How to spend 1 day in Sevilla? Best guide!

How to spend 1 day in Sevilla?

Sevilla was our last Spanish stop during our trip across the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. We arrived to Seville in the morning with ALSA bus from Granada.  We left our luggage in a locker at the bus station (€ 3.5) because at 00:00 we had a bus to Faro. We didn’t sleep in Seville. We bought accommodation in Faro because the morning bus from Seville to Faro was quite late, and we wanted to get to the Algarve as soon as possible.

Meanwhile Sevilla has met our expectations. Luckily, it wasn’t overcrowded with tourists. The worst part of sightseeing was the temperature. Although it was only mid-May, in the shade the temperature reached 38 degrees. 😮 These little inconveniences didn’t stop us. Here is what we have seen and what we recommend! 🙂

Watch the video from our entire trip of South Spain!!

Sevilla City Pass

Wanna skip the line to the Alcazar, have a free transfer from the Airport to the hotel, enjoy Guadalquivir River Cruise or see Sevilla from Hop On Hop Off bus? Then click here for an outstanding Sevilla City Pass! You will also get a discount code of 20% for countless further attractions and excursions including Tapas Tours, Bike Tours, Excursions, Flamenco Shows (Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos) and much more! The best thing is no time limit! 🙂

Metropol Parasol

We start with a visit of Seville’s famous Parasol. It was designed by German architect Jurgen Mayer. In this way, they wanted to revitalize the neglected urban square. Umbrellas are a wooden structure and have commercial and leisure functions. You will find restaurants and a viewpoint terrace on the roof of this structure. Did the project fulfill its task? Well, it reminds me a little plump mushroom, so you can only guess that it is not in my taste. 😛

El Divino Salvador church

Then we were on the way to the Cathedral. However, we made few stops to admire some beutiful sights that were on our way. The first stop was the beautiful church of El Divino Salvador. I love such colorful churches. They always attract attention, even when their style is not necessarily interesting. El Divino Salvador was built at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. We didn’t enter the church because it cost 8 euro, and we had plans to enter the Cathedral. In addition, throughout the trip we spent so much money on the churches, so I hope that we buy at least some spot in heaven…

Plaza Neuva

On the way to the Cathedral we came across the Plaza Nueva. Here you will find beautifully preserved and architecturally interesting buildings. Fashion fans will find boutiques of the best Spanish and worldwide designers. Very spacious area – you will not find too many tourists here. 🙂

Bar Gonzalo

Before we reached the Cathedral, we had to make a short meal break. We stopped in the above bar, which is located opposite to the Cathedral. We were encouraged by the pleasant and eye-catching color of the building. 😉 The prices are quite high, so we ordered the cheapest option, namely Paelle with chicken for two people, which cost about 22 euros. It was very tasty, but the amount of chicken in the dish left much to be desired. 😛

Cathedral of Our Lady in Sevilla

Finally we reached the largest cathedral in Spain. This is the 3rd biggest cathedral in the hierarchy of Catholic churches in the world. However, this is an open topic, as there are still no established measures on this issue. 😛 The Cathedral was built in the 15th century and bears the unofficial title of the largest Gothic church.

The entrance to the Cathedral costs 9 euros. It is one of the most expensive cathedrals we visited in Spain. It is worth to look at it, though I must admit that we were slowly getting bored by the Cathedral. Most of the Cathedrals in Spain look very similar, so we were already feeling a little tired. If this is your first Cathedral, then you will truly enjoy. 😊 Be sure to pay attention to the beautiful, golden and large altar. It grabs the biggest attention in Cathedral.

Another attraction of the Sevilla Cathedral is the grave of Christopher Columbus. Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, but his grave was moved to Seville 3 years later. But his wish was to be buried in America, so in 1537 the corpse of Columbus was taken to Santo Domingo Cathedral in Dominican Republic. But what happened next with the body of Columbus is unknown. Of course, Seville maintains that they have returned to the Cathedral. Sculpture studies have shown that the bones of Christopher Columbus’s grave in Seville are related to the brother of Christopher Columbus, buried in the same city. Dominican researchers question these reports, but they don’t want to investigates their grave. 😉

• Giralda

Don’t forget to climb the Giralda – your ticket to the Cathedral also entitles you to this attraction !!! It is a former minaret, which in the 13th century was transformed into a Catholic church.  Climb to its top (there are no stairs, only sloping road). Once you are at the top you will see a beautiful view of the city – that is what we like!! Admire the city from above 🙂

Triana district

We only admired from the opposite side of the river, but even this view was worth seeing. This is a beautiful, colorful district of Seville. Although it was not always so colorful here. In the past, people suspected for witchcraft were buried here on a pile. 🤔 Today, such things are not practiced, so if you want to look at the colorful houses close up, then you just go across the bridge to the other side and I’m sure you be safe and free of witchcraft judgement. 😊

Torre del Oro

The heat in that place made us extremely uncomfortable. We tried to walk only in shady places to survive. We headed now to the Spanish Square. On the way, it is worth to notice two things. The first is the Torre del Oro, which is the observation tower. Its history dates back to the 13th century when it was built. Today reminds us of the medieval times of the Andalusian capital. Not so many objects we can admire in Sevilla from this times 🙂

San Telmo Palace

This is the second place we pass on the way to the Spanish Square and it drew our attention. 🙂 This is a 17th-century building that is currently used by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia. The richly decorated Baroque chapel, which is accessible from one of the courtyards, is the work of architect Leonardo de Figueroa. It is also the oldest building in Seville in neomudéjar style.

