I had kept hearing great things about Seville, so we finally took the chance to book a long weekend there to explore it for ourselves.
Everything we had heard was true. The city is beautiful, one of the best places to walk around because something incredible hides behind the next corner or in the next doorway.
Seville has a history of muslim rule, which has resulted in the city benefitting from a beautiful middle eastern influence. The architecture is very traditional and every building seems to have a stunning courtyard hidden behind every doorway. It meant we often found ourselves peeking into private buildings front doors...
After a short walk with our eyes and mouths wide open, trying to take in everything there was to see, we made it to the main square in the city. Seville Cathedral is the largest gothic church in the world and includes La Giralda, an imposing bell tower that can be seen from most parts of the city.
This area seems to be the main tourist spot, with loads to do. Not only is the Cathedral there, the Real Alcazar of Seville can also be accessed. During our 4 days exploring the city, we crossed this square on many occasions and never grew tired of doing so.
You can also head inside the cathedral to see the ornate ceilings and the many depictions of stories from the Roman Catholic faith. The sheer size of it is pretty impressive.
After doing my research for things to do in Seville the thing that I was most excited to see was Plaza de España. It is a beautiful square built within the garden surroundings of Parque de María Luisa. It features a man made canal, where you can rent a row boat for €6 and try your best to stay on course as you float around the square.
While we were there, they were preparing for the Easter festivities, so they were erecting stages and getting ready for what was going to be an outside banquet. That didn't really effect how breathtaking the place was as we first set eyes on it.
The architecture throughout Seville feels very old and traditional. There really are very few signs of modern design. One structure that really bucks that trend is the impressive Las Setas, which is affectionately known by the locals as 'The Mushrooms'. It is the largest wooden structure in the world and really stands out against all of the ornate stone buildings permeating the rest of the city. As a fan of modern architecture, this really made me smile.
You can also queue up for a very short lift ride to the top. We decided the best time to do this would be at sunset and we loved it so much we did it twice. You get gorgeous views of the city, because it only has one tall building, which is on the outskirts, so you can see for miles.
The Alcázar of Seville, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe, really optimises everything that is good about Seville. Beautiful mediterranean/middle eastern architecture, gorgeous gardens and fountains to enjoy in the sun and opulent tiles a ceilings to be amazed by.
The gardens were used as the setting for the seat of House Martell in Dorne in Game of Thrones, which just shows how opulent and old worldy the place is.
Seville is the perfect place to explore on foot. The city isn't particularly big and I'd say you can get pretty much anywhere within 20 minutes of walking. There is so much to be found down every street, which wind their way through the city making it easy to find yourself off your intended path but finding unexpected delights.
The other reason to walk the city is the unimaginable numbers of incredible tapas bars to try. We strongly bought into the Seville way of life and decided to have a couple of small plates to eat every couple of hours. Beer and wine is about €2 a glass and great tasting tapas is between €2-3 so it really is difficult to spend a lot of money.
Seville is split in two by Canal de Alfonso XIII. North of the canal are where you will find most of the main tourist attractions. South is where most of the locals live and is seemingly where most of the tapas tours are held.
Torre del Oro is the standout feature of the walk along the canal. Originally built as a military watchtower in the 13th century, it is just one of many reminders of the history that can be found in Seville.
Seville is pretty famous for the oranges it produces and as you walk around the city you can see why.
There are 25,000 orange trees in Seville, which makes it pretty hard to miss them. We were there a couple of weeks after the harvest, which meant the best oranges had been picked but the trees are literally everywhere and there was still an abundance of oranges to be found.
Easter week is massive in Seville. It is the biggest week in the cities calendar and the whole city basically comes to a standstill because the streets are packed with people and parades. Luckily we were there only for the beginning of the festivities, which meant we got a sense of how mad it would be before it got too crazy.
Seeing hordes of people in white robes and hoods was a bit difficult to get used to at first. The KKK seemingly took their attire from the ancient tradition of this Roman Catholic parade. The streets were jammed with locals there to watch the parade, which snaked its way through the entire city. Everywhere was packed with locals in their best suits/dresses upholding the tradition of Seville.
It was a shock to the senses and very cool to experience but after a couple of hours of dealing with the crowds we were happy to get out and head to the airport.
Tapas is made to be shared and my time in Seville was made all the better for having this one with me to explore it with. We walked a total of 17 miles in the 4 days and managed to see a whole lot of Seville. We ate in so many tapas bars I lost count and were treated to some amazing tastes, even if we didn't know what we were ordering some of the time.
Here's to many more trips as amazing as Seville.
© 2026 Michael Wilson
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