Seville is a city where the sun always shines and the terraces are always crowded. A place where you can enjoy tapas among the orange trees and spontaneously attend a flamenco performance, what a beautiful and Spanish city!
In this blog, we suggest 20 fun activities and sights for your city break to beautiful Seville.
Tip #1 Enjoy views of Setas de Sevilla
Metropol Parasol, or Setas de Sevilla, is a magnificent wooden structure in the historic centre. The 150-metre-long and 70-metre-wide structure covers the entire Plaza de la Encarnación square. At the bottom of the construction you will find a covered market and several tapas bars.
Originally, the artwork was named ‘Metropol Parasol’ and the design was inspired by the shapes of the cathedral. But thanks to its structure, locals soon named the building ‘Setas de Sevilla’, meaning ‘the mushrooms of Seville’.
You can go up there for a beautiful and unique view of the city. There is a path that leads you over the various mushrooms. The 360° view at 26 metres high is especially beautiful during sunset. And as soon as the sun sets, the light show called ‘Aurora’ begins. Not yet familiar with the different buildings in Seville? Then download their app so you can get more information using augmented reality.
It is advisable to buy tickets online in advance to avoid the huge queue at the box office. If you want to go around sunset, it is best to buy tickets as soon as possible as they sell out quickly (especially on weekends). A ticket includes a VR movie, access to the viewing platform and the light show. You can visit Setas de Sevilla Monday to Sunday from 9:30am to 00:30am
Tip #2 Eat like the locals
We generally eat 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In Seville, they eat smaller meals spread throughout the day: tapas. In the afternoon, they often start eating from 1:30 pm and in the evening from 9:00 pm.
Tapas are appetisers, small versions of dishes. On the menu, you will often see two prices per dish: the tapas (small) price and a full meal. Hot, cold, meat, fish, cheese, potatoes or vegetables… In total, there are more than 100 different tapas.
The most famous are Patatas Bravas (fried potato cubes with sauce), Tortilla de Patatas (potato omelette) and Calamares (squid rings). Other tapas we can recommend are:
Carrillada: Spanish pork cheeks
Espinacas con garbanzos: chickpeas with spinach
Pimientos jalapeños rellenos de queso: peppers stuffed with cheese
Croquetas de queso y membrillo: cheese and quince croquettes
When you order tapas, you get a basket with pieces of bread, a bag of dry biscuits and cutlery. It is common to be charged €0.50 to €1 for this, often per person.
More in the mood for a sandwich? Try ordering a Montadito de Pringa. Montaditos are small sandwiches and Pringa is a kind of stew. Pringa is a typical dish from Andalusia.
Tip #3 Walk around the Plaza de España
Plaza de España is Seville’s most famous and beautiful square, built in a neo-Moorish Renaissance style. This large square of 50,000 square metres consists of a semicircle with several buildings. A canal flows between the middle section and the outer edge. In the square you will find gigantic details. For instance, there are four bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. At the bottom of the buildings, you will then find tile mosaics, each representing a Spanish province.
What can you do here? Stroll around and admire all the details of this impressive square. This is also where you are most likely to catch a spontaneous flamenco performance.
In a romantic mood? Hire a rowing boat and row through the 500-metre canal.
After visiting Plaza de España, you can walk through the beautiful Maria Luisa Park to Plaza de América.
Tip #4 Explore Seville by bicycle
Seville is a big city and has a good network of cycle paths. For those who have little time to visit the city or just want to go out and get some fresh air on a bike, it is ideal to rent a bike.
For €12 a day, you can rent a bike for the whole day, you pick them up at the beautiful Plaza de Santa Cruz square.
Tip #5 Appetizer on the hippest Food market of Seville
Seville is the ideal destination for foodies. There are endless tapas bars and at several places in the city you will find covered markets where you can also have aperitifs.
But if you want to visit Seville’s hippest food market, you have to go to Mercado Lonja del Barranco. Inside this beautiful building you will find 20 food stalls offering a wide variety of snacks and drinks.
Mercado Lonja del Barranco is open from 10am to midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays even until 2am.
Outside the covered market, there is also a nice terrace overlooking the river, where chill music is played and good cocktails are available.
Tip #6 Drink cocktails on a rooftop bar with a view on the Giralda
Say big city, you say rooftop bars. Seville, too, has hip rooftop bars. And what makes a rooftop bar perfect? A beautiful view!
On Terraza Doña MarÃa, the roof of the hotel Doña MarÃa, you can enjoy the view of the Cathedral and the Giralda with a cocktail. The hotel also has a swimming pool, but only hotel guests are allowed to use it (check hotel prices here).
Drinks here, like at most rooftop bars, are slightly more expensive. For a wine you pay €5, for a cocktail between €10 and €14.50. If you want to watch the sunset from Terraza Doña MarÃa, be there on time, reservations are not possible.
Tip #7 Visit Palacio de las Dueñas
Dueñas Palace is one of Seville’s most beautiful historical ‘houses’. The building belonging to House Alva (Casa de Alba – a Spanish noble family) is built in a Renaissance style with Gothic and Moorish influences.
