We drove from Olhos d’Agua to Seville, Spain this day. It was about a 2 hour 30min drive to Seville. Pretty easy drive, good roads, although better on the Portugal side compared to Spanish side. The weather was hot, very hot, from 30-32 degrees C over the four days with bright clear blue skies everyday!
We stayed 4 nights in a very nice Airbnb in the Triana area of Seville. The Airbnb was hosted by a young teacher and her father. They met us outside of the building that the 2 bed, 2 bath apartment was in. The teacher spoke great english, the father none! The father jumped in the car with Dave and directed them around the side streets to the back where the underground parking entrance was located. We were then taken up to the apartment and given a tour, that included answering any questions we had about Seville and the Triana district. They had a book in the unit with maps, tourist brochures and pages of info on everything from supermarkets, restaurants and other things to see and do in Seville. It was amazing. The teacher asked if we were interested in attending a Flamenco music dance show. We said we may be and she explained about it and recommended a historical place to see one that she offered to book for us.
While in Seville we visited the following sites and undertook these activities (all well worth it):
-Did an organized walking tour the first day, led by a local, of the centro historic area of Seville. Booked online.
-Cathedral of Seville including the Giralda bell tower - included guided tour and allowance to explore on your own after the tour (advance ticket). Note, a lot of steps (sloped not stairs) to climb Bell Tower! This cathedral is really beautiful even if you are not religious.
-Inglis del Salvador Church - by chance, entrance ticket required, bought onsite.
-Real Alcazar and Royal Alcazar Gardens (advance ticket). Amazing gardens and architecture and interior rooms.
-Maria Luisa Park, including one of the museums. Beautiful park with several museums near Plaza de Espana.
-Plaza de Espana - hard to describe, interesting site for photos, interior rooms not open to visit.
-Setas de Sevilla (entrance ticket required, paid onsite). Unique, funky, great views.
-Attended a Flamenco (music & dance) show and museum. In the Andalusia area of Spain this is a cultural activity. Flamenco refers not to the birds, they are flamingos! No photos or videos allowed of the show we saw.
The tickets to the Seville Cathedral and Real Alcazar were purchased online a number of days in advance. These tickets can sell out completely on some days or for certain time periods so buying as far in advance is suggested.
While in Seville we did not use our rental car, it stayed parked underground at our Airbnb. We walked everywhere, averaging over 30,000 steps per day. We also undertook the local custom of afternoon siesta to keep our energy up as it hit a high of about 32 degrees each day!
Seville, as you will see from the pictures below, architecturally, is a beautiful city. It is also very flat and easily walkable. English is not spoken as proficiently as we found in Lisbon. Knowing some Spanish words to read a menu would be very helpful. Restaurants do not open for supper often until 7pm. Tapas bars and restaurants are the common way to have lunch or dinner but you can also find conventional style dining. Many businesses close for a siesta break in the afternoon.
For lunches a couple of times we did return to our condo and pick up some premade food at a nearby Mercodona supermarket and bring it back to the condo. For supper we ate at restaurants or a Tapas bar in the Triana area. There are lots of restaurants all over Seville. We did find the prices slightly better in Triana as it is away from the tourist center and mostly where locals live and some work.
The last day we were in Seville happened to be the day of a big cup football match between Real Madrid and Osasuna (from Pamplona Spain). So the city was full of Spanish football fans, in particular many Osasuna fans dressed in their team colour red shirts. Spanish people take their football - VERY seriously. Many fans were “preping” for the game and it seemed like a party everywhere we went. We picked up a game scarf and tried to blend in with the crowds, lol !
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| Plaza de Espana |
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| Plaza de Espana |
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| Plaza de Espana |
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| Plaza Nueva where walking tour started |
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| Part of the Seville Cathedral in background |
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| Entrance to the Real Alcazar |
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| Just a road intersection in Seville |
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| Inside Real Alcazar |
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| Real Alcazar Gardens |
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| Real Alcazar Gardens |
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| Still inside the Real Alcazar Gardens |
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| Shop in Seville |
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| Lots of interesting shops to explore in Seville |
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| Notice the canopies over the streets to shade the hot sun in Seville |
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| Inglis del Salvador Church |
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| Inglis del Salvador Church on left in this picture |
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| Some lanes are narrow, lol ! |
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| Views from the Giralda bell tower |
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| Giralda Bell Tower |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Maria Luisa Park |
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| Maria Luisa Park |
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| Maria Luisa Park |
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| Seville Cathedral - spectacular! |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Seville Cathedral |
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| Setas de Sevilla |
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| Dome in Inglis del Salvador Church |
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| Gale donning the football game day scarf! |
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| Osasuna fans in red |
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| Osasuna Football fans in red |
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| Two lovely ladies in thought |
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| Triana area is across the bridge in background |
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| Flamenco Showroom |
Seville has a municipal population of about 701,000 as of 2022, and a metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the largest city in Andalusia, the fourth-largest city in Spain.
Link to video of Airbnb:
Link to our Youtube video of inside our Airbnb
https://youtu.be/7KT8MoxiZIM?feature=shared
Other videos we took in Sevilla:
Link to video of walk following Osasuna fans in Seville on game day
Another video in Seville with Soccer fans
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