Away from bustling Barcelona and the busy Madrid, with gothic churches and that plate of Paella- Seville of Andalusia has a charm of its own.

In the list of places you need to visit in Spain, Seville probably wouldn’t make the top-three-cut, and is less known compared to some of the most famous tourist destinations in Español. But with chance and luck, you might find yourself in this beautiful city, asking yourself why you didn’t come sooner.

CASA DE PILATOS

A mixture of Italian Renaissance and Spanish Mudéjar, Casa de Pilatos is also considered the prototype of the Andalusian Palace. It hosts one of the greatest antique azulejo collection in the World.

You could visit the lower ground only for 8 euros, or see the complete house (lower+upper ground) for 10 euros. For lower level tour, you get an audio guide and do the look-around solo, including the beautiful garden. However, the complete house tour would be a guided one and last 30 minutes. The upper level contained paintings and such, so opt for them only if you’re interested in paintings and some of the original furnitures.

REALES ALCAZARES

Reales Alcazares is the oldest royal palace still used in Europe, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The second floor is still used by the royal family as their official residence. The design and style gives us the idea of the cultures that has influenced Seville throughout the time since the 11th century, when this palace was built.

In peak or holiday season, ticket offices are quite crowded so I recommend booking your tickets online! Plan quite a lot of time for this site since there are lots to see.

This royal palace is a massive area and you will find yourself venturing not only through rooms and parts of the palace, but also through time! It has evolved along with the influence in Seville through out the centuries.

CATEDRAL DE SEVILLA

Just across the Reales Alcazares, Seville Cathedral is actually the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See. It is registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Seville Cathedral is the third largest church in the World, while as a gothic church it is actually the largest, with a whooping area of 23,500 square metres.

Thankfully, we booked the tickets online already and managed to skip the queue to enter. You need to reserve a specific time on a specific date, and the price for an adult is 9 Euro, which include entrance to the Giralda (tower) as well. Now, the only setback is that the website is not available in English, but with some trial and errors you’ll find your way!

⇒ Another way to skip the queue is to go to Church of El Salvador, and then purchase a combined ticket which include entrance to the Cathedral as well. Church of El Salvador is also a beautiful place to visit while you’re in Seville, and there’s no loss in giving it a look through!

As I finally went inside, the looong queue totally made sense: the interior of the Cathedral was simply breathtaking, along with all the gothic designs and the architecture. It was such a shame that we visited a day before a religious celebration, and hence some parts of the church were not accessible because of the preparation. Nevertheless, it’s still magnificent!

PLAZA DE ESPANA

Plaza de Espana is located 15 minutes away from the Cathedral shaped like a half hemisphere, and there was this half hemisphere ‘lake’/’pond’, with beautiful bridges for people to walk across. There is also a chance to take a small boat along this small water body, and honestly it kinda reminded me of Venice. Also, in the middle of the entire grandeur is a fountain, and all around the building there are tiny alcoves, each one representing one of Spain’s province.

This place is no doubt my favourite part of the entire Seville tour. It was also the shooting scene in one of Star wars movie. Try to visit early in the morning or quite late in the evening (during summer) to avoid crowds.

Here are the places I visit during my stay in Seville, but do tell me if there’s something I missed! Drop your own favourite places or recommendations of Seville!

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