We spent a weekend in Sevilla at the end of our Portugal Roadtrip. From the Algarve it is only about 2 hour drive to Sevilla. The city is full of beautiful architecture, culture and great food and wine.
We got our bearings taking the White Umbrella free walking tour. We have always enjoyed free walking tours and this was was no different. Our guide was super friendly and we learned alot about the city.
The tour starts at Plaza de España. The plaza was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is very impressive. We highly recommend walking up to the balcony and taking in the view from higher up during your visit. It is completely free to walk up.
Another very impressive site is the Cathedral de Sevilla. This is by far the largest cathedral we have seen and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. You can buy tickets and visit the inside. We opted to skip the inside as we only had limited time in the city.
The Real Alcázar is the palace where the King stays when he visits the city. You can also buy tickets to visit the inside but again we skipped that due to our limited time. Our tour guide said between the Real Alcázar and the Cathedral de Sevilla he recommends visiting the Real Alcázar.
The walking tour will also take you by the:
Torre del Oro- The gold tower is 36-meters high. It was built by the Almohads in the 12th century and was part of the Moorish city wall, which ran between the Real Alcázar and the rest of Sevilla. The purpose of the tower was to control shipping on the Guadalquivir River which runs through the city.
Plaza de la real maestranza de caballería de Sevilla– the bull-fighting ring. We didn’t have a great vantage point for photos. During the season you can see a bull fight here but unfortunately we were there on the off season. There are often concerts and other events he as well if you are interested.
Hotel Alfonso– This may be one of the prettiest buildings in the city. It will cost you quite alot to stay here but you can go inside and order a coffee or drink at the bar. Then you can enjoy the inside at much less cost.
The Royal Tobacco Factory- this is free to visit inside and is now owned by the University.
There are several other stops within the city on this tour. We have only included the highlights here. We also would recommend taking a walk along the river. There are large running and bike paths and many small restaurants lining the waterfront.
Now for the food! We mostly hoped around enjoying tapas but we did do one actual sit down meal. We ate at Restaurante A Banda for paella. We really enjoyed the paella and all the staff were super nice and very patient, letting us practice our Spanish speaking as best we could.
Tapas Tour:
Tapas traditionally were a small snack that you got for free when your ordered a drink. Today, in Sevilla anyway, they are no longer free. Most restaurants will have a tapa, half ration and full ration of their items listed on the menu. Most places have tables inside and outside and were very crowded. Our first night we lucked out and found space in several tapas places. Our second night it was more crowded and we struggled a bit to find tables or open spots at the bar. We would suggest that you get a table and order a few tapas at 1-2 places, take your time to enjoy and take in the city. Our group really enjoyed Los Coloniales. There are plenty of other great places in this area to eat. Walk around until you find the places full of locals or the places that smell amazing and then go there!
We may be a little partial after spending so much time in Northern Spain but… in our opinion we felt the food in San Sebastian and Bilbao was better. We need to spend more time in Southern Spain to really judge but for now that is where we stand.
Another great cultural activity in the city to see a Flamenco show. We did see some dancers around the city during our walking tour but we didn’t go to a full show. Next time we are in this region we really would love to see more Flamenco.
Although our time here was short we did really enjoy the city! For us it was mostly about the food, the wine and the friends we were with!
What are your favorite parts of Southern Spain? What did we miss? Leave us a comment below.
