We spent a week in Andalusia, including 3 nights in Seville. After a 3.5-hour bus ride from Faro, we arrived in this vibrant city known for its beautiful architecture, lively atmosphere, and rich flamenco culture.

For us, food are the highlight, especially tapas. We had tapas everyday, and happily built much of our Seville experience around eating.

 

Day 1 – Exploring Seville and Plaza de Espana

Our first impression of Seville was the narrow streets. They were so narrow that our Bolt driver couldn’t get to our accommodation, so we had to walk the last few minutes with our luggage.

After checking in at our accommodation, we started our food journey. We enjoyed some tapas, and also luxurious 100% Ibérico jamón and orange wine. Everything was delicious, and it was a great way to start our time in Seville. 😋

Since Ben had been to Seville before, he became my walking tour guide again. He took me to some of the city’s popular attractions, including the city centre, Real Alcázar and Plaza de España.

We didn’t go inside Real Alcázar as tickets are very popular and usually need to be booked in advance. To be honest, we’re also not sure we have enough artistic cells to fully appreciate the interior, so we were happy to admire it from the outside instead.

 

Day 2 – Triana

We joined a free walking tour in the morning, although Ben had already shown me most of the main sights the day before. One pleasant surprise was the Häagen-Dazs building, which looked beautiful.

After the tour, we walked across the river to Triana, a lively neighbourhood known for its local atmosphere, colourful streets and traditional ceramic shops. It felt a little less touristy than the city centre and was nice to explore on foot.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great, so we didn’t take many photos.

We stopped by Mercado de Triana (Triana market) for some tapas, but to be honest, there wasn’t anything particularly memorable about it. Later, we had another round of tapas at Antigua Casa Diego, a local tapas restaurant, which was much better. Even the spinach tapa (Espinacas con Garbanzos) was delicious!

 

Day 3 – Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza & Setas de Sevilla

We tried to visit Bar Alfalfa the day before, but it was too crowded and we had a free walking tour to get to. Ben knew I really wanted to try it, so we came back the next morning. The café had a very local feel and was packed with people. It took a bit of patience, but we eventually managed to get a table and enjoy the Special Alfalfa Breakfast. It was a great start to the day.

We visited Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza. The entrance fee was €12 per person and included access to a small exhibition and the bullring itself. We didn’t spend a lot of time inside, but standing in the arena gave us a sense of the atmosphere and scale of one of Spain’s most famous bullrings.

During our stay, there happened to be a bullfight scheduled in Seville, which isn’t always the case. We briefly considered going, as bullfighting is such a traditional part of the city’s culture. In the end, we decided not to watch because it felt cruel.

After that, we went to try a seafood paella, a classic Spanish dish. We could tell it was a touristy spot, and the paella was a bit too wet. But it was still tasty, so who cares if it was a tourist trap?

We then stopped by La Gata en Bicicleta (an espresso bar) for coffee and drinks. The atmosphere was nice, and we found a unique souvenir for ourselves – a painting of two cats on a ceramic tile. They looked very loving towards each other, just like us. At first, we didn’t realise it was a tile and thought €38 was a bit expensive, but once we did and found out it was handmade using a traditional ceramic dry rope technique, we couldn’t resist taking it home.

Then, we visited Setas de Sevilla – one of Seville’s most recognisable landmarks. Its modern design was quite controversial when it was first built, as it contrasts sharply with the city’s historic architecture. Love it or hate it, it’s certainly bold!

This was our second visit, as we had already stopped by on our first day in Seville. Ben really wanted to see it, as he missed out on it during his previous trip because it was too hot. It was close to where we were staying, and we didn’t have much else planned, so we ended up there again. We didn’t pay to go up to the viewing platform, but we enjoyed admiring its unique architecture from the outside.

Later, we had our best meal in Seville at Bar Estrella. We originally wanted to go to another restaurant recommended by our tour guide, but we came across this place instead. It looked very local and the prices were reasonable, so we decided to give it a try.

I especially loved the Carrilladas (pork cheek) – it was the best tapa I had in Spain! The sirloin in whisky sauce was delicious too. Overall, we spent €36.50 on tapas and a jug of sangria. A great meal to end our time in Seville.

Overall, tapas were the biggest highlight. We loved the small portions because it meant we could try lots of different dishes. Even now, I still miss the tapas. I also enjoyed wandering around and the process of finding good food.

Beyond the food, I enjoyed Ben’s walking tour around Seville and our aimless wandering around the city and Triana. It was relaxing not having a strict plan, and walking through the streets like that was one of the best ways to see the city.

Previous destination: Algarve, Portugal
Next destination: Cadiz, Spain