Seville is the enchanting capital of the Andalucia region in Southern Spain. It is one of our favourite cities, and we visit it on both our
Historic Andalucia and Seville to Granada cycling holidays.
Seville was already a thriving city in ancient times under Iberian civilizations and later under the Romans. But it reached its real glory days in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. In the 8th century it became the first capital
of the Umayyad state of Al-Andalus, continuing to thrive under Muslim rule for six centuries. In the 13th century, Seville was conquered by the Christian kingdom of Castile, as part of the so-called reconquista crusade. This ushered in a different, but equally prosperous new era, fuelled by the Age of Exploration.
Seville became the nerve center for the pioneering voyages of men like Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Hernán Cortés. Today the city is filled with grand monuments which highlight its historic importance, and which help to make Seville such a fascinating and magical place to visit.
Find out more about the history, the culture and what to see, in this guide to one of Spain's most captivating cities.
Seville's Cathedral dominates the historic center of the city. Its imposing exterior stands majestically in the main square, situated opposite the Royal Alcazar and the House of Trade. And it was built
specifically to impress.
By the 15th century, Seville had become the most important city in Castile - the region that comprised most of modern Spain. It was a thriving port, heavily involved in domestic and overseas trade, and so regularly welcomed merchants and other visitors.
In 1401, the city's most influential residents decided that Seville needed a grand monument to showcase its wealth and status.
A century later, the cathedral was complete. It had achieved its aim, and has surpassed the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Istanbul) to become the largest church in the world. Its ornate gothic facade wowed visitors to the city, which
had become even more important and prosperous thanks to new trade routes opening up with the Americas.
And the man most responsible for the discovery of the Americas is also intimately linked with the cathedral. Christopher Columbus is buried inside; his tomb adorned with the impressive coat of arms that he was rewarded by the king and queen for his service to Spain.
Giralda Bell Tower
Seville's cathedral though wasn't the first major religious monument to adorn the city. In fact, great mosques has existed in the same location for hundreds of years, only being dismantled when the decision was made to build the new cathedral.
A vivid reminder of the historic mosques does remain though - in the form of the Giralda tower. This was the minaret of the great mosque, which was built in the 12th century to highlight the prestige of the new Almohad caliphate, who had crossed the Mediterranean from Morocco and
had conquered much of Spain. The minaret was constructed as a replica of the one in their home city of Marrakesh. It had a symbolic importance, putting a physical marker down to show the world how the Almohads had expanded their territory.
When, in the 13th century, the Christian kingdom of Castile re-conquered Seville, they were so impressed by the Giralda that they left it intact and later incorporated it into the new cathedral as the bell tower. So it remains
standing today - a Muslim era minaret, adorned with bells and some renaissance style decoration.
Situated across the main square from the cathedral is the Royal Alcazar. This was one of the main palatial residences of the kings and queens of Castile for nearly two centuries, following the reconquista
of Al-Andalus.
Similarly to the cathedral, the Alcazar was rebuilt under the Castilian kings, replacing an older Muslim Alcazar on the same site. It was a fortified palace complex, with strong walls designed both to protect those inside, and to
show the power of the new regime. The chief architect was King Peter (Pedro), who has something of a mixed legacy. His reign was marred by wars with the neighbouring kingdom of Aragon, and depending on which sources you believe, he was either a cruel tyrant, or a benevolent and fair ruler.
In any case, Peter was a big fan of Muslim style and architecture. When rebuilding the Alcazar, he left much of the Muslim palace intact, including the stunningly decorative Patio del Yeso, which remains today. The new gardens and
arches were also built in Muslim or Mudejar style; and there are many similarities to the Alhambra palace in Granada.
Patio de las Doncelles
By the late 15th century, the long running animosity between the rulers of Castile and Aragon had come to an end. Queen Isabella of Castile married King Ferdinand of Aragon to unite Spain for the first time in seven centuries, and to usher in the glory days of the empire.
The two so-called Catholic Monarchs spent much of their rule living together in Seville's Alcazar, and they extended the complex so that they could receive the many important visitors flocking to the city.
