SEVILLE

Seville has been voted the top city in the world to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet, and I can see why!

My best friend and I were looking to book a last minute girls trip somewhere in Europe and came across Seville. It looked like the perfect option as there seemed to be lots to see and do but also plenty of hotels with rooftop pools to choose from so that we could chill out in the notoriously scorching afternoons!

We opted to stay at Hotel Sevilla Center and it was a great choice! The name is a little ironic though, as it isn’t quite in the centre and we actually walked 23 miles in 3 days!

It didn’t take us long to fall head over heels in love with Seville, and I’m going to show you why!

VISIT:

All of the places we visited were absolutely beautiful!

The architecture is gorgeous, there are colourful mosaics everywhere, lush topiary and pretty fountains complement the abundance of pretty plazas and all of it was made even better with the perfect blue skies we had all weekend.

We arrived on Thursday evening and flew home on Sunday afternoon. We managed to fit in lots of exploring as well as factoring in some time to relax – you may want to have a read of my recent post on how to travel more (and more effectively) whilst working full-time.

Here is where we visited…

CASA DE PILATOS

A palace filled with intricate mosaics (entry €12):

METROPOL PARASOL/LAS SETAS DE SEVILLA

A huge and unusual wooden structure in the centre of town with fantastic views (entry €3):

SEVILLE CATHEDRAL AND GIRALDA TOWER

The largest gothic building in Europe with the largest altarpiece in the world!

Entry is €9 (this includes the tower, you can pay more for an audio guide)

And don’t forget to climb the tower! After lots of walking already that day we were pleased to find out that there weren’t steps, but rather slopes/inclines to reach the top.

THE ROYAL ALCAZAR PALACE OF SEVILLE

A breathtakingly-beautiful palace with perfectly manicured gardens. Allow at least a couple of hours to explore here! The palace was a filming location of Game of Thrones. Standard entry is €11.50.

PLAZA DE ESPAGNA & MARIA LUISA PARK

Probably the highlight of the trip for me. It reminded me of Venice too! We hired a boat for 35 minutes (only €6) and rowed around the square. There is almost always live music going on and we also saw some flamenco dancers.

TORRE DEL ORO

A military watchtower with great views across the city and river (entry €3, free on Mondays)

EAT AND DRINK – TAPAS TAPAS TAPAS!

The food and drink in Seville was delicious, and super cheap! You will see tapas restaurants left right and centre – we didn’t research into where to eat before the trip we just used TripAdvisor as we went along. We visited the below places for food/drink and were impressed by them all:

• MESON GUADALIVIR – we ate here on the first night as it was close to our hotel and was ranked highly. We particularly liked the tapas lasagne.
• VEGA 10 – a pretty and authentic restaurant over the other side of the river in the Triana district – try the citrus salad
• RIO GRANDE – we had cocktails here after dinner, it is a beautiful setting overlooking the river
• LA TARACEINA – a great one for sitting outside and listening to live music in the street
• DONA FRANCISQUITA – close to the cathedral and shopping district for a quick lunch, we shared a yummy pizza
• MESON SERRANITO – fantastic paella

Don’t forget to try some Spanish classics:

• Sangria
• Freshly squeezed Sevilla orange juice
• Churros
• Paella
• Croquettes

We loved our time in Seville and would highly recommend it for a short break! It is super pretty, very affordable and not too touristy yet, so visit before everyone finds out about it!

Thank you for reading!

Check out my YouTube video with the highlights of our trip!:

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