Seville Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Exploring the labyrinthine old city of Seville, Spain, might give you a clue as to how Sevillanos in the 1500s developed the skills to become masters of global navigation. Even with today's GPS apps, finding your way through the maze of narrow winding streets can pose a challenge. But you'll know it's worth the effort when you glimpse a plant-filled patio with a trickling fountain or stumble upon a lovely plaza alive with people enjoying drinks and tapas.

Seville offers plenty to see and do. First there are the adapted Moorish gems and the Gothic and baroque trophies erected during the centuries when the city was a dominant commercial hub. Then there are the sights maintained from the two international fairs hosted in the 20th century when Seville reclaimed its place on the world stage. And if you're lucky enough to witness a Semana Santa procession, or see Sevillanos decked out in their flamenco finery at the Feria de Abril, or catch a whiff of orange blossoms and jasmine, then you'll truly understand what it means to be in the capital of Andalusia.

Must See or Do

Sights—The Cathedral and the Giralda; the Real Alcazar; Hospital de los Venerables; Casa de Pilatos; Plaza de Espana and Maria Luisa Park; Metropol Parasol (Setas de Sevilla); the Archivo de Indias; the neighborhoods of Triana and Santa Cruz.

Museums—Museo de Bellas Artes; Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo in the Monasterio de la Cartuja; Museo Arqueologico; Museo del Baile Flamenco.

Memorable Meals—A romantic dinner at Abantal or Egana Oriza; lunch in the quaint Antigua Abaceria de San Lorenzo; traditional tapas at Enrique Becerra or Cerveceria Giralda, or innovative tapas at Eslava or La Azotea; interesting ice cream flavors at Heladeria La Fiorentina.

Late Night—Having drinks on a riverside terrace or a hotel rooftop; watching and hearing flamenco at a tablao or bar; tapas-bar-hopping around the Alameda.

Walks—Up the twisting ramps of the Giralda; anywhere along the river; through the shady lanes of Parque de Maria Luisa.

Especially for Kids—Isla Magica; Pabellon de la Navegacion; Parque de los Descubrimientos; Aquopolis.

Geography

Seville is in southern Spain in the western half of the state of Andalusia. By train, it's about 90 minutes to Cadiz on the Atlantic coast, at least two hours to Malaga on the Mediterranean coast and three hours to Granada in the east. The metropolitan area lies in the fertile plain of the Guadalquivir River. Upward of 70% of the tourist sights are found in the old city (casco antiguo).

The old city is a large district along the eastern bank of the river, further divided into barrios (neighborhoods). Starting in the south and moving counter-clockwise around the edges are the barrios of Santa Cruz, San Bartolome, La Macarena (at the top), San Lorenzo, Museo and El Arenal. At the center of the old city are the barrios of Alfalfa (south) and Encarnacion-Regina (north). Though it's not officially a barrio, most Sevillanos use the designation centro to refer to a central rectangular slice of the old city that overlaps with parts of Santa Cruz, Alfalfa and Encarnacion-Regina. It encompasses the Cathedral and Real Alcazar, the Ayuntamiento (town hall), the main shopping areas around calle Sierpes and calle Tetuan, the small square known as la Campana and Plaza de la Encarnacion.

Familiarizing yourself with the location of the city's main squares and using them as points of reference will also help you a great deal in terms of orientation. The main squares, moving from south to north, are Plaza del Triunfo (cathedral), Plaza Nueva and Plaza San Francisco (the Ayuntamiento sits in the middle of those two squares), la Campana and the adjacent Plaza del Duque, Plaza de la Encarnacion (where the umbrella-shaped structure called Metropol Parasol is) and la Alameda de Hercules.

The names of streets often change in midcourse, but there are a few principal thoroughfares. Paseo de Cristobal Colon runs along the river from the Torre del Oro to the Maestranza bullring. Avenida de la Constitucion runs from Puerta de Jerez in the south, skirting the western side of the Cathedral and arriving at Plaza de San Francisco. North of there it's called calle Sierpes, which takes you to la Campana. Traveling to the east, Martin Villa, later becoming Larana and then Imagen, takes you to Plaza de la Encarnacion. Traveling to the north from la Campana, Tarifa becomes Amor de Dios, which leads you directly to the Alameda. You'll no doubt become disoriented at some point, but chances are you won't become hopelessly lost. And because much of the old city is pedestrianized, you won't have to worry too much about cars.