In the 16th century, the king Philip II permanently moved the capital of Spain to the region of Madrid, but the Alcazar in Seville remained a part-time royal residence. Today it is open to the public, and you can admire the various palaces, adorned with gold decoration and intricate plasterwork. Particularly impressive
is the Patio de las Doncelles - a large courtyard which branches off to various rooms where royal guests were received.
Nestled between the Cathedral and the Alcazar is a less visually impressive building, but arguably one that played a more important role in world history. The House of Trade (Casa de la Contratación de las Indias) was
the nerve center during the Age of Exploration. It was here where overseas voyages were authorized and where important contracts were signed.
Actually, such things were carried out all over Seville and the rest of Andalucia, not just in the House of Trade. But this building was at the heart of it all, and has come to represent the Spanish discovery of the Americas and their later imperial ambitions there.
Established in 1503, a little more than a decade after Columbus had ‘discovered’ the Americas, the House of Trade levied taxes on imports from the Americas. It provided Crown support, both financial and moral, for the conquistadores and it also controlled the ‘secret maps’ which Spanish ships were using in this period to try to get ahead of their Portuguese rivals.
The House of Trade also ran an important navigation school and trained ship builders. Essentially, it controlled the whole industry of trade and exploration of the Americas.
It was during the 1510s and the 1520s that the House of Trade reached the peak of its power. During this period it supervised and sponsored some of the greatest voyages of discovery that humanity has ever known. Hernán Cortés intervened in an Aztec Civil War to discover much of Mexico and bring under Spanish control. Francisco Pizarro exploited Inca divisions to conquer Peru; Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed Panama to discover the Pacific Ocean; Francisco de Orellana navigated the Amazon and Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.
These are among the greatest real life adventure stories and were all originally conceived and set in motion from Seville. The conquering of such a vast empire was also the driving force behind the Spanish Golden Age of the 16th century; funded by the large amounts of gold and silver effectively being stolen and brought back from the Americas.
15th Century World Map
However, for all the tales of adventure and riches, there was a dark side to the expeditions. The Aztec and Inca cultures were largely destroyed; with the Spanish forcing conversion to Catholicism and the use of Castilian Spanish as the de-facto language. The encomienda system that was initially adopted also effectively enslaved most of the native populations, while many others died from new diseases that the Europeans had introduced.
In many ways the House of Trade represents two different faces of the human experience. On the one hand it celebrates ingenuity, courage and adventure. But, at the same time, it also reveals exploitation, greed and cruelty. However you choose to look at it though, it certainly played an important role in shaping the world as we know it today.
Seville may not be as renowned for its gastronomy as some other parts of Spain, but it still has plenty of delicious dishes to try. While Valencia has its Paella, Basque Country has its elaborate
Pintxos, and Galicia has Pulpo a la Gallega, Andalucia has tapas.
Everywhere in Seville you can find traditional tapas bars, selling small plates to go with drinks, or larger raciones if you want a more substantial meal. Originally tapas were meant to sit on top of a drink and protect it from flies and other insects - the spanish word tapa literraly translates as 'lid'. But
nowadays tapas has become so much more than this.
You can find the traditional tapas almost everywhere; these are often simple, such as Jamón Ibérico or Calamares a la Romana, but there are also much more elaborate dishes if you wish to try something different. Check out our article about the
Ten Best Tapas to see some of our recommendations.
As well as tapas, Seville is also home to a large number of freíduras. These specialize in fried fish and seafood, which they sell by weight. Here you can get a huge, great value platter filled with shrimps, dog-fish (cazón), anchovies, sardines, squid and whatever else has been freshly caught.
Washing it all down with a cold cerveza as you watch the world go by is a real treat.
Seville is not really the home of Flamenco; the traditional heartland was a little further south in the rural towns inland from Cádiz. But, over the past couple of hundred years, Seville has been one of the main centers of the art.
Flamenco in its strictest sense is simply the singing of folk songs, often with improvised or topical lyrics. But more commonly it involves guitar playing, castanets and flamboyant dancing; all creating a real spectacle of noise and color.
