Seville holidays

• Essentials
  • Overview
  • Basics
  • Getting there
  • Getting around
• City sights
  • Top sights
  • Tourist trail
  • Offbeat sights
  • Nearby trips
• Things to do
  • Eating out
  • Cafe bars
  • Shopping
  • Nightlife
• Planning
  • When to go
  • Where to stay
  • Find a hotel

Seville holiday overview

Seville is the great holiday city of the south of Spain - the home of Don Juan, Carmen and Figaro, of orange blossom and jasmine and a blazing sun beating down on brilliant white buildings and lush green patios.

The city is quintessentially Andalucian and is packed with narrow winding lanes and the best nightlife in southern Spain.

Many Seville holidays are combined with trips to the other great Andalucian sights, in Granada and Córdoba. All have a wealth of history and together give a wonderful insight into the Spanish south.

But of the three it is Seville holidays that have the reputation for the city's intensity of life, with great festivals and an operatic tradition second to none. Seville is also home to world-famous traditions such as bullfighting and flamenco.

Add in the three great buildings of Seville - the Cathedral, Giralda Tower and the Alcázar - and this is a city that will both entertain and bewitch. The Cathedral is said to be the largest in the world - depending on how you measure cathedrals! Its altarpiece is certainly the world's most impressive.

The Giralda Tower was the world's tallest building when built by the Moors, and the Alcázar and its gardens are a brilliant blend of the two cultures - Christian and Moor - that have shaped the city.

Seville holidays combine ancient and modern with great style. The Festival of the Americas in 1929 and the Expo of 1992 produced imposing new buildings, bridges and transport facilities. The new tram and metro system is impressive.

Like all popular tourist destinations, Seville is not without problems. Bag snatching and drug crime are commonplace - although worse may be found in both Madrid and Barcelona. Violent crime is less common than in many north European cities. It really is just too hot to be aggressive!

Whilst being modernised and cleaned-up, Seville is still essentially a romantic old city - whether enjoying tapas under the stars, sipping chilled fino sherry on a flower-filled patio, strolling the Guadalquivir or indulging in a horse-drawn carriage ride.

Seville, the fourth largest city in Spain, is now easier to reach than ever before, with budget flights and an excellent train service from Madrid. Seville holidays are well worth considering for a winter break, or in spring and autumn when temperatures are ideal. It is, however, Europe's hottest city, and holidays in Seville city in mid-summer may best be avoided.