Seville

Carmen Sevilla by Slim Aarons, 1957

Seville is the capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia region, famous for flamenco dancing, the ornate Alcázar castle complex, built during the Moorish Almohad dynasty, and the 18th-century Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza bullring. The Gothic Seville Cathedral is the site of Christopher Columbus’s tomb and a minaret-turned bell tower, the Giralda. Here is our guide to Seville.

STAY

HOTEL COLÓN The grand marble staircase and domed lobby are offset with modern guest rooms featuring Philippe Starck armchairs. We especially love the rooftop pool— a welcome respite from Seville’s heat.

HOTEL MERCER Set in a restored 19th-century palace on a narrow cobblestone street with a rooftop terrace, plunge pool, bar, and restaurant.

HOTEL ALFONSO XIII An ornate 1929 hotel in the city center with a restaurant, tapas bar, and outdoor pool steps away from the Alcazar.

DRINK | DINE

RESTAURANTE ORIZA A Basque restaurant near the Parque de María Luisa. For a casual bite, head to Bar España, which serves tapas.

EL RINCONCILLO Seville’s most historic taberna housed in an old grocery store, open for 350 years— since 1670.

MERCADO LONJA DEL BARRANCO A gourmet marked housed in a 19th-century galvanized-iron building.

BODEGUITO ROMERO Famous for its award-winning pringá montaditos – a mixture of pork, chorizo and black pudding, served on bread as a paté. Other favorites include the melt-in-your-mouth carrillada (pig cheeks), grilled salt cod, and the house marinated potatoes, prepared daily by Pedro Romero himself.

EL PINTÓN Housed inside the landmark Peyré building, a former textile warehouse, originally built in 1790 and refurbished in 1919 by regional architect Aníbal González. El Pintón is a tapas and cocktail bar designed by Cristina Domínguez Lucas and Fernando Hernández-Gil featuring a light-filled indoor courtyard with a Mediterranean menu.

MERCADO DE TRIANA A quaint indoor bazaar with many vendor stalls selling produce, meat & prepared meals, plus a museum in the historic Triana neighborhood.

ART | CULTURE | ACTIVITIES

REAL ALCÁZAR A Moorish palace complex featured in Game of Thrones that was originally built as a fort in 913. One of the oldest existing palaces still in use, it remains the best example of Mudejar architectural style in all of Spain.

PLAZA DE ESPAÑA A square in the Parque de María Luisa, built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a landmark example of Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of the Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture.

CATEDRAL DE SEVILLA The Seville Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies. After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. Christopher Columbus is buried in the tomb.

ARCHIVO DE INDIAS The Archivo General de Indias, housed in the ancient merchants' exchange of Seville, Spain, the Casa Lonja de Mercaderes, is the repository of extremely valuable archival documents illustrating the history of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Philippines. The 16th-century building houses over 80 million pages of documents.

SEVILLE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville or Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla contains Spanish works from the medieval period to the early 20th century, founded in 1839 in a building from 1594.

MUSEO DEL BAILE FLAMENCO An 18th-century building turned museum detailing flamenco dancing history & culture, plus live shows.

CAIXAFORUM Designed by architect Vázquez Consuegra on the Isla de la Cartuja, and home to two temporary contemporary art exhibitions as well as concerts, movies, discussions, conferences, a gift shop, and a restaurant.

PLAZA DE TOROS DE LA REAL MAESTRANZA DE CABALLERÍA DE SEVILLA The Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is a bullring and home of the annual Seville Fair bullfighting festival.

METROPOL The Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Encarnación square designed by German architect Jürgen Mayer.

WEEKEND TRIP

HACIENDA DE SAN RAFAEL Set amongst the olive trees in the beautiful countryside between Seville and Jerez and within easy reach of the Costa de la Luz. This traditional hacienda-style boutique hotel has three outside pools, two bars, and a Mediterranean restaurant set in the tranquil gardens. Massage and yoga can be arranged on request and a paddle-tennis court is also available.

Text: Veronica H. Speck Photo: Slim Aarons, © Getty Images