Why Seville Should Be Your Next Trip

A couple of years back, the weather played the cruellest trick on April Fool’s Day. It snowed in London. Every so briefly, but enough to make my cabin fever reach an all-time high. I poured a glass of wine, took a deep breath and booked a four day trip to Seville, Spain. And life was better.

Two dear friends are off to Seville next month on an engagement-moon (I can definitely get behind that idea), so I thought I’d dust off our photos and reminisce about our time under the Andalusian sun. With a high on average of 26°C, Seville is pretty perfect in October.

Seville is fantastic. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about it. We scoured the internet until we found a hotel with a rooftop pool (not many had their pools open in May, so double check that when you book). Days started late, with fresh orange juice and black coffee from Confitería La Campana - the oldest and grandest cafe in town. We enjoyed it so much that we visited each morning, watching the city wake up and going about their day.

There is so much to do in the city. Seville famously hosted the 1992 World Fair and has beautiful boulevards built for strolling along. The jewel in Seville’s crown is most certainly the breath-taking Alcázar, a Moorish-Muslim palace which was originally built in the 1500s and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Like its cousin in Grenada, it boasts exquisite tile detailing, high arches and rolling manicured gardens for getting lost in. We whiled away an entire day, stopping for vanilla ice-cream in the garden to watch the world go by. Ice cream counts as lunch when you’re on holiday, right?

Most evenings (post-siesta, of course) we started our evening at Bar Alfalfa. We fell in love with bresaola and washed it down with chilled Sangria. One night we moved on to El Riconcillo the oldest tapas restaurant in the city and well worth a visit. Just don’t expect quick service.

The next morning we visited Metropol Parasol, allegedly the world’s largest urban wooden sculpture. Definitely worth the visit, and head up top for views across the whole city. We also did a walking tour - which is something we always do when venturing around Europe - and took ourselves along the river and into Triana on the other side.

Stuff we learnt on our walking tour: Seville grows oranges for their juice, whereas Valencia grows a different type for perfume. So you won't get that lovely heady orange fragrance walking around Seville. How's that for useless information with a dash of interesting?

Our favourite spot for cocktails (and being honest, anytime after midday is permissible in our books) was Hotel Alfonso XIII. It’s old and grand, with a wrap-around terrace built for cocktail hour. We also lapped up the views from riverside Abades Triana, ice-cold sangria in hand.

The local brew tasted best mid-afternoon at our rooftop pool. Brag much?

If you’re in town for more than a day, make sure you head to Plaza de Espana. Another architectural masterpiece and adjacent to yet more manicured maze-like gardens, we spent a couple of hours wandering about and taking it all in. We wrapped the morning at El Pasaje in town, with delicious fresh tapas in the midday sun.