Enjoy Seville - the city of flamenco
Sevilla (Seville in English) is the province capital of Andalusia, Spain. This beautiful ancient city situated on the banks of Guadalquivir River is today a cultural, artistic and financial capital of southern Spain. To witness fiesta flamenca in Seville during the annual Spring Fair is a memory for life.
Attractions
Built on the former Almohad mosque dated 12th century, the impressing edifice of Seville Cathedral, being presumably the largest Roman Catholic cathedral, is the largest gothic church in the world. Tremendously rich wooden altarpiece, the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and Giralda - previously the mosque´s minaret tower – are the most popular things to see here. The nearby Jewish Quarter is the most charming part of the city.
Other attractions worth to mention here: Real Alcázar, a palace in the Moorish style; Casa de Pilatos - a 16th century palace, and Museo de Bellas Artes: this art museum is considered as the second best in the country, after Prado.
Springtime is fiesta time in Seville: soon after Easter Holly Week - which is celebrated by a number of religious processions where participants carry huge baroque floats with Images of Christ and the Virgin - comes Spring Fair (Fería de Abril). Traditionally dressed women dancing flamenco accompanied by men on horseback show off on the streets, and in canvas tent pavilions (so called casetas) all over Seville, there is virtually 24-hours partying going on. And of course the sound of flamenco is everywhere.
Leisure, entertainment and nightclubs
You will find the nightlife of Seville fabulous; countless bars, open-air discotheques on Isla Cartuja, and excellent tapas food (not only, of course!) on every corner. In Sevilla beer is much more popular than in other parts of the wine-drinking Spain.
Listen to genuine flamenco sessions - perhaps in El Arenal; just wander around Santa Cruz quarter with its flowered balconies or in Maria Luisa Park, visit to the open-air market, or maybe even watch a bull fight in La Maestranza is what you can consider to do in Sevilla, if you missed the Spring Fair, of course. A cruise on Guadalquivir can also be a great thing to do.
Hotels
As a proper tourist city, Sevilla offer all kinds of accommodations: luxurious hotels with international atmosphere, mid-range hotels such as those four in a cluster (Grupo Piramide), or centrally located Sevilla Urbany Hostels are just some examples.
Getting here and getting around
Sevilla International Airport is situated 25 km from the centre. Buses or taxis to fixed price will take you there. The smaller La Parra International Airport (XRY) near Jerez de la Frontera is used by the discount airlines.
High-speed trains will take you from, for instance, Madrid to Sevilla in just three hours.
Purchasing Sevilla Card is advisable, since it provides free entrance to many museums, and free ride on the local buses.
Climate: Mediterranean, with oceanic influences. Very warm summers, especially in July; winters are mild; December is the wettest month, January the coolest (average max. 16°C, min. 4°C. The annual average temperature is 18.6 °C (65 °F).
Time zone: UTC (GMT)+1. Daytime saving time (DST) is observed.
Currency: Euro (EUR, €).
History
Seville is more than two thousand years old. Known as Hispalis by ancient Romans, when later taken by Moors, it became an important centre of Muslim Andalusia. After over 400 years of Arab rule, the town was taken over by Catholic Spaniards, and flourished again thanks to the quite monopolistic trade with newly acquired Spanish territories in America. During the past two centuries Sevilla again experienced growth due to industrialisation.
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