By Jeni & Ben | JB Off Again Travel
A historical treasure trove. Scorching heat. And a fire alarm on the last day.
We’d done Málaga. We’d done Gibraltar. We’d done Ronda. Seville felt like the natural next step for our Andalusia trips and it didn’t disappoint. If you’re weighing up a Seville itinerary of your own, this is exactly what five nights looks like in real life: 37°C heat, more history per square metre than almost anywhere we’ve been, and a fire alarm to round it all off.
Here’s how it went, real costs, honest opinions, and a couple of things we’d do differently.
The Trip at a Glance
Base: Seville, five nights | Day trip: Córdoba (45 minutes by train)
This isn’t a rushed city-break pace. It’s slow enough to actually see the big three, the Cathedral, the Alcázar and Plaza de España without sprinting between them, with a full day blocked out for Córdoba in the middle. If you’re only asking “how many days in Seville do I need,” five is generous but not wasted. You could do the headline sights in three, but you’ll be doing them at a fast pace.
Day 1 | Late Start, No Complaints
The plane was two hours late. Classic.
By the time we landed, checked in and dropped the bags it was already late evening but that’s fine, because Seville in the evening is exactly where you want to be. Nowhere gets too busy much before 9pm..
We were recommended Mariaviva by one of our hotel receptionists. It was busy, we had a 5/10 minute wait for a table but the food was worth the wait.
Cost €38. Ham croquettes. Garlic shrimp croquettes. ‘Puff pastry’ patatas bravas. Four cold beers.
Day 2 | The Cathedral, the Alcázar & a Hidden Gem
37°C. We picked the big day anyway.
We walked to the Cathedral through the Barrio Santa Cruz, Seville’s ancient Jewish quarter, and the postcard image of the city. Narrow whitewashed alleys, flower-filled balconies, tiny hidden squares. You don’t need a plan here. You just wander, and it delivers.
The streets gradually widen and then suddenly you’re standing in front of the Cathedral. It announces itself.
Seville Cathedral and Alcázar tickets: what to actually expect
We’d booked timed entry but don’t let that fool you, there’s still a general queue to join before they let you in somewhere near your time slot. Not the most organised system, but you get there. We chose to do La Giralda first, get the climb done before the heat really bites. The views from the top are everything you’d hope for.
The cathedral itself is enormous. Genuinely one of the largest in the world, and it feels it. Give it time, a good hour to 90 minutes.
Inside, the scale keeps going. The undisputed stop is the tomb of Christopher Columbus, an elaborate monument carried on the shoulders of four heraldic pallbearers representing the old kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragón and Navarre. Whether his actual remains are inside is still debated (DNA testing in 2006 confirmed at least some of them are), but that doesn’t take anything away from how striking it is in person.
A few minutes further in, the twin 18th-century organs facing each other across the choir are easy to miss if you’re not looking up, silent when we visited, but still one of the details that stuck with us most.
We were out by 12:20, which left us forty minutes before the Alcázar slot. We walked over and joined the queue early. A much better system here, boards showing each time slot clearly, orderly, sensible. The contrast with the Cathedral queue was noticeable.
The Alcazar
The Alcázar is immense. That’s the only word for it. Garden after garden, courtyard after courtyard, the kind of place you get genuinely lost in and don’t mind at all. We walked around the grounds, the courtyards, there were a couplle of exhibitions on, one was free and the other was paid.
After all that walking, we stopped at the café for a sit down and drink, much needed in the heat of June
Cost €20 for two.sandwiches and drinks. In that heat, worth every cent.
Honest tip doing both the Cathedral and the Alcázar in 37°C heat on the same day is a lot. They each deserve proper attention. If you can spread them across two days, do it.
Hidden Gem
Last stop: Iglesia del Salvador. Included on the Cathedral ticket (so dont lose it), five minutes away, and about a quarter of the crowds. A beautiful, calm little church and after the scale of the Cathedral and Alcázar, the intimacy of it was exactly the right way to end the day.
Evening: La Bodega de la Alfalfa in the old town. A Sevillian temple of manzanilla and wines from Sanlúcar and Jerez always accompanied by seafood and cured meats.
