Seville and Andalusia (Spain) Travel Guide: What to See & My Best Addresses

After a month and a half in Seville, we are starting to get to know this beautiful city well

What to visit in Seville?

Here are the places of interest that we visited in order of priority (+ the links to the corresponding travel diaries)

• The Alcázar of Seville
• Cathedral of Our Lady of the See of Seville
• Plaza de Espana
• Palacio de las Duenas (the only furnished palace we visited)
• Promenade d’Hercule (lots of local restaurants in the area)
• Palacio de las Pilas
• Museo Taurino de la Real Maestranza de Caballerie

What to visit around Seville?

(cities are listed in order of priority)

• Granada: the Alhambra, to be booked in advance
• Cordoba (the visit of the cathedral mosque is a must)
• Ronda (the visit of the new bridge and the old bridge is a must)
• Cadiz (the seafront + the bells of the cathedral)
• Jerez de la Frontera ( bodegas + flamenco shows)
• Pueblos blancos: Vejer de la Frontera and Arcos de la Frontera
• Malaga & Torremolinos

Here is another list, with some more confidential locations

Granada (reserve the mosque in advance)

Cordoba

Ronda

Cádiz

Jerez de la Frontera

Beach : Sancti Petri

San Lucas de Barrameda: “Spanish camargue”

Jabugo: the Mecca of Iberian ham, visit a winery

Aracena: horseback riding

Transport

Airline: To come to Seville, we recommend Ryanair, cheap

Airport transportation => city center: Sevilla has only one airport which is 1 hour by bus from the center (exit the airport on the left). The EA bus serves the city center regularly – with several stops – for 4€/person)

Transportation: Transportation is very numerous and cheap in Andalusia, you can choose between train (renfe.com) or bus (alsa.es). However, you can rent a car to move faster between Andalusian cities, from 13€/day (read our article on Goldcar here)

Parking: it is very difficult to park in Seville, the streets are narrow, there is very little space, you have to be very good at niche parking. It is best to park in an underground parking lot as soon as you enter a city. And walk to explore

Public transportation: Buses cost between €1.2 and €1.4 per trip (payment in cash to the driver). However, if you buy the prepaid card of 1,5€ and a minimum top-up of 5€, the ticket increases to 0,6€/journey => to be bought and topped up at the newsagent

This card is called Tarjeta multiviaje de TUSSAM. To buy the card that allows you to pay once WITH transfer, choose the version con transbordoOtherwise choose sin transbordo

You can buy a card for several people, you just have to validate it several times

However, the cities are very small. It is rather recommended to simply walk

Seasons & Clothing

It is extremely hot in Andalusia in summer (that’s why the stores are all closed between 2:30 and 5:00 pm to take a nap)

I advise you not to come in summer, but rather in October when the weather is nice but not too hot – to enjoy the terraces and visits in good conditions. It is still very hot until the end of October (we were in sandals), but from November on it is really cold in the evenings, you have to dress warmly, but in several layers because you just have to sit in the sun to be warm

In Andalusia, the weather is good 300 days/year. It will be really bad luck to come on a rainy day

Shopping & care

I have listed here all my favorite hammam, massage and cosmetic stores in Seville

Nomad digital

Bars often have wi-fi, but Spaniards are known for their lyrics, so don’t count on them for work. There is a library overlooking the river(Biblioteca Felipe Gonzalez Marquez) with Spanish opening hours (9:30-14:30 and 16:00-21:00)

If you hesitate between Seville and Granada, we recommend Seville, without hesitation, the city is flatter (it’s more pleasant for the non-sporty) and there are many more things to see

The Internet connection is fast. The 4G also, for 20€ at Vodafone, you have 3go for a month

We also advise you NOT to choose an apartment on the first floor. Spanish people speak a lot, very loudly and go to bed very late and they may wake you up in the middle of the night just by walking in front of your window. Moreover, there are a lot of dogs here, it is really unpleasant to be with pee/poop traces in front of your door every week

Hosting

We rented an Airbnb not far from the Promenade d’Hercule. It’s finally a good location as there are plenty of local restaurants and tapas bars nearby and it’s only a 15mn walk to the city center

Restaurants near the city center are often crowded, more expensive… and full of tourists, but the advantage is that they open earlier

Restaurants & schedules

Tourists can start lunch at 1:30 pm (although locals will start at 2:30 pm); and dinner at 8 pm (locals at 9 pm). Late opening restaurants are a guarantee of quality, i.e. they are mainly for locals. I recommend that you have a good breakfast and always carry some dried fruit with you, so you don’t die of hypoglycemia – while waiting for the tapas bars to open

Everything is very good here, however I recommend you some addresses in Seville. Be careful, most of the addresses are near the Promenade of Hercules where we are staying

Note: I’m extremely picky about food, so if I say it’s good, it’s good!

• Very good, about 35€++/person

  • Restaurante Casa Manolo Leon

• Very good, local, about 15€/person, stressed servers on the other hand

  • Antigua Abaceria de San Lorenzo

• Very good, but a bit touristic, 15€/person approximately

  • Eslava (my favorite restaurant, taste without waiting the beef tataki)
  • Mamarracha (my 2nd favorite, the duck breast is to fall)
  • Duo Tapas
  • La Terraza
  • Al Aljibe
  • Blossom

• Best paella in Seville for 9€

  • El prégon (my 3rd favorite, it’s a Peruvian restaurant, the paella dish is called arroz con marisco)

• Excellent value for money, local, 7€/person approx

  • Bar Lalola
  • Piola Coffee

• Excellent value for money, central, close to the cathedral, about 7€/person

  • El Colmo

• Good fusion cuisine, very creative, 13€/person approx

  • Arte y Sabor Restaurant
  • Restaurante Chifa

And here is another list of restaurants recommended by a true gourmet

A new covered market has been created recently, with lots of small restaurants: it’s young and trendy. Nice to go and have some tapas in the evening: MERCADO LONJA DEL BARRANCO

Opposite, on the other side of the Guadalquivir, MERCADO DE TRIANA. Real authentic market to go shopping and have tapas lunch every day. Lots of atmosphere on Saturday morning. Closed in the evening

Typical boui boui: BODEGUITA CASABLANCA / calle Adolfo Rodriguez Jurado

Typical and trendy Boui Boui : OVEJAS NEGRAS / calle Hernando Colon

Classic boui boui and always good and full: the tapas bar of ESLAVA / calle Eslava (next to the beautiful plaza san lorenzo). They have a top gastro restaurant, where you have to make a reservation. Excellent value for money

In the same style as Eslava -> YEBRA / calle Medalla Milagrosa