The palace has several rooms you can visit and some beautiful gardens.
Palacio de las Dueñas can be visited daily between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Admission is €12 per person.
Tip #8 Eat churros with chocolate
Churros are also known as Spanish doughnuts, although I don’t think both the taste and texture are similar.
These deep-fried strands of dough are even tastier when dipped in hot chocolate. And they know this all too well in Seville, so you can order this combination in many places.
Want the best churros? Opt for a real ‘churretaria’. The difference in quality between a churretaria and a ‘regular’ bar offering churros is very high.
For delicious, fresh churros in Seville, we can recommend ‘La ChurreterÃa’ in the Triana district. Here they have two different types of churros, those made of wheat dough as well as potato dough. We liked them both equally.
Tip #9 Go see a flamenco show
In Seville, you have countless flamenco shows. From big theatres to cosy spots. They all have one thing in common: you get to see an hour of flamenco. That’s not just a dancer in a pretty dress, by the way. Singing turns out to be the basis of flamenco. And men also dance flamenco.
The biggest difference between the theatres is the decor. At some theatres, you can also order tapas or dinner is included. For a show, you spend between €20 and €25 per person.
What struck me most about the flamenco shows is the passion with which they are performed. Not only with the dancer(s), but also the cantaor (singer) and the guitarist. It is not just a ‘performance’, you see genuine emotions expressed through the performances.
A flamenco show really should not be missing from your Seville experience!
Tip #10 Climb to the top of the Giralda (and visit the Cathedral)
The Giralda is Seville’s most iconic tower. The minaret was built in 1184 for the mosque that stood there at the time. That’s why you won’t find any stairs here; they had to go up by horse to call out prayers.
In 1248, Seville was conquered by the Christians and the mosque was symbolically replaced by the Cathedral. The Giralda is all that remains of the Moors. At 104 metres, the Giralda was Seville’s tallest building for 800 years.
From the Giralda, you have a great view of Seville. During a visit, you can walk up the 34 floors and get different views each time from the different heights. On top of the tower, you’ll also find the 25 bells that were put on it in the 16th century.
Your ticket includes a visit to both the Giralda and Cathedral. Seville’s Cathedral is the third largest church building in Europe and has many Gothic church rooms with beautiful details. Here you will also find Columbus’ tomb (last photo).
Tickets are best bought in advance for €11 per person. If you want to avoid a long queue, it’s best to go on a weekday. Covering your shoulders is compulsory in the Cathedral.
Tip #11 Shop till you drop
Did you know that Seville is a really nice city for shopping?
It is also a lot cheaper if you shop in Spanish shops like Zara, Mango, Bershka and Pull & Bear. These fashion shops are sometimes up to 20% cheaper than in Belgium or the Netherlands.
If you like luxury(er) brands, be sure to visit the big department store El Corte Inglés. As a tourist, you even get a 10% discount here. If you want to claim it, go to the tourist counter on the ground floor and show your identity card. You will then get a pass that allows you to shop at a 10% discount for 3 days.
Tip #12 Visit the Real Alcazar
The Real Alcazar is the oldest Royal Palace still in use. When the Spanish royal couple are in Seville, they stay here.
What makes this 14th-century palace so special is its mudéjar architecture. This architectural style is found only in Spain and is a mixture of Christian and Islamic influences.
You can spend hours wandering the various rooms and immense gardens here. The gardens are among the oldest in Seville and are especially beautiful in spring. You’ll find mudéjar as well as baroque, renaissance, rococo and modernism influences.
It’s best to buy a ticket online in advance. Want to save money? A visit to Real Alcazar is free on Mondays at 16:00 and 16:30, but of course it is much busier then.
When booking tickets, have your identity card to hand, you will need to enter your card number. You also have to show your ID card when entering the Royal Palace.
Tip #13 Explore Plaza de Toros
Plaza de Toros is an arena where bullfights take place. This bullring dates from the 18th century and was built in traditional Baroque style. It is the largest and most important bullfighting arena in Spain and is also called ‘the cathedral of bullfighting’.
Although I thought bullfights had long since been banned, unfortunately it turns out these fights still take place between April and September. We are against entertainment with animals, so we advise against going to a bullfight. During such a fight, as many as 11 bulls die and the animals go through a long ordeal both before and during the fight.
Despite being against the activities, we wanted to see what such a bullring looks like on the inside, it remains an important piece of Spanish history.
A ticket gets you access to the museum and arena. Plaza de Toros is open daily between 9:30 and 21:30. Hopefully one day this will become a place where you can just learn about history, without any fights taking place.
Tip #14 Take a Spanish cooking workshop
Fancy learning to make those tasty tapas yourself? Follow a cooking workshop! Learn to make the famous dishes Huevos a la Flamenca and Espinacas con garbanzo, among others, in a three-hour cooking class.
Of course, you get to eat everything you cooked yourself, while enjoying a glass of wine, beer or soft drink.
