Find out why this wanderer loves Seville so much.
Someone asked me halfway through my five-week trip around Spain what was the favorite thing I visited so far. At that time, my answer was Seville and even after I finished my trip, it’s still Seville. Honestly, I didn’t think I would love Seville so much. I’ve always been drawn to Cordoba (mostly because of its mosque turned cathedral). However, Seville has stolen my heart.
Seville (or Sevilla) is the largest city in Andalusia. It has all that modernity of a modern city but still has its charm. I really enjoyed just strolling the streets. On my first day in Seville, I walked about 13mi without even realizing it. Seville is a lot to take in. So, I’m going to split Seville up into four posts, a general one where I’m just wandering around and taking in the sites, one where I explore the Alcázar, one for the other palacios, and also a post for the churches. And then Italica, on the outskirts of the city.
Many of the cities I have visited so far were either founded or resettled by the Ancient Romans. However, this time, it was not the Romans, but the Phoenicians who founded a trading post here in the 8th century BCE, centuries before the Romans showed up. Roman Hispalis eventually turned into the Islamic Spalis. Christian Sevilla is the most visible, but all previous cultures can still be found.
My wanderings of Seville took me all across the city, often backtracking over places I already walked past. The order of photos below are only ordered that way because that’s the order in which they were taken. Most are from my first day in Seville.
First glimpse of Seville and it’s a random aqueduct in the middle of a busy street. This is why I love Europe.
A strongly colored building with a older lady on the balcony staring at me as I took this picture.
A random statue on a building. Some king, perhaps?
An oddly shaped building at a crossroads.
More random Ancient Roman ruins. These columns were part of a public building, possibly a temple. Street level at that time was much lower.
The Barrio de Santa Cruz’s (Neighborhood of Santa Cruz) main thoroughfare is lined with orange trees in typical Andalusian fashion.
The ridiculously yellow Patio de Banderas next to the Alcázar.
The Avenue de la Constitución, Seville’s main drag. On this street you can find several of Seville’s main sights, including the Alcázar and the cathedral (upcoming posts).
The Fuente de Hispalis (Fountain of Hispalis) is at the end of the main city center area. It was built for the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929.
The fancy entrance of the absolutely gigantic Palacio de San Telmo, currently a stately government office.
Much of Spain has been invaded by monk parakeets. The parakeets started out as pets. They either escaped or were released into the wild and now, they are breeding.
The fabulous Plaza de España, also built for the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929. You can easily find performers here.
It’s a mix of a bunch of different styles of architecture and there are painted tiles everywhere.
All along the base of the building are these alcove like things. Each is represents a Spanish province. Ávila is featured on this one.
Next to the Plaza de España is the Parque de Maria Luisa. I quite like this park.
The park has a really fancy duck pond. Those are some spoiled ducks.
The park also has an orange orchard.
The Torre del Oro, a 13th century watchtower on the Guadalquivir River.
More wandering found me at the Hospital de la Caridad, a 17th century charity hospital that somehow is still in service. The front of the chapel is a bit extra.
At the center of the hospital is a lovely double courtyard ringed by blue and white tiled pictures.
This is the nicest hospital chapel I have ever seen.
An old tower now incorporated into multiple buildings.
Christmas market! You don’t have to go to Germany to find those during the holiday season.
The main thorough fares were all decorated for the season, typical in many Spanish cities.
Now for day two of Sevilla. I love tiled buildings like this!
Cute little alley with a restaurant.
Such a cute street.
The Ayuntamiento de Sevilla (Town hall of Seville).
Day three in Seville was a rainy one that began on the northern side of the city. It’s pretty cool that some of the city walls still stand.
A little church hidden down a short street.
The center of the ceramic industry in Seville was across the Guadalquivir River from the city center. This is the perfect entrance to the ceramic museum. Unfortunately, some of the ceramic museum was closed that day.
Weird little Capilla Virgen del Carmen on the Puente de Triana, one of the many bridges across the river.
Behind the above chapel and under a shopping area are the ruins of the Castle of San Jorge. This 13th century fort overlooked an old bridge over the river. It later became a headquarters of the Inquisition. The castle is in ruins, but you can still make out many of the buildings that were built inside.
A street and the ruins of the stables on the right.
The home of a papal legate. It was a typical two story Andalusian home, with a nice little private courtyard.
One of the wonderful courtyards at Seville Museum of Fine Arts. And yes, it is still raining.
Another gorgeous courtyard.
More underground ruins can be found at the Antiquarium, which is underneath a really ugly modern thing that I can’t explain. Ruins from the Ancient Roman period and the Islamic period can be found down here.
This was a factory for salting fish. I would not want this in my backyard.
The atrium of the House of the Columns. I wonder how they came up with that name.
They had a few cool looking mosaics on display as well.
It was really hard narrowing down random Seville pictures down into one post and that’s even after deciding the to do three more posts on Seville. Technically, four more if you count Italica. Either way, stay tuned for more!
Check out this Flamenco Dancer I found!
Check out my next update where I will be exploring the fantastic Alcázar of Seville!
or
Start at the beginning of my travels around Spain!
