SEVILLE, SPAIN // TRAVEL DIARY // FEBRUARY 2017

In February 2017, I visited Seville with my mum for a quick girly getaway. I definitely need to go back at some point – the city completely consumed me. Seville is the capital of the Andalusia region of southern Spain and is known as the birthplace of Flamenco dancing. Even in February, the weather was sunny and warm and it is such a “convenient” city to travel round in – the various modes of transportation it provides are so easy and simple to use, including buses, trains, trams and even horse and carriage rides!

We stayed in the gorgeous Hotel San Gil Sevilla and were greeted straight away by friendly and helpful staff. The hotel itself has an outdoor pool, restaurant and bar (I had a mackerel and pesto starter one afternoon and it was so good!). The hotel is a relatively short walking distance to one of the many shopping precincts, plus its a really scenic walk where you can take in the local architecture and walk past the various (great-smelling) restaurants. The precinct itself contains many well known stores and chain restaurants, but also a range of nik-nak stores with homemade gifts – I remember walking out of H&M and then walking straight into a little shop which sold different styles of Spanish folding fans for Flamenco dancing.

When it comes to things to see and do, there are a lot of places of interest around the city within walking distance.

One of the first sites which is definitely worth seeing is Seville Cathedral (pictured above). It is a Roman Catholic cathedral consecrated in 1507 with beautiful Gothic architecture. A phenomenal size, it is the third largest church in the world and in 1987 it was registered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Two additional places of interest in Seville are the Plaza de España, a prominent plaza originally built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, and the Parque de María Luisa, in which the Plaza de España is set. The Plaza is full of beautiful architecture, contains many fountains and has various pop-up shops and stalls around it for people to buy trinkets and souvenirs. The Parque de María Luisa is Seville’s principal park which runs along the Guadalquivir River and it is breathtaking. Both places are on the “visit list” on the horse and carriage ride tours.

We also managed to have a tour of the Maestranza (pictured below), a baroque bullring, and were able to visit the Basílica de la Macarena (pictured below), a church famous for housing “The Virgin of Hope” (a jewel encrusted statue). There are many places around Seville which serve delicious tapas and Spanish food. One of my absolute favourites was Iberian ham on toast or in a roll, its like a mildly spicy ham pâté and it is amazing.

Other places which are well worth a visit include the Alcázar of Seville, a stunning Moorish royal palace with beautiful gardens and architecture, the Giralda (pictured below), a renaissance-style minaret with a Gothic bell tower, the Torre del Oro, a defensive tower with views over the city and Barrio Santa Cruz (pictured below), an area which contains the earlier mentioned cathedral and royal palace and also many shops and restaurants.

Seville is an absolutely breathtaking city with beautiful architecture, delicious food and super friendly people. I’m definitely going back, but will revisit during the summer when there might be more things happening – five days was not enough time!

– ARIA

Places Visited/Mentioned: 

• Seville TripAdvisor: Seville TripAdvisor
• Seville LonelyPlanet: Seville Lonely Planet
• Hotel San Gil Website: Hotel San Gil Website
• Hotel San Gil Booking.com: Hotel San Gil Booking.com
• El Centro Neighbourhood with shops, nightlife and restaurants close to San Gil Hotel: El Centro Neighbourhood
• Seville Cathedral TripAdvisor: Seville Cathedral TripAdvisor
• Seville Cathedral Wikipedia: Seville Cathedral Wikipedia
• Plaza de España TripAdvisor: Plaza de España TripAdvisor
• Plaza de España Wikipedia: Plaza de España Wikipedia
• Parque de María Luisa TripAdvisor: Parque de María Luisa TripAdvisor
• Parque de María Luisa Wikipedia: Parque de María Luisa Wikipedia
• The Maestranza Bullring TripAdvisor: Maestranza Bullring TripAdvisor
• The Maestranza Bullring Wikipedia: Maestranza Bullring Wikipedia
• Basílica de la Macarena TripAdvisor: Basílica de la Macarena TripAdvisor
• Virgin of Hope of Macarena Wikipedia: Virgin of Hope of Macarena Wikipedia
• Real Alcázar TripAdvisor: Alcázar of Seville TripAdvisor
• Real Alcázar Wikipedia: Alcázar of Seville Wikipedia
• The Giralda TripAdvisor: The Giralda TripAdvisor
• The Giralda Wikipedia: The Giralda Wikipedia
• Torre del Oro TripAdvisor: Torre del Oro TripAdvisor
• Torre del Oro Wikipedia: Torre del Oro Wikipedia
• Santa Cruz Centre TripAdvisor: Barrio Santa Cruz TripAdvisor
• Santa Cruz Centre Wikipedia: Barrio Santa Cruz Wikipedia