Seville Information

Everything associated with Spain and Andalusia comes together in Seville with its orange trees, flower filled patios, Flamenco and castanet rattling gypsy culture. It has been said that if you can only visit two Spanish cities, then Seville should be one of them.

Seville was where Christopher Columbus landed on his return from discovering America and he is reputed to be buried under the cathedral. It was also the setting for both Mozart's Don Juan and Bizet´s Carmen operas. Carmen was, in fact, a tobacco girl who rolled cigars on her thighs in the tobacco factory which can still be seen today. The factory is the second largest building in Spain and is now part of the Seville University buildings.

The major sights in the city are the Cathedral, the Giralda Tower, the Alcazar Palace with its magnificent gardens, the Barrio de Santa Cruz or old Jewish quarter and the Parque Maria Luisa. The Barrio de Santa Cruz is the most colourful part of the city with its winding, Medieval streets, fantastic tapas bars and tiny plazas all shaded by flower filled patios and balconies. A wonderful modern theme park is located upon a 540 acre island in the river.

The Cathedral is the largest Gothic building in the world and the third largest church in Europe. Built on the site of an ancient mosque building started in the 1400s and completed centuries later. Next to the Cathedral is the Giralda Tower and, just as Big Ben symbolizes London, this Moorish tower does the same for Seville. It was erected as a minaret in the 12th century when Seville was under Moorish rule and has since been added to. Most unusually there are no steps to the top, instead there is just an endless ramp winding its way up inside the tower.