On the western side of the river is the popular neighborhood of Triana. It's connected to the old city by three bridges: Puente del Cachorro in the north, Puente de Isabel II (also called Puente de Triana) in the center and Puente de San Telmo in the south. To the north of Triana is an area known as la Isla de la Cartuja, which was redeveloped for Expo '92. It's also connected to the old city by three bridges: Puente del Alamillo in the north, Puente de la Barqueta in the center and Puente de la Cartuja in the south. To the south of Triana is another residential neighborhood called Los Remedios, where the annual Feria de Abril is held.

Moving back to the eastern side of the river, to the south of the old city and the Real Alcazar is a very green neighborhood dominated by Parque de Maria Luisa. It was laid out for the 1929 fair, and many of its pavilions are still in use, most notably the Plaza de Espana complex. Farther to the north and to the east of the old city is the neighborhood of San Pablo-San Justo, where the main train station, Santa Justa, is located. Just south of there is the neighborhood of Nervion, which has a large soccer stadium and the city's main shopping mall.

History

Artifacts and structures tell the story of Seville's rich history. A hoard of gold jewelry and other finds unearthed near Seville called the Treasure of Carambolo are an indication that either Phoenicians or Phoenician-influenced Iberian people were settled in the Guadalquivir valley as early as the eighth century BC. Pottery found around Seville and nearby Carmona also points to a later Carthaginian presence. More substantial are the Roman remains from the third century BC onward, when Seville was known as Hispalis. Five tall columns from a temple, sections of an aqueduct, and the footprint of streets and houses are still visible in the city. The nearby ruins of the Roman city of Italica, the birthplace of Trajan, are also well-preserved.

Germanic groups such as the Silingi Vandals and Visigoths migrated into the Iberian Peninsula in the fifth century AD, eventually wrestling control from the weakened Roman empire. Hispalis came to be called simply Spalis. Isidore of Seville was bishop of the city 600-636, and he compiled an influential encyclopedia of knowledge handed down from late antiquity called Etymologiae, recorded the history of the Goths, Vandals and Suevi, and was influential in converting the Visigoth rulers from Arianism to Roman Catholicism.

In 711-712 an army of Arabs and Berbers conquered nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula in the name of Islam. Ishbiliya, as Seville became known, remained a predominantly Muslim city for more than 500 years. For the first centuries it was overshadowed by Cordoba, the Umayyad capital of Muslim Iberia (al-Andalus). When Cordoba fell to the Castilians in 1031, Ishbiliya emerged as an independent taifa, or emirate, under the Abbadid dynasty. Al-Mutamid is a well-known ruler (and poet) from that period.

After a string of successes by Christian armies pushing down from the north, the taifa rulers turned to a Berber dynasty from Morocco—called the Almoravids—for military assistance. Their support turned into domination of what remained of al-Andalus (1091), and then they too were overtaken by another Berber group called the Almohads (1172). Examples of the Almohad's defensive structures still stand in the Torre del Oro and a segment of the old city walls in the northeastern part of the old city.

In 1248 the King of Castile and Leon, Ferdinand III, captured Seville. The city underwent a significant demographic shift, with Muslims and Jews departing in large numbers and an equally large number of Christians arriving from other parts of Castile. In the mid-1300s, King Pedro I set about rebuilding the Real Alcazar. He enlisted the service of many builders and artisans from Muslim areas, which resulted in a symbiotic style called Mudejar.

While seeking approval for his overseas venture, Christopher Columbus lodged in Seville's Carthusian monastery. For Seville, Columbus' "discovery" of the New World meant great prosperity. The Seville-based institution Casa de la Contratacion controlled all trade to and from the new colonies, and many of the ambitious explorers of the day, including Ferdinand Magellan and Amerigo Vespucci, met in the trade council's chambers in the Real Alcazar to map out and launch their endeavors. A merchants' exchange, called the Lonja, was established at the end of the 16th century and attracted traders from all over Europe. Additionally, most of the gold and silver hauled back to Spain from the Americas was minted in Seville. With so much wealth available in what was then Spain's largest city, the real estate market boomed. In addition to grand private homes, many public buildings were erected over the next two centuries in Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance and baroque styles.

In the mid-1600s, a steady string of wars took their toll in and around the Hapsburg domains, as did devastating epidemics and the silting up of the Guadalquivir River. Cadiz took over as Spain's main center of international trade, but the cultural and arts scene in Seville continued to flourish under the influence of such artists as Velazquez, Murillo and Zubaran, whose works can still be seen in the Museo de Bellas Artes and other local buildings. Even Spain's greatest author, Miguel Cervantes, resided in the city for a time.

In 1728, construction began on the huge Real Fabrica de Tabacos, where tobacco was processed into cigars. In 1785, the process of converting the now decrepit merchants' exchange into the central archive for all documentation related to Spain's exploration and colonization of America began.