Tip #15 See the Christmas market
Always wanted to make your own nativity scene? Apparently Spaniards love it. Every year they organise ‘Feria de los Belenes’, a Christmas market where you can find all the parts of a nativity scene. Here you can see the smallest details you didn’t know existed before. It’s fun to see how locals get involved with this.
Feria de los Belenes takes place from 28 October to 23 December from 10:30 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00. The Christmas stalls are next to the Cathedral, on Calle Fray Ceferino González.
Tip #16 Wander through the streets of Triana
Once a poor gypsy neighbourhood, Barrio de Triana is now Seville’s hippest district.
Triana is connected to Seville’s historic centre by the bridge Puente de Isabel II (also called Triana Bridge) over the Guadalquivir River. Residents of the Triana district call themselves ‘Trianeros’ and generally feel little connection to Seville.
In 1970, the gypsies (‘Gitanos’) living in Triana were expelled, but to this day you can still find their influence here. Triana is therefore the ideal district to go to a flamenco show, as flamenco is inextricably linked to gypsy culture.
The district offers endless hip and cosy tapas bars, colourful streets and many flamenco theatres. Also be sure to visit the fresh food market ‘Mercado de Triana’.
Tip #17 Sail over the Guadalquivir-river
The Guadalquivir River has played an important role in Seville’s history. Today you can enjoy a long walk beside the river, among palm and orange trees. The path passes the former defence tower ‘Torre del Oro’.
But it’s even more fun to take to the water and see the sights from the river! You can choose from several boat tours. Purely sightseeing, or make it a tapas tour.
Prefer taking to the water without a boat? Then go for a kayak or paddle board.
Tip #18 Visit the football stadium of FC Sevilla
Football fan? Visit the football stadium ‘Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán’, also known as La Bombonera. It is the stadium in which FC Sevilla plays home matches and can accommodate around 45,000 supporters. You can visit the stadium and its museum outside game days.
Prefer to attend a match? Buy your tickets here.
Tip #19 Enjoy the view in a tethered balloon
Does a balloon ride sound a little too scary to you? Then go for Nao Vigia’s tethered balloon adventure!
With a group of up to 29 people, you will ascent to 150 metres and enjoy stunning and unique views over Seville. The balloon itself is a whopping 34 metres high, about 7 stories so!
The balloon is part of the Isla Mágica Theme Park, but can also be booked separately for just €12.50 per person.
Tip #20 Rent a car and explore the area
We like to combine a city trip with some nature. If you stay longer than 4 days in Seville, like us, it’s fun to rent a car and explore the surrounding area. Go into the mountains, for example, or drive to the coast.
It’s best to rent a car from Sunnycars. The big advantage of Sunnycars is that you are fully insured, even against collision damage. This insurance is many times better than those offered locally. Since we rent through them, we no longer have any fear of being wrongly charged for damage. If they do, Sunnycars will refund the full amount. So Sunnycars is actually an intermediate platform, just like Booking. You effectively rent from local partners like Hertz, but you are all-inclusive insured by Sunnycars.
👉 Check out our top 5-day trips from Seville here
Bonus tip: The best local wine
Wine from Seville (and the rest of Andalusia) is super tasty! Seville is therefore a place with many wine bars. For the best wine experience, go to a ‘bodega’, which is the Spanish name for ‘warehouses for wine’.
Do not order wine in a regular bar, as you will get the worst wine around. Believe me, I have tested it extensively for you, only in bodegas is the wine as it should be.
Beer lovers can enjoy the local pints Cruzcampo and Cruzcampo Especial.
Of course, you order your wine or pint with some tapas 😉
First and foremost: Enjoy Seville!
This is a simple, but perhaps the best tip for your city trip to Seville: look up and admire Seville’s extraordinary architecture. Most cities have a few beautiful buildings, but in Seville there are infinitely many.
Almost every street has buildings with special architecture. And especially the combination with the orange trees makes Seville a very cheerful and beautiful city.
Which neighbourhood to stay in Seville?
There are so many neighbourhoods to choose from in Seville. Will you stay in trendy Triana or rather close to the historic centre? We have found the perfect flat in the ideal location!
This cosy flat with a cosy patio is located on the lively Alameda de Hércules. Here you are just outside the tourist centre, among the locals. The neighbourhood is home to numerous tapas bars where locals drink late into the night every day.
In just a 10-minute walk you’ll be at Setas de Sevilla or the Cathedral. A nice walk, by the way, through the city’s narrow and colourful streets.
The flat has a living room (with sofa bed), air conditioning, a fully equipped kitchen, dining table, bathroom with rain shower, double bedroom with fan and a cosy patio with a bench and 2 chairs.
Even though the flat is right on the cosy square, you have NO noise pollution! It is pure enjoyment here!
Explore Seville in 360°
Denis takes you virtually to Seville in his 360° video. See the view from the Giralda and wander around the Cathedral! The video is a true 360° environment, so you can look left, right, up, and down.
