that brought Jesus from the residence of Pontius Pilate to the cross, he wanted to establish the 14 stations of the Cross along the route. Free admission on Tuesdays for EU citizens.

Torre de Oro - Golden Tower

It is one of the most recurring images in Seville, built in the thirteenth century by the Almohad and covered once by golden azulejos (tiles) that made it shine so much that it earned its name. Built as a defense tower, it was a prison and later the port of Seville. Today it is one of the starting points of the cruise on the Guadalquivir. Inside, you can visit a small Maritime Museum dedicated to the Spanish Empire overseas.

Plaza de España

Located near Maria Luisa Park, more than 200 meters are taken up by a truly spectacular square, run through by an artificial canal navigable by small boats and crossed by decorated bridges. All around, under a spectacular patio, the Spanish provinces and their coats of arms are represented with azulejos (glazed tiles). An amazing place that inspired the director of Star Wars, George Lucas, who set an episode of the series right here.

Plaza de America

The square is characterized by three Gothic, Mudejar and Renaissance pavilions designed by Anibal González between 1913 and 1916. These buildings are home to the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Popular Art and Traditions, set among artificial lakes and ponds, palms and magnolias, which also characterize Maria Luisa Park.

Where to stay in Seville

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