With revolutions occurring in the American colonies and then the Peninsular War (1808-1814) brought about by Napoleon's invasion, the early part of the 19th century brought economic hardship and political instability. But by midcentury Seville began to develop once again. A British entrepreneur named Charles Pickman established a ceramics factory in the former Carthusian monastery in 1841; the first Feria, originally organized as a livestock fair, was held in 1847; and the first fixed bridge spanning the river, the Puente de Isabel II, was completed in 1852. Rail links with other cities were established, and the old city walls were dismantled, allowing a new network of roads to be laid out. By the end of the century, Seville was supplied with electricity.

Near the beginning and again at the end of the 20th century, Seville organized two important international fairs. The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 had the aim of improving relations with Spain's former colonies in the Americas, as well as showcasing the city's progress; and the Universal Exposition of Seville (Expo '92) commemorated the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. Both fairs had a lasting impact on the city's infrastructure.

The Spanish Civil War occurred 1936-39. In 1931, during the last local elections held prior to the outbreak of the war, Republican politicians won 57% of the vote in Seville. Nevertheless, in the early days of the war, Nationalist forces gained control of the city and eventually used it as a bridge to transport Franco's Army of Africa to the mainland before launching attacks on other parts of the country and finally gaining control. Political reprisals and repression also ensued, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives in Seville. After the civil war, development continued during the dictatorship with several new residential areas being constructed, including Los Remedios, where the Feria was moved in 1973.

Following the death of Franco in 1975 and the restoration of democracy, Seville continued to develop its infrastructure, thanks in huge part to projects associated with Expo '92. One in particular was the high-speed rail link with Madrid. In 1982, Seville was named capital of Andalusia, and local politician Felipe Gonzalez served as president of Spain from 1982 to 1996.

In 2003, the construction of Line 1 of the Seville Metro, which was paralyzed in the 1980s, was reinitiated. In 2009, the first metro line was inaugurated and serves more than 15 million travelers annually.

Despite the millions of euros in economic aid, via subsidies, granted by the EU in recent decades, the per capita income in Andalusia is still below the Spanish and European average.

Potpourri

It's often remarked that Sevillanos have a propensity for describing colors with greater precision. Nothing is ever just blue or red; it's invariably azul coral (coral blue) or rojo quisquilla (shrimp red). Perhaps the abundance of natural light has made them more keenly aware of subtle differences in tones.

Wondering what the NO8DO emblem you see everywhere means? According to legend, King Alfonso X used it to express gratitude for his subject's loyalty when his son tried to take the throne away from him. The figure 8 represents a length of yarn, called a madeja in Spanish. So NO8DO means "no me ha dejado," or "it (meaning Seville) hasn't abandoned me."

Until the mid-1800s there were no permanent bridges spanning the Guadalquivir River in Seville, only a pontoon-style structure between the old city and Triana. The first real bridge, Puente de Isabel II (also called Puente de Triana), was built in 1852. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the same designer of Paris' famous tower.

In the Plaza de Espana, the 48 ceramic banks represent 46 Spanish peninsular provinces (Sevilla has a different representation) plus two insular ones (the Canary Islands at that time was only one province).

Bones of contention: For more than a century both Seville and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic have claimed to hold the remains of Christopher Columbus. A Spanish forensics team compared the bone fragments in the tomb in the Seville Cathedral, positively matching the traces of DNA to bones known to be of his brother and his son. Authorities in the Dominican Republic remain unconvinced and refuse to allow the bone fragments there to be exhumed and DNA tested.

Strangely enough, Seville has an Olympic Stadium although it has never hosted the Olympic Games. Twice the city launched a bid to become the host city, but efforts proved unsuccessful both times.

The best indication of Seville's good weather, averaging 2,898 hours of sunshine a year, is the fact that a solar power complex west of the city provides enough power to meet the electricity needs of all of the households in the city.

One of Spain's most tabloid-friendly celebrities, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, also known as the Duchess of Alba, resided in Seville's Palacio de las Duenas. No stranger to controversy, the duchess made headlines in 2011 when she married a businessman 24 years her junior (she was 85). She was an avid fan of bullfighting and held more titles than anyone else in world—no less than 40.

Numerous films and television series have been filmed in Seville. The most famous have been Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia.

Location

A change in lock systems on the Guadalquivir River has resulted in the ability of small cruise ships to arrive at the Muelle de las Delicias, located on the southern end of Avenida de la Palmera.

A small information center offers a check-in desk, an exhibition about the history of the port area and restrooms (http://museo.apsevilla.com/fssalas.html).

Shore Excursions