After talking about what to see in Seville it is time to tell you some trivia and, why not, also give you some advice on where to eat, where to stay or what routes you can take.
Seville Travel Tips
1 – Where to spend the night in Seville
In my opinion, the best place to spend the night in Seville is near the Alcazar, but there is a reason for this. Since I imagine you won’t stay in Seville for more than a few days, it is important to maximize all your travel.
Staying near the Alcazar means spending the right price and being close to the Alcazar, the Cathedral with the Giralda, the Indias Archives, the Barrio de Santa Cruz. In short, you are in the heart of the city. You can leave the hotel and in a few minutes walk you can reach all places. Great location also for the evening because it is a very lively area until late at night and there are many places where you can have dinner or even just a drink. I stayed at Abadia de Giralda which is located in an enviable location.
2 – Where to eat in Seville
First of all, I would like to recommend a gastronomic tour to experience in Seville that will surely make you happy. Seville, like many Andalusian cities, is home to Tapas, so why not associate it with Flamenco and do -> an enogastronomic tour associated with tapas and Flamenco
You can enjoy great food in a lot of restaurants in Seville, I want to show you the ones I’ve been to. Two are excellent in quality, one great in quantity. Let’s start with the one with good substance.
It’s Los Coloniales. You arrive at the counter at the entrance and a curious character will ask your name that will be noted with chalk on the blackboard. In no time they will call you and prepare your table, they are incredibly fast. They also to bring the various dishes quite quickly. The cost is insignificant for the amount of food they bring you.
It is a place where you eat tapas and you can choose whether you want a small, medium or large tapa. Don’t exaggerate… I suggest you take the small tapa because their small-size version is the equivalent of our large version. Imagine the medium tapa and even more so the big one. Rather take a lot of small ones. The food is decent, your wallet will surely thank you.
And now we come to the two most qualitative restaurants. Undoubtedly the best of those tried in Seville is the restaurant Meson Cinco Jotas. Dishes of absolute quality and impressive presentation. Waiters’ kindness and also beautiful location. Excellent sangria.
I ate really well, keep in mind that if you go for lunch is perhaps better to book. Actually it depends on what time you want to go to eat, keep in mind that if you go at noon you will find the restaurant empty and you won’t have any problems.
Instead, if you go there at 3.00 p.m. / 3.30 p.m. it will be almost full, so it is better to make a reservation. Ultra recommended place, insanely good salmorejo.
The second restaurant I tried in Seville is Los Placentines, not far from the Cathedral. This restaurant is also excellent, perhaps slightly less interesting than the one I mentioned a few lines above but still excellent. If you are near the Cathedral I suggest you to drop by.
3 – Itineraries and Sevilla Card
This is a great tip for Sevilla: If you spend a few days in Seville you might consider purchasing the Sevilla Card.
Alternatively to the Sevilla Card you can purchase the Sevilla Combined Pass which is slightly more expensive but it already includes a range of activities and benefuts such as fast-queuing at the Cathedral and Alcazar which I assure they’re a “godsend”.
Regarding the itineraries, if you ask for information or go to the tourist office in Seville, you can get details about 3 recommended itineraries. Specifically, there is the Baroque, Almohade and Renaissance itineraries. If you spend only two days in the city, I doubt that you will have time to enjoy these routes as well. If, on the other hand, you have more time, they are an excellent solution to visit the city following a basic theme.
Another possibility is to USE THIS LINK and choose from the many tour options of Seville that can be purchased online.
4 – Don’t accept rosemary at the cathedral
Thankfully, we’ve only been told about it, so I’m telling you as we have been told. It is important that you be careful near the cathedral not to take or even touch the rosemary that gypsies camping outside the entrances and exits will try to give you.
You may think that this is some kind of custom related to the place, but it is actually a way to make money out of it, at least that’s what I’ve been told. If you pick up the rosemary they ask you to get paid and if you don’t they will start screaming for the police. Keep an eye out!
5 – A bike ride around Seville
If you have enough time, this is also a great way to see Seville from another point of view. You will see the city more quickly, it is true, but you will have the chance to enjoy Seville as if you were a Sevillian, in and out of parks, up and down the cobbled streets, it is very beautiful. In this regard we shot a short video at the end of a morning ride.
You can take this bike tour around Seville.
Trivia about Seville
1 – Adversion to bikes
Speaking of bicycles, this mean of transport has only appeared in the daily life of the Sevillians in the last 15 years. Before that, bicycles were not used. There were no bike lanes. Now the Sevillians are gaining confidence and many bicycle lanes have been created in the city, among other things with double lanes as if they were real roads. It should be noted that, although they are badly regarded, bikes have the right to pass in the old town centre. If you find yourself on a bike with a car behind you, no one will bother you with the horn.
2 – Chain of the Gold Tower
I was told that in the history of Seville, the Gold Tower was also a checkpoint for river crossing. In this regard, a huge chain had been put in place that was pulled from one side of the Guadalquivir to the other.
3 – Giralda and the building height law
In Seville a law was made that allowed the city to have a uniformity regarding the height of the buildings. In fact, in Seville there is a rule that the buildings that are constructed must be shorter than the Giralda. If you look at the city from the top of the Giralda you will have a 360 degree view and it is a very beautiful experience that allows you to appreciate the whole city.
4 – Seville, the cleanest city in Spain
Seville is extremely clean. For many years it has been the cleanest Spanish city. Every night, past midnight, you can see the garbage collector teams cleaning the entire city and every morning the city is as new to tourists and its citizens. And that’s not all.
Seville has designed a different way to recover waste. Instead of putting the classic normal dumpster collection points that should be emptied every day, in Seville they have designed dumpsters with underground containers. Basically, once the waste is thrown away, it ends up in an underground container that takes longer to fill and therefore allows it to be emptied fewer times. This benefits both the appearance of the city, which is not in danger of being invaded by dirt bags because they cannot be put into the container, and the smell of the city, which is not soaked in the stench of waste. This is definitely an example to be considered.
5 – The symbol NO – Clew in the shape of 8 – DO
Walking through the city you will see this symbol. It is a symbol that dates back many centuries. Alfonso X created it after the war against his son. Since the city remained faithful to the old king, this symbol was meant to honor the people with the meaning NO – MADEJA – DO which means “you have not abandoned/left me“. Madeja is some sort of clew that reminds us of an 8.