Seville: what a charming, colourful and surprisingly quiet city.
We were a bit nervous about heading to Seville in early July – the crowds, the heat (it’s one of the hottest part of Spain), travelling with a baby. But it actually turned out to be one of our favourite trips in a while.
We were already only a three hour drive away in Nerja, so thought it was the perfect ‘city break’ for the three of us to enjoy. If you’re travelling from another part of Spain, don’t forget to take your passport! Spanish hotels require them by law (luckily my dad reminded us before we went).
We were based in the old city, so we stepped outside our room to those wonderful narrow streets and we were struck with how quiet it was. Unlike a city like Rome, you could take photos almost without anyone walking into the frame! Everything is so well preserved, like stepping back in time – pharmacies had chandeliers in them and even just the simplest sandwich bars have the most amazing tiles it feels like an old speakeasy.
The weather was a big concern for us. Yes, Seville is H.O.T but it was actually totally manageable – all the narrow streets are in the shade and all the restaurants are spraying cool water onto the streets and the evenings weren’t too muggy, either. We also did sightseeing in the morning, came back to the air conditioned hotel for feeds/naps/snacks and then went back out once it was cooler in the late afternoon.
One thing to consider is transport – if driving then look into the nearest car park. The city has beautiful narrow streets but that means there is zero parking (and therefore the car parks can charge what they like) – we parked near the Jewish quarter and it cost €22 for 24 hours (so it’s something to add to your budget).
So, I’m not going to lie here – we didn’t do everything on the ‘must-see’ tourist agenda. And the beauty of Seville is that you really don’t have to, it’s such a magical city that you can spend hardly any money, admire all the sights and eat affordable tapas for dinner. And that’s exactly what we did.
WHAT TO DO
Obviously, the Cathedral is a great place to start. We didn’t go in (I had actually been in a few years ago), preferring to walk around the main square instead, but it’s so easy to get a feel for the city from here – the horse and carriages, the al fresco cafes…
The Plaza de Espana was a must-visit on our list, it’s totally free and we walked through some beautiful gardens to get there. It was probably the furthest sight on our agenda and it really helps give you a feel of the geography of the city. AND THE TILES.
This is a bit controversial, but we ditched the popular Alcazar for the lesser known Casa de Pilatos (which we discovered via Lucy Williams’ blog) and we honestly couldn’t have made a better choice – €10 entry (and Peggy was allowed in for free), no queues and we (almost) had the place to ourselves. And my main interest in Seville was tiles, of course, and this place had them in abundance.
We also had a lovely walk through Santa Cruz on our way home and loved all the tiny, colourful streets and restaurants in hidden courtyards.
WHERE TO EAT
Our main plan of action here, as with most Spanish cities, was tapas. Our hotel gave us loads of recommendations and we loved both of the places we tried for dinner.
La Azotea, on Calle Zaragoza, was right up our street – so relaxed, we sat at the bar (with Peggy in a sling) and the staff were so kind and accommodating. It’s a mix of fish and meat tapas and every dish was beautifully presented, yet affordable – we had beers with 3 tapas dishes to share (medium raciones were a perfect size to share) for €25 – the cod and black sausage fritters were a firm favourite.
Calle Zaragoza was a great street for hidden restaurants, as well, and the corner of where it meets Calle Madrid was really buzzing, too.
Ovejas Negras is another one of those restaurants on a street where you can’t go wrong (Hernando Colon) – but if you can get into Ovejas Negras, you really should. We arrived at 8:45pm and was told it didn’t open until 9pm, so we left and went for a walk around the block – by the time we returned at 9:02pm it was packed and we barely got a space at the bar! But we could easily see why it was packed: excellent tapas – old favourites (Patatas Bravas) as well as more modern dishes (Soft Shell Crab), the buzzing atmosphere was the perfect finish to our first family mini break.
I think Seville might have topped my list of Spanish cities…I know, a big statement but I stand by it. Go visit.