It is mostly associated with the Romani (gypsy) culture. In Seville this was traditionally centered on the barrio of Triana - to the west of the Guadalquivir river. Triana was the supposed home of Carmen - the star of Bizet's opera, and today if you wander
the streets of the neighbourhood, it is still very common to hear Flamenco being sung.
Seville's Jewish Quarter, today known as Santa Cruz is comprised of a network of narrow streets, which backs on to the cathedral and Alcazar. The maze of alleyways is filled with whitewashed buildings, designed to
offer some protection from the hot sun. The Jewish Quarter was established in the 13th century when the conquering Christian king - Ferdinand III - decided to concentrate all of the city's Jews in one area so he could better keep an eye on them.
At this time Spain had the largest Jewish population in the world, known as Sephardic Jews. Seville, in particular, had a large community which had enjoyed considerable prosperity for several centuries. They were largely respected and free to carry out their religious and culture practices under the various Muslim caliphates and kingdoms
that ruled the city, and were even involved in the local government and high politics of the state.
This changed after the Christian conquest, as their rights were gradually eroded. In the 14th century, the black death and economic hardship saw Seville's Jews targetted by pogroms, with many killed or forced to flee. And in 1492, Queen Isabella, issued the infamous Alhambra Decree which
expelled all Jews from Spain who refused to convert to Christianity.
Following this ruling, the Jewish Quarter of Seville entered into a steep decline. It suffered from depopulation and also an atmosphere of mistrust and hostility towards the Jews who had remained and had converted (often superficially) to Christianity. Efforts were made in the 18th century to restore the
neighbourhood, with several former synagogues being spruced up and converted into churches. And, before long, the neighbourhood once again became a thriving part of the city.
San Jorge Castle is situated on the Puente de Triana (Triana Bridge). Today it houses a small museum dedicated to tolerance which is worth a short visit. It is most famous, however, as the prison and headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition - which was established in Seville in 1478.
It was set up initially as an attempt to deal with the issue of Spain's converso population. These were mostly Jews who had claimed to have converted to Christianity to evade persecution, but there was a suspicion that many had done so only superficially, and that they continued to follow Jewish practices behind closed doors.
Queen Isabella of Castile, whose whole image was centered around her being seen as the perfect Catholic monarch, was keen to address the issue. There was a feeling that this 'heresy' was degrading the moral virtue of society. And so she established the Inquisition to investigate and punish anyone who was falsely claiming to be a good Christian.
In the first twenty years of its existence, over two thousand people were executed for heresy throughout Spain. Many others were put on trial, with some acquitted and others given lighter punishments. But as much as the punishments themselves, it was the fear and mistrust that the Inquisition spread that was so damaging to society. In cities such as Seville, neighbours would report each other and friends (even family) would sometimes testify each other, often just as a way of settling a personal score.
Painting depicting an auto-de-fé - Francisco Rizi
The Spanish Inquisition was not actually that different to what was happening in other European countries at the time. Queen Mary of England, and various rulers of the Netherlands executed similar numbers of people for heresy, but it was the Spanish Inquisition that become particularly infamous.
This was partly due to propaganda spread by the English and Dutch during the wars of the Armada and the reformation in the 16th century. But it was also because of the elaborate and visual ceremonies that the Inquisition carried out. The auto-de-fé trials were very public and designed to strike fear into potential heretics, and to play up to the image of the Inquistion of being an omniscient power - which was actually never really the case.
Following the trials, those convicted would be led down the alleyway pictured above, to where they would be put to death or given a different punishment. Whether exaggerated or not, the Inquisition clearly did destroy the lives of many people. Particularly those of Jewish heritage, who were left with the choice of leaving their home, or having to convince the Inquisition that they had genuinely converted to Christianity.
Walking around Seville today, the influence of the Muslim caliphate and subsequent Christian kingdoms is clear to see. But, well before all of that, Seville was also an important city in ancient times.
Iberian tribes inhabited the region more than 3000 years ago, and were active in Mediterranean trade. They had contact with Greek and Phoenician sailors, and were later conquered by the powerful state of Carthage.
