Our latest trip to Spain all started when I came across incredible blogs about Ronda, Malaga. When I realised Ryanair do flights to Malaga from Aberdeen, I decided then and there we were going! After a bit of google mapping, I noticed Seville was only another hour away and just like that, our mini Andalusian road trip was planned. We landed in Malaga late on a Sunday afternoon, hired a car and made our way to Sevilla. We had just 24 hours to explore the city and managed to pack quite a lot in, so I wanted to share how to make the most of one day in Seville!
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We stayed in Hotel Alcazar which was handily located across the road from the Real Alcazar. A few days before I booked tickets for the Alcazar online - I recommend doing this for any of the big attractions you want to see or you will spend your whole day waiting in line to get in anywhere!
Check prices for Hotel Alcazar on Booking.com.
*This article contains affiliate links. This means that I will earn a small commission from any booking/sale made through these links, at no extra cost to you.
We stayed in Hotel Alcazar which was handily located across the road from the Real Alcazar. A few days before I booked tickets for the Alcazar online - I recommend doing this for any of the big attractions you want to see or you will spend your whole day waiting in line to get in anywhere!
Check prices for Hotel Alcazar on Booking.com.
I'd booked a 10.30am slot, so we headed to the Alcazar through the narrow streets, grabbing a couple of pain au chocolat from a bakery on the way. Even at this time in the morning the line was ridiculously long but we skipped to the front with our pre-printed tickets and got straight in.
The entrance is across from the Cathedral and La Giralda so you can tick those off your list too - again, book online if you want to go inside. We didn't but I hear it's worth it for the views from the top! It's also a UNESCO world heritage site, the third largest church in the world and the burial place of Christopher Columbus.
If you're a Game of Thrones fan the Alcazar might look familiar - it was the location for the Water Gardens of Dorne scenes! You could spend hours wondering around the royal palace, admiring the incredible architecture but it was the gardens I fell in love with.
We spent an hour or so wandering, admiring fountains, all sorts of flora and fauna, ponds filled with koi carp and peacocks strutting their stuff. This particular peacock had a bit of an attitude - we're still not sure if he was trying to scare or impress the duck!
Real Alcazar is stunning and well worth the 9.50 euro entry fee. In general we found Seville to be a fairly cheap city - for food and drink as well as tourist attractions!
Speaking of food, I plan to do a separate guide on where to eat in Seville. The rain came on whilst we were at the Alcazar so we made a dash to nearby El Pinton for a fab lunch of modern tapas which deserves a whole post of it's own!
Plaza de Espana
After lunch head to the beautiful Plaza de Espana in Maria Luisa Park. I should point out, this day in Seville involves a lot of walking! The Plaza was built in 1928 for a world's fair and the buildings are now mainly used by the Government.
The building curves around creating an arch full of exquisitely tiled alcoves, each one representing a Spanish province. Everywhere you look there are beautiful, colourful tiles - on the alcoves, the bridges and even the building.
You can hire a boat to admire the colours from the water or take a horse and carriage ride. If you're lucky you might even catch a hand clapping, finger snapping live flamenco dancer! Andalucia is known as the home of flamenco so if you don't see any at the Plaza, you should definitely check out a show somewhere in Seville.
The shelves at the side of each alcove are apparently bookshelves to be used as a free library! It's tradition for Spaniards to snap a photo in their home province's alcove at Plaza de Espana so it was only right we posed in Alicante.
Torre del Oro & Mercado Lonja del Barranco
From the Plaza de Espana, head towards the river and take a short stroll to the Torre del Oro - or "Tower of Gold" in English. Again there are queues to get in, although not quite as long, but we weren't fussed about the nautical museum it houses.
Continue walking along the river instead, and you can either cross the bridge to the cool Triana neighbourhood or stop at the Mercado Lonja del Barranco. We chose the latter - I can't resist a foodie market! We sipped on orange wine and a couple of cervezas in the sun before moving onto our next tourist spot.
Metropol Parasol
Otherwise known as the mushrooms, this is the world's largest wooden structure. Underground you'll find an antiquarium housing the Roman and Moorish remains they found whilst building the Metropol Parasol, but you want to head up top!
Another short queue later, we found ourselves on the walkway looking out across Sevilla, spotting the Cathedral and other landmarks in the distance. Your ticket includes access to the top of the Parasol, a free postcard and a drink in the café at the bottom - not bad for 3 euros!
Tapas Tour
As if you haven't already packed enough into the day, there's still time for a little tapas tour in the Old Town, not far from the mushrooms. We enjoyed delicious Iberian pork cheeks and croquettes at El Rinconcillo (Seville's oldest tapas bar!), then a plate of Jamon Iberica and hummus at Bar Alfalfa, before tucking into olives and patatas aioli closer to our hotel, and washing it all down with a few glasses of vino tinto!
For the first time I felt like we experienced real Spanish culture in Seville, despite visiting Spain a few times now. I absolutely loved the city and will definitely explore more of Andalucia in the future. The more time you have there the better but hopefully this shows you just how much of the city can be enjoyed even with just one day in Seville!
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Definitely bookmarked for our trip later in the summer!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for you! When do you go?
DeleteLove your post Christy! I'm in Malaga at the moment as my husband is from Gibraltar, but haven't made it to Seville yet. What stunning photos! Yaya x
ReplyDeleteAw you should definitely visit if you get a chance! And take a day trip to Ronda too, it's beautiful there :)
DeleteWhat a fab city tour, tempted to book tickets right now! Gorgeous pics, love the tiles and gardens and all of it. The GOT thing might be a good sell for hubby ha ha!
ReplyDeletehaha cheap Ryanair flights from Aberdeen too, go go go!
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