Cost €58. Cod tortilla, chorizo, ham croquettes, chicken in mustard, deep fried anchovies. Four beers each.
Day 3 | A Córdoba Day Trip from Seville
One thing nobody tells you about Spanish train stations: they work differently.
There’s no hanging around on the platform. You wait in the concourse until about ten minutes before departure, the platform is announced, everyone queues for security, down the escalator, ticket check at the bottom, and you’re on. Efficient once you know, slightly baffling the first time.
Forty-five minutes later, Córdoba.
If you’re planning a Seville to Córdoba day trip, this is genuinely one of the easiest add-ons to any Andalusia itinerary. The Mezquita-Cathedral is about a 30-minute walk from the station, follow the old town signs and enjoy it, because the streets get better the closer you get. We spent about 90 minutes inside, and “immense” doesn’t quite cover it. A mosque with a cathedral built inside it, 856 striped Roman arches stretching in every direction. One of those buildings that makes you stop talking.
As we came out, there was a crowd gathered on the steps. We joined them without really knowing why and then figured it out. A wedding, everyone waiting for the bride and groom. They arrived by horse-drawn carriage. We hadn’t planned to stop. Glad we did.
A wander through the old streets brought us down to the Roman Bridge 1st century, crossing the Guadalquivir with the Mezquita behind you. We walked it end to end and stopped for a quiet beer on the other side, then headed back to the station.
⏱️ Journey time: 45 minutes each way by train | 🚶 Mezquita from station: ~30 minute walk
We were back in Seville by mid-afternoon and did exactly what the Spanish do. Siesta.
Out again in the evening for patatas bravas, stuffed mushrooms with cream cheese, prawn, ham and Roquefort sauce, and a large plate of fried anchovies.
💰 Cost: €24 food, €25.60 beers , no complaints.
Day 4 | The River, The Bullring & Plaza de España
Another big one.
We started at Metropol Parasol (Las Setas) the giant wooden mushroom structure rising out of Plaza de la Encarnación. We walked around and under it to get the full sense of the scale. It’s extraordinary close up and unlike anything else in Seville. You can pay to walk the rooftop walkway, apparently even better at night when it’s lit up, we haven’t made it up there yet, but even from the ground it’s worth the detour.
From there we walked into the old town, past the Palacio Arzobispal, the Hospital de los Venerables and the extraordinary Archivo General de Indias, the Renaissance archive building sitting between the Cathedral and the river. Most people walk straight past it without knowing what it is. Worth a look.
Down Avenida de la Constitución the grand, orange-tree-lined boulevard that’s the spine of historic Seville, past the jaw-dropping façade of the Hotel Alfonso XIII (it looks like a royal palace because it essentially is one), and on towards the river.
Real Maestranza bullring Seville: is it worth it?
We’d say yes. €12 each to get in, and the audio guide is completely free, scan the QR code at the entrance and it walks you through the whole thing. The corridors where the matadors wait, the tiny chapel where they pray before they fight, the museum of famous bullfighters, and then out into the ring itself. Whether bullfighting is your thing or not, the history and culture in here is genuinely fascinating. Superb is the right word. Glad we did it.
Cost: €12pp | Audio guide free (QR code at entrance)
Down at the river, the Nao Victoria 500, a full-size replica of Magellan’s ship, the first to circumnavigate the world, moored right on the Guadalquivir, looked the part from the outside. We decided against going in and just appreciated it from the bank.
Torre del Oro next door was the unexpected highlight of the day. Free entry on a Sunday, and you can climb right to the top for lovely views over the river. Nobody seems to know it’s worth doing. Now you do.
The walk continued past the sweeping colonnade of the Casino de la Exposición, and on to the vast, fortress-like Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory), now the University of Seville, one of the largest baroque buildings in Spain, and the building that inspired Bizet’s Carmen. It’s enormous and magnificent, and we very nearly walked straight past it.
Plaza de España Seville
And then Plaza de España. One heck of a building. The sheer scale of it stops you mid-step, the semi-circular palace, the tiled alcoves for every Spanish province, the canal, the bridges. You can hire a rowing boat on the canal for €6pp, we didn’t, but we watched people doing it and it looked like a very good idea.