In the 3rd century BCE, Carthage fought two major wars with Rome, which culminated in the general Scipio Africanus over-running Spain, before defeating Hannibal at a battle in North Africa. Having entered Spain for the first time during the war, the Romans decided to stay.
Seville was refounded as the Roman city of Hispalis and became an important port in the empire. It was a fairly average working class city, which specialised in the trade of olive oil and metals that were brought here along the Via de la Plata (Silver Route) from Northern Spain.
Even more significantly, Scipio also founded a new Roman colony, just a few miles north of Seville. Called Italica, this was to be inhabited by veteran soldiers, who could keep an eye on the newly conquered populations. But over the following few centuries, Italica
became much more than a small provincial colony.
Bust of the Emperor Hadrian - Seville Archaeological Museum
It became a very well-to-do place, which attracted important elite families from Rome. The first two emperors from outside Italy - Trajan and Hadrian - were both from Italica, and are widely regarded as being amongst the most successful and
competent of all Rome's emperors.
By conquering parts of Arabia, Trajan expanded the borders of the empire to the greatest extent. While his successor Hadrian looked to consolidate most of the gains, by building defensive structures, including the wall in Britain that continues to bear his name.
Hadrian in particular had a strong association with Italica. He built a huge amphitheatre - the fourth largest in the Roman empire. He also built a whole new neighbourhood, as well as temples, baths and a theatre. All of this still stands today in various states of conservation, and it is
one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in all of Spain. It is particularly known for its mosaics, which depict various aspects of Roman culture and religion.
Elsewhere in Seville, the Archaeological Museum houses fantastic relics, including some of the original mosaics from Italica. You can also see Roman columns in Plaza Alameda and remains of the Roman aqueduct on the edge of the historic center.
Plaza de España is one of the most visually spectacular part of the city. It was built in 1928 as part of an international exposition and was designed to highlight the Baroque, Renaissance and Mudejar styles that are strongly associated with the city.
The impressive site is housed within the Maria Luisa gardens, which are full of delightful fountains, ponds and pavilions. The Plaza itself is set around a large pool, with the distinctive crescent shaped building featuring elaborate decorations.
Tiles depicting the storming of Madrid by Napoleonic forces
Perhaps most impressive of all are the tiled alcoves that line the crescent shaped building. There is one alcove dedicated to each of Spain's fifty provinces, and they contain individually styled tiles with a map of the province and the recreation of an important
scene in the region's history.
Each one is fascinating to look at. The Canary Islands shows Columbus landing there on his way to the Americas. Madrid shows the storming of the city by Napoleonic forces in the early 19th century. While the tiles of Granada depict the last Nasrid caliphate surrendering to the Catholic monarchs.
For fans of Spanish and European history, you can spend hours walking alongside them and admiring the craftsmanship and symbolism of each one.
Running through the center of Seville, the Guadalquivir river is the historic lifeline of the city. Until relatively recently, it was easily navigable by large ships coming from either the Atlantic or Mediterranean. And throughout the Middle Ages Seville was one of the most
important port cities in Spain.
The historic docks can be visited and were used as a filming location for the Game of Thrones television series. The Torre de Oro (Golden Tower) is also a very visible monument, whose origins are somewhat mysterious, but the name suggests
it had something to do with the riches flooding into Seville from the 14th to 16th centuries.
The Guadalquivir was key to Seville's prosperity, but it also played a role in the city being partly destroyed in the early days of the Umayyad caliphate. In the 9th century, Viking longboats charged up the river and sacked the city of Seville, almost leading to it being abandoned. You can read more
about that dramatic story in our article on the Vikings and the Guadalquivir. But ultimately, it played an important role in improving the fortifications and defences of the city, which helped to protect it for centuries to come.
These are just a few of our favourite highlights in Seville. They are monuments and places that really tell the story of the city's remarkable history. But there is so much more to discover, both here and in the surrounding
region of Andalucia. Check out our guides to Cordoba and Granada to find out even more.
Or come and join us on either our guided or self-guided cycling holidays
to the region, to witness it all first hand!
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