Seville is the capital and the largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia. With its approximately 700 thousand inhabitants it is the fourth city in Spain. Several buildings in the city have been registered by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites: the Cathedral, the Alcazar and Archive of the Indias. Seville is also the capital of flamenco.
I visited Seville a few years ago, so this post is a sort of a reminiscence of those holidays. It was early June and it was extremely hot, sreet signs indicating the temperature even at six o'clock in the afternoon showed 44-45 degrees! However, apart from the weather, I have to admit that Seville offers many attractions, you need several day to visit them. I'm listing below only the most interesting ones, in my opinion.
This time, unlike in previous posts, I don't give a lot of practical information, because much of them must have changed since then.
This time, unlike in previous posts, I don't give a lot of practical information, because much of them must have changed since then.
Good to know
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| Cooling myself in the... fountain |
*Official website: www.visitasevilla.es
*Sevilla Card – a card which gives you the right to discounts
when buying tickets for public transport, and entitles you to enter free or buy
cheaper tickets to museums.
Top attractions
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| Visiting Alcázar |
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| View on the gardens of Alcázar |
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| Cathedral |
*Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) – Plaza Nueva, a wonderful
Renaissance building, built in the years 1527-1564 in the former tournament
site.
*General Archives of
the Indies (Archivo de Indias) – Avenida de la Constitución, a Renaissance
building of the trade exchange, built in the years 1583-1598. Charles III
placed here General Archives of the Indies, where documents related to the
history of the discovery and conquest of the New World are stored. A
UNESCO World Heritage site
*Golden Tower (Torre del Oro) – Paseo Colón de Cristóbal; founded
in the thirteenth century; one of the 166 towers in the defense system of the
Moors and later rebuilt. Named after the golden tiles azulejos, with which
it was tiled, but also due to the fact that gold looted in the colonies was stored
here. Today, it houses the Maritime Museum (Museo Marítimo).
*Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico) – Plaza de
América; a large and wonderful collection of art ranging from Phoenician (the
famous statue and a treasure Carambolo), to Roman art, and ceramics in mudéjar
style.
*Italica –
the ruins of the Roman city, founded in 206 BC, by Scipio the African. It was a
birthplace of the Roman emperor Trajan. The most interesting sites are:
amphitheater measuring 160 to 137 meters (one of the largest in the Roman Empire),
baths, Bird House (the name comes from mosaics with representations of birds)
and the Planetarium House (with mosaics depicting the signs of the zodiac and
the deities representing the planets). Best way to get here is by bus from
Plaza de Armas (direction: Santiponce).
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| Amphiteater in Italica |