The park behind it, Parque de María Luisa, is enormous, beautiful and surprisingly peaceful. We wandered for a while and just let it all wash over us.
On the way back we stumbled across La Alimentari, an Italian restaurant and deli, we hadn’t planned on eating but it was busy and we needed to sit down by then.
💰 Cost: €30.50 beer, pizza Nduja, Caesar salad.
Sometimes the unplanned ones are the best ones. 🍕
Day 5 | The Fire Alarm, The Sun & The Sandwiches
The plan was simple: pool day.
The weather had other ideas. Cloudy skies and a slightly sore foot (see our Istanbul blog for more sore feet) lots of walking in 37°C heat will do that, sent us back to the room after breakfast to rest and digest.
Then the fire alarm went off.
We evacuated from the 12th floor, stood on the pavement, and waited. By the time we were let back in, the sun had come out. Three or four hours by the pool. Finally.
Back to Cervecería San Benito in the evening, we’d been the night before for patatas ali oli, cod Cádiz-style, a prawn roll and six beers Cost: €29 and liked it enough to go again. This time: prawns, garlic mayo prawn sandwich, chorizo sandwich, piripi ham, cheese and garlic mayo sandwich, ham and pepper sandwich, and six beers. Cost: €35
A fine way to end a trip. 🥪🍺
What We’d Do Differently
If we were planning this Seville itinerary again:
- Split the Cathedral and the Alcázar across two days rather than back to back, both deserve proper attention, and 37°C heat makes doing them together a lot harder work than it needs to be
- Book the Cathedral timed entry expecting a general queue anyway the system isn’t as slick as the Alcázar’s
- Get to Córdoba on an earlier train if you can, to make the most of the Mezquita before the heat and the crowds build
- Head up the Metropol Parasol rooftop walkway at night we skipped it and regret it slightly
Best Time to Go
We went in June and hit 37°C most days, doable, but it shapes your pace, with the big sights best tackled first thing. If you’d rather have the Cathedral, Alcázar and Plaza de España without quite so much sweat involved, spring (April–May) or early autumn (late September–October) get you the same golden light and orange-tree streets with noticeably kinder temperatures.
FAQ
How many days do you need in Seville? Three days covers the headline sights at a reasonable pace. Five, like we did, gives you room to add a Córdoba day trip and a proper rest day without feeling rushed which matters more than people expect once the summer heat kicks in.
Should you book Cathedral and Alcázar tickets in advance? Yes, always book timed entry for both. It won’t eliminate queuing entirely, especially at the Cathedral, but it guarantees your slot and saves you turning up to find it sold out.
Is the Córdoba day trip from Seville worth it? Absolutely. It’s a 45-minute train each way, and the Mezquita-Cathedral alone justifies the trip. Give it a full day rather than trying to squeeze it into an afternoon.
Is the Real Maestranza bullring worth visiting? Yes, even if bullfighting itself isn’t your thing. It was the surprise highlight of our trip, the history, the architecture and the free audio guide make it genuinely worthwhile.
Is Seville worth visiting in summer? Yes, but go in with your eyes open. 37°C is normal for June through August, so plan big sightseeing for the morning, build in a pool or siesta break, and save the wandering for evening.
Final Thoughts
Scorching heat. A historical treasure trove. More ancient buildings per square mile than almost anywhere in Europe.
The bullring was the surprise highlight. The Cathedral and Alcázar are genuinely extraordinary but genuinely busy, book early, go first thing, and don’t underestimate how long you need. Córdoba deserves a full day and an early train. And Plaza de España is one of those places that makes you wonder why it’s not talked about more.
We loved it, though if you’re putting a gun to our heads, we probably liked Málaga (read the blog here) a fraction more. Something about being by the sea. It’s a personal thing.
But Seville? Seville is unmissable.
if you want to see more of the pictures from this trip check out our Instagram profile and the SEville highlight.
Anyone can Google flights, but it takes strategy, experience, and connections to design a trip that flows. If you’re planning a trip to Seville or anywhere else in Andalusia, drop me a message and I’ll put together the right trip for you.
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To book Contact via DM JenAndBenAreOffAgain Travel Agent WhatsApp: 07793 290622 or email: JBOffAgainTravel@gmail.com
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