Your photos and description are beautiful! A far cry from freezing cold Melbourne, Australia at the moment. Thank you.
I loved this post. Seville was already on my 2osh list and I’ll definitely be going (hopefully later this year) after looking at your stunning pictures. Thank you xx
This is amazing! Seville is beautiful!!
xx
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Seville looks so charming and beautiful, and I can’t wait to visit and work my way through this list!
Briony xx
This was our first city break with our daughter who was 19 months at the top me and we loved it too. Such a great city and you describe it beautifully x
Aah how lovely – yes it was nice breaking her into travelling with us – fingers crossed she’s a fan! xx
B it is so you! You’d love it – the tiles, the cobbled streets, the tapas…x
Let me know if you have any other questions – it was honestly such an easy city to visit, too xxx
Yes it’s definitely a fabulous city and my favourite also. So colourful, walkable, great restaurants and bars and for a property addict it was amazing. Great to hear your family had a brilliant time.
Karen x
I’ve always considered Seville as somewhere I’d maybe like to visit but this post has totally sold it for me! Do you think you need to visit in the summer or would there be just as much to do in the spring or autumn say?
Looks gorgeous, definitely on my travel bucket list now ? you forget about good old Spain when everyone on Insta is jetting off to Bali etc. Love this post ? x
Perfect timing – heading to Seville I a couple of weeks – thank you for lovely tips and photos nice to have real travel tips!
Oh no, I think all year round – spring might be lovely as it’ll be warm x
Oh yes – all those beautiful balconies! I loved looking up and seeing the tiles from underneath! Great attention to detail x
Totally! We always go to Nerja so we try and make sure we visit somewhere new in Spain on the way to mix it up! xx
We went last week, the most beautiful quaint city! Already want to go back!
beautiful photos!!! we went to Seville for Easter this year (as I’m sure you know, Easter is huge in Seville with parades through the city for the whole of Holy Week) and your photos bring back lots of great memories- we also loved both Casa de Pilatos and Plaza Espana. I totally agree it’s probably my favourite city in Spain…. ah the tapas 🙂
oh amazing – I bet Easter would be such a great time to go – not too hot, either! x
Hi Alex, lovely to have you back again and looking so amazing once more ( an inspiration for mums everywhere). I especially like the yellow dress. I thought I recognised Nerja from the previous post. I have a friend who lives there. We also loved Seville for the same reasons , preferred it to Barcelona in fact. Talking of tapas ; had some wonderful chickpeas, spinach and garlic one evening. Recently visited Valencia which is another favourite now. It ‘s not at all touristy (yet), very friendly people and its Jewish Quarter has all the best cafés; bars; restaurants. Perhaps not as pretty as Seville but interesting and authentic feeling but a much longer drive from Nerja. Looking forward to more posts in the future.
Thank you so much! Oh we loved Valencia – we went about 8 years ago but i’ll confess we did La Tomatina – it was a bit chaotic! Must revisit for a more chilled time – I think it’s the birthplace of paella? Yes I was so surprised at how quiet Seville was, even in early July – I thought it beat Barcelona but Chris still isn’t quite convinced – the beach sells it for him x
Thank you so much for this. I loved following your trip on Instagram, particularly as we’re going in a couple of weeks. It’s my husband’s 50th birthday so we’re going for a week with the kids to Granada, Cordoba and Seville. So excited!
Hope you have the best time – love Granada, we were hoping to do it on this trip but will have to do it again next time x
Thanks for the suggestion of Casa dos Pilatos, we were there two weeks ago and loved it. Seville really buzzes. We would recommend a visit to the Alcazar though, it is stunning and the gardens are magical – just make sure you buy tickets online in advance, we didn’t and queued for ages! It was well worth it though.
So glad! We loved it there x
Actually heading off to Seville on Monday so very happy to stumble on this and take some notes x
Enjoy – my parents are there at the moment! x
Thank you so much – really enjoyed reading this and loved the pics. It’s put Seville as one of my must visits post vivid travelling.
Cheers, Noku
harrogate,England