If You Love Cities – You’ll Adore Seville
Feeling in a need of a pick me up? There are plenty of cheap flights to the glorious city of Seville and you’ll come home re-energised and ready for your next trip! Seville’s’ rich heritage and culture are the end result of many invading and departing cultures, including Greek, Phoenician, Roman and Arab. The Arab influence is still evident today and the legacy of talented designers and builders has made Seville a place of great beauty, brimming with style and colour.
Some Key Landmarks
The old city still dominates Seville, so here are a few things to look out for on your visit. Firstly, the Cathedral. It is heart stopping in size and scale. You’ll need to dress modestly, and take something to cover your arms; the Cathedral has exceptionally thick walls, which means that it is always cool. The Bell Tower, to the side of the Cathedral is reached by 35 walkways which slope upwards– you need to be fairly fit to reach the top! The views are wonderful and you can watch your progress through tiny grilled windows as you climb. Even better, the bells still ring out.
The Barro Santa Cruz area is made up tiny alleyways, designed to keep the sun out and the people cool. The houses are draped in geraniums, and have the characteristic iron grilled windows. These were originally designed to keep young women out of the clutches of their suitors, who could do little more than look at them! You can visit the prettiest of these old houses, which is the Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes, with its internal courtyard. You can also visit the Jardines De Murillo, a lovely peaceful garden to take a breather, or sample some fine sherry in the long established bodega, Juan Garcia Aviles. This little street bar is something of an establishment in Seville. There are lots of craft shops, artists and designers working in this area, so it’s a great place to treat yourself!
You might want to check out the Art Market outside the Museo de Bellas Artes, which has an ever changing exhibition of Spanish art. There are lots of museums too, one for the Spanish Navy, a Fan Museum, and the most famous, the Maestanza, a bullring, thought to be the best in Spain. A must see place for opera lovers is the old Tobacco Factory, found on Avenida San Fernado. It was the setting for Bizets opera Carmen. In its hey day, the factory was Spains largest employer, with 10,000 women making cigars, cigarettes and snuff.
There are monuments, remarkable buildings, things to do, and places to rest from the heat all through the city. The loveliest spot has to be Alcazar Gardens, an oasis of ancient established plants, set against Moorish buildings, walkways, courtyards and waterways.
And Finally….
Spanish food is delicious – lots of freshly made tapas, excellent bread and cheese and olives, and of course, exceptional wine and sherry. Be prepared to adjust your internal clock – Spanish people don’t eat much before 9.30pm and things only really get getting around 1.00am so you’ll need some stamina or a black coffee at least. Nightlife is vibrant, with music venues, theatre and comedy shows to suit all tastes. It’s easy to get around too – in the city there are trams and bikes for hire. Seville train station is big, modern and immaculately clean, as are the trains. There are lots of flight companies who fly to Spain, including Flybe, and Ryanair so it’s very easy to arrange your travel from most UK airports.
Whether you have 2 days or two weeks you’ll always leave Seville wanting more. It’s a great place to kick start your interest in Spain and it’s just a few hours away!
