Following on from a week in Portugal, I decided to travel four hours by bus, to one of Andalucia’s best known cities, Seville (or Sevilla).
The journey to Seville was reasonable by bus, and cost only about €30 from Lagos, Portugal. There was no border restrictions and I didn’t even have to go through a passport check. The only downside was that the bus was very hot! It was 30’c outside and hotter inside the bus. Thankfully, we made plenty of service station stops to get some air and water.. (makes me sound like a car haha).
On arriving to Seville, I was able to walk the short route to my hostel. I definitely had lots of strange looks though, carrying a huge backpack and sleeping bag on my bag in 30’c weather. I must have looked mad, in a place where no one even owns a coat, as apparently it hasn’t rained for five years! I stayed at the La Flamenka hostel in the city centre, and this was a lovely place to stay. The staff and volunteers were very friendly and helpful and the environment makes it really sociable. Due to a chilled out kitchen and terrace layout, I was able to strike up conversation and befriend a Brazilian, a Norweigan, an Austrian, and a Barcelonina. Great practice for my language skills! All guests were solo travellers too, so we all had that in common.
Alcazar
On my first day, I had prebooked a visit to Seville’s Alcazar through Viator, which also included a guided walk of Santa Cruz neighbourhood, and a visit to the Cathedral & Giralda.
I have visited Granada’s Alhambra on a previous trip, so I knew somewhat of what to expect in this Alcazar visit. The Alcazar in Seville is still beautiful though, and has its own charm. It seemed to have a lot more gold in the decoration and many more tiles and christian influence too.
The site also had several lovely gardens which set themselves apart as unique, due to different sections being created based on different styles from around the world. There is a french garden, italian, and even english! The english garden is home to many wondering peacocks, I was wondering if I had missed something in this, are peacocks English…? 🤔
I also ticked off another Game Of Thrones filming location from my list! The site was used as one of the locations for imaginary kingdom of ‘Dorne’. ✅✅✅
There is also a hidden away area in the garden which is quite cool. That is the mistress’ bath underground. Apparently, the Peter ‘the cruel’ built this bath for the the lady he was wooing, so she would have somewhere refreshing to relax. Considering the heat here, that seems like an act of true love to me! The bath is accessed through a tunnel and is a very pretty space.
Seville Cathedral
Connected to the Alcazar, is Seville’s Cathedral. The Cathedral is built on the site of the former mosque. The mosque was gradually destroyed after the Christian conquest of 1248, except for the minaret or Giralda that remains today. The cathedral is very grand inside as you would expect from any catholic cathedral, but it does have some additional advantages.
There is the Giralda, which actually means ‘weather vane’, (I had to question the guide about this as I knew tower is ‘torre’.) You can climb this to the belfry area and get a good view of the city. Wierdly, it has 35 ramps rather than staircases, so there really is no excuse!
The cathedral also makes links to lots of important figures. I was very excited about the abundance of seashells used as shapes in the decor to symbolise Saint James (Patron Saint of Spain) and the symbol of my upcoming pilgrimage.
They also pay tribute to Justa & Rufina, in the cathedral and all over the city. These were two sisters who lived as potmakers across the river, in 3rd century. They became martyrs when they refused to take part in a pagan festival due to their faith and broke a statue of Venus. For this, the authorities, imprisoned, tortured, starved and killed them. They are remembered all over the place!
Lastly, the Cathedral is the place that you will find the only DNA certified tomb of Christopher Columbus. His body has moved around the world to different countries before finding its way back to Spain. It makes sense that he is in Seville, as he set sail from nearby town of Huelva, before first discovering America.
Not only is this an interesting figure but the tomb itself is very beautiful and unique. Columbus is not buried underground, but is actually overhead. His tomb rests on the shoulders of four men which represent the different kingdoms of Spain (Castile, Leon, Aragón and Navarre) symbolising that not one kingdom can claim his accomplishments, but they belong to all of Spain as a union.
More art
As well as seeing beautiful art and sculptures at the Cathedral and Alcazar, there are many pieces in city plazas, numerous churches and galleries/museums.
I visited both the church of San Salvador in the centre and Santa Ana church in the neighbourhood across the river, called Triana. I would definitely recommend wondering into Triana, as it has a very sociable vibe and lovely views from across the river. Prices are slightly better too. Both these churches were very cheap to visit, under 5 euros each.
I also enjoyed free admission and air conditioning 😀 from the art museum ‘Museo de bellas artes de Sevilla’. The art displayed in this ex- convent is a mix of very renowned artists such as Murillo and Picasso. I must admit that I was not a fan of all the Picassos as they are so odd. There were many portraits and religious art that I loved though. The building is really beautiful and has many courtyards to sit and relax in. The gallery is only two levels so not too intense which is nice.
Other ideas for a fun time in Sevilla:
- Spend some extra time across the river in Triana. The atmosphere is great here and you can also visit the local food market at the bridge for an affordable and fresh lunch.
- Visit one of the many convents in the city and purchase something from a nun. Many convents and monasteries sell goods to sustain themselves, often you can get homemade sweets. I went to one in Sevilla, and bought from a nun though a strange turntable window!
- Visit the Plaza de Espana and the park. The plaza is an obvious tourist spot, and very pretty, but the adjoining park of Marie Luis, is full of beautiful places to sit and relax in the shade.
- Head to the big mushrooms in the sky! The huge ‘setas’ monument is named this because it is the shape of mushrooms. Get there a little before sunset, and you will see wonderful views of the city.
Overall, I thought Sevilla was a very romantic and beautiful destination. It was also easy to walk around and had good transport connections, and of course reliable weather! I would certainly visit again.
Next stop… Cordoba!
Go Go Chlo 