Plaza de España

This is definitely the most beautiful place in Seville and certainly one of the most beautiful in Spain. It is great that people are capable of creating such architectural gems. 🙂 Plaza de Espana was created for the Iberian-American exhibition in 1929 and its author is Anibal Gonzalez. Its elements are not accidental – all of them have special meaning! The four bridges refer to four kingdoms: Castile, León, Navarre and Aragon. You have to walk around them and admire every single bench. There is not only a well-done art waiting for you, but also a solid dose of history. Benches symbolize 48 Provinces of Spain and their most important events. In a one word: masterpiece. If you asked me which one is my favorite, then I would say none. Because I like them all! 😊

Around the square there is also a small canal, on which you can swim by boat like in Venice. If I’m not mistaken, 40 min. costs approx. 7 euros. But I must warn you! It’s not so easy to rowing! 😀

Fans of the Game of Throne I remind you that several scenes were shot here!

Sevilla full of colors!

The best way to explore Seville is walk! Not everywhere you can go by car or by bus and besides we are able to discover more. It doesn’t nmean that you need a plan, sometimes even the road from monument to monument may be a much better attraction. 😉 In our case, maybe it was not a great attraction, but we were enjoying on our way the interesting and colorful houses. Here are the most interesting ones: 🙂 🙂

Real Alcazar of Seville

After a few minutes walk from Plaza de Espana, we finally reached Alkazar. This is a famous palace, which was built the 11th century. In the fourteenth century it was expanded in mudejar style. Some of the floors of the Alkazar are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville. It is also the oldest European palace that is still in use. Since 1987 it has been listed on the UNESCO list.

• Tickets purchase

Although Alkazar is not as popular as the Alhambra, we also decided to buy tickets online. We had only one day in Sevilla, so we wanted to be sure that we will enter. Unfortunately, alike in the Alhambra, you have to specify a time of entry. In our case it was 6;30 PM on Wednesday. The term was perfect because it was very loose. No screams, lack of the noise of a million languages, none squeezing in corridors or standing in a queue. We could admire the beauty of the palace in peace and take pictures without the crowds of tourists. The normal ticket, without a guide and audioguide cost us 10.5 euros.

Here you can purchase tickets:

https://oberonsaas.com/realalcazarsevilla

• Palace

First impressions? Are we again in the Alhambra? Just a little less crowded ? Are we probably somewhere in Morocco, not in Spain? 😛 Now you probably expect to read that the palace was built by such and such a caliphate. In the meantime, it is completely different. It was built on commission of the King of Castile, Peter I, who wanted to bring his mistress Maria de Padilla here. The palace was built in the popular Spanish style of Mudejar and gradually expanded. They say that the most beautiful place in the Palace is the Ambassadors’ Hall. In my opinion, the whole Palace deserves such recognition, since every hall, element, etc. is simply masterfully done. Definitely we liked Alkazar more than Alhambra. Perhaps it is also due to the small number of tourists in Alkazar.

• Gardens

Don’t forget to visit lovely gardens. They are beautiful! They don’t look as luxurious as those in the Alhambra, but you will surely find in them an unique charm. Especially since it is cooler here and you can find many places where you will rest only with yourself. 😉

Makarena district

We were so tired after Alkazar sightseeing. However, we loaded the batteries quickly with a meal of caloric food and moved once more into the streets. This time we went to the north part of Sevilla, because we were heading to the Makarena District. When we finally got to it, it was already dark. But this area was still crowded by locals. Here you can find cheaper food, more Spanish and less tourists. Besides, there is also a beautiful gate with the inscription Makarena, and next to it stands the beautiful yellow building of the Makarena church. I have to admit that the place has its charm, and yellow is the dominant color here. 🙂

Sevilla is beautiful !!

It’s over … 🙁 I confirm that Sevilla is a beautiful city! Not only rich in monuments, but also extremely colorful. Something I like the most in the city. Sevilla was also a record place for us – we walked here up to 22 km!!! 😮 We were so tired but at least our bus journey to Faro was so pleasant. 😀 Seville was our last stop in Spain. Tomorrow we are starting our conquest of Algarve! 🙂

And what are your impressions of the capital of Andalusia?