11:10
Timeline
Three days: Santa Cruz and the Plaza de España on arrival, the procession, the Alcázar and flamenco on the full day, the cathedral before the train.
Day 1 · Wed
The Barrio de Santa Cruz, tapas and the Plaza de España
Sevillearrive 11:00👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsAVE in at 11:00, bags to the hotel. Santa Cruz and tapas before the siesta, the Plaza de España and María Luisa Park when it cools.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →11:30
stay
Leave the bags at the hotel📍 in Google Maps
The reception keeps the bags until the room is ready.
12:00
walkphoto ↑
The Barrio de Santa Cruz📍 in Google Maps
Seville's medieval Jewish quarter: whitewashed lanes, orange trees and tiled squares between the Alcázar walls and the old town.
free
An hour's loop: the Callejón del Agua along the Alcázar wall, the Plaza de Santa Cruz with its iron cross, and the Plaza de Doña Elvira with its tiled benches. Look through iron gates into patios full of plants.
13:30
food
Tapas at a standing bar in Santa Cruz📍 in Google Maps
€15–20 each
Bodega Santa Cruz, known as Las Columnas, is a plain bar where people eat standing and the waiter chalks the bill on the counter. Montadito de pringá, a small roll of slow-cooked meats, and salmorejo, the cold tomato soup.
14:30
stay
Check in and siesta📍 in Google Maps
Seville in late May is often 30°C by mid-afternoon; the city itself shuts until about 17:00.
18:30
walkphoto ↑
The Plaza de España and María Luisa Park📍 in Google Maps
The great half-circle of brick and tiles built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition, with a tiled alcove for every Spanish province.
freeday's highlight
Fifteen minutes south through the gardens. The canal in front has rowing boats for hire, about €6 for half an hour. The 48 province alcoves run along the base; people look for their own.
Then walk back through María Luisa Park under the plane trees and fountains. The light on the brick is best in the hour before sunset, about 21:30.
21:00
food
Dinner in the Arenal📍 in Google Maps
€25–35 each
The streets between the cathedral and the bullring have tapas bars with tables; sit outside if you can. Fried fish in a paper cone, spinach with chickpeas, and a fino sherry or a tinto de verano.
If you fall behind
- Take a horse carriage or a taxi to the Plaza de España if the heat is high.
- Lighter evening: dinner in Santa Cruz instead of the Arenal.
Day 2 · Thu
The Corpus Christi procession, the Real Alcázar and flamenco in Triana
Sevilleout 08:45👟 ≈ 10,500 stepsThe Corpus Christi procession leaves the cathedral at about 8:30. The Alcázar at a timed 11:00 entry, a siesta, and Triana and flamenco in the evening.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
08:45
event
The Corpus Christi procession📍 in Google Maps
The procession of the feast of Corpus Christi, with the cathedral's 16th-century silver monstrance, choirboys and brotherhoods, over streets strewn with rosemary.
freecrowds
Stand in the Plaza de San Francisco, by the town hall, where altars are set up along the route; the procession reaches it about an hour after leaving the cathedral. Balconies are hung with tapestries. Leave by 10:40 for the Alcázar.
11:00
sightphoto ↑
The Real Alcázar📍 in Google Maps🎟 book alcazarsevilla.org
A royal palace begun in the 14th century by Christian kings in Moorish style, still used by the Spanish royal family, and a Game of Thrones location.
about €15 eachday's highlighttimed ticket
The Lion Gate is five minutes from the hotel. Book a timed ticket online; the queue without one is an hour. Pedro I's palace, with the Courtyard of the Maidens and its long pool, is the heart.
Then the gardens: orange trees, the pond of Mercury, the arched gallery on the wall. The baths of María de Padilla, a vaulted rainwater cistern, are cool on a hot day. Allow two and a half hours.
13:45
food
Lunch in Santa Cruz📍 in Google Maps
€25–35 each
Restaurants with shaded patios on Calle Mateos Gago and round the Plaza de los Venerables, a middle option with tablecloths. Order presa ibérica, the grilled Iberian pork, and gazpacho.
15:00
18:15
walkphoto ↑
Triana: across the bridge to the ceramics quarter📍 in Google Maps
The quarter across the Guadalquivir, home of Seville's potters, sailors and flamenco singers.
free
Twenty minutes across the Isabel II bridge. The ceramics shops are on Calle Alfarería and Antillano Campos; the Centro Cerámica in an old tile factory shows how they were made. Calle Betis along the river has the view back to the city.
19:30
food
Tapas in Triana📍 in Google Maps
€15–25 each
The bars on Calle Pureza and San Jacinto fill early; a few tapas at the counter before the show. Fried squid, cod croquettes, and a manzanilla.
21:00
event
Flamenco at a small tablao📍 in Google Maps
Flamenco is Andalusia's song, guitar and dance; Seville's small halls seat 40–100 people a few metres from the dancers.
€25–40 eachbook ahead
Casa de la Memoria, in an old stable near the Setas, and the small halls in Triana put on an hour with a singer, a guitarist and a dancer, without dinner. Book a seat in the first rows. Photos are not allowed during the show.
If you fall behind
- Skip the procession if you need the morning, and go to the Alcázar at 9:30 instead.
- Lighter evening: the show only, with tapas near the hall.
Day 3 · Fri
The Setas, the cathedral and the Giralda, and the Casa de Pilatos
Sevilleout 09:15👟 ≈ 8,000 stepsCheck out, bags at the reception. The Setas' walkway at 9:30, the cathedral and the Giralda at 11:00, the Casa de Pilatos after lunch, the AVE at 18:30.
🗺 The whole day in Google Maps →
09:15
09:30
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The Setas de Sevilla📍 in Google Maps🎟 book setasdesevilla.com
The Metropol Parasol, a 2011 wooden canopy shaped like giant mushrooms, with a winding walkway on top over the rooftops.
about €15 each
Fifteen minutes north. A lift from the basement, where Roman house foundations are on show, to the walkway. Forty minutes.
11:00
sightphoto ↑
Seville Cathedral and the Giralda📍 in Google Maps🎟 book catedraldesevilla.es
The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, built on the site of the great mosque, whose minaret became the bell tower, the Giralda.
about €13 eachday's highlighttimed ticket
Twelve minutes back south. Book a timed ticket online. Inside, Columbus's tomb is carried by four bronze kings by the south door; the gilded main altarpiece is the largest in Christendom.
The Giralda is climbed by 35 ramps, not steps, built wide enough for a man on horseback; the views at the top are over the Alcázar and Santa Cruz. Cover shoulders. Allow an hour and three-quarters.
13:00
food
Lunch near the cathedral📍 in Google Maps
€20–30 each
The bars on Calle Álvarez Quintero, behind the cathedral, are where office workers eat; a middle option with a few tables. Tortilla, montaditos, and a cold beer.
14:30
sightphoto ↑
Casa de Pilatos📍 in Google Maps🎟 book fundacionmedinaceli.org
A 16th-century nobles' palace mixing Moorish, Gothic and Renaissance, with the largest collection of old tiles in Seville, still owned by the Medinaceli family.
about €12 eachquieter
Ten minutes east. The ground floor, with the main patio, tiled galleries and gardens, is the visit; the upper floor is a guided add-on. Much quieter than the Alcázar. An hour.
16:45
getting there
Collect the bags and take a taxi to Santa Justa📍 from 🏁 Santa Justa
about €10at the station by 18:00
Ask the reception to call the taxi. AVE trains have a bag scan before the platform; it closes two minutes before departure.
If you fall behind
- Skip the Setas and start at the cathedral.
- Skip the Casa de Pilatos and have a long lunch instead.
