Best Neighborhoods in Seville

Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain and the most populated city in Andalusia. Its Old Town is one of the largest in Spain and is where most of its oldest monuments, churches, museums and squares are located. In the Old Town are the districts of Santa Cruz, San Gil, Museo, San Bartolomé, Arenal and Feria.

In the neighbourhoods of San Jerónimo and Santa Cruz, there are still traces of the spirit of the Jewish quarter that inhabited these places. And the Triana neighbourhood is one of the most charming on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. If you are wondering what to see and do in Seville, a tour of its emblematic neighbourhoods will take you into the heart of this Andalusian city.

The Santa Cruz neighbourhood is undoubtedly one of the most interesting neighbourhoods to visit in Seville. It is within the Old Town, where you can see buildings that predate the Industrial Revolution.

The Casco Antiguo, for its size, is the sixth largest in Europe. Here you can see buildings declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1987, such as the Cathedral of Seville, the Alcázar Real and the Archivo de Indias.

This is a neighbourhood formerly inhabited by the Jews until their expulsion in 1481, whose traces have remained deeply impregnated in the neighbourhood. Some points of interest in Santa Cruz include Calle Aqua and the Murillo Gardens. History buffs should not miss a visit to the Archivo de Indias, housed in a building constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Cathedral and the Giralda

The Cathedral of Santa María de la Sede y de la Asunción in Seville is one of the largest and most incredible Gothic cathedrals in the world.

Its construction began in 1401 on the site of a demolished aljama mosque, and was completed in 1593. The Patio de los Naranjos and the lower part of the Giralda, one of the church's most famous bell towers, which is almost 100 metres high, remain from the old mosque.

In addition to the Gothic style, this cathedral is also home to a variety of styles such as Almohad, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Gothic. It is also notable for the paintings by Murillo, Goya, Alfonso Cano, sculptures and pieces of gold and silver work that you can see inside.

The Royal Alcazar of Seville

The Real Alcázar of Se ville is a walled palace complex in Mudejar and Gothic style that began to be built in the High Middle Ages. In other words, there are several palaces in the same building.

Many kings and reigns have passed through its rooms and left the mark of each era. It is truly impressive in all its magnificent details: its palaces, tiles, gardens, Mary's bath, its ponds and galleries. It is not for nothing that it has been the setting for many films and series, such as Game of Thrones.

Opposite the Arenal neighbourhood is the Triana quarter, on the other bank of the Guadalquivir River. It is known as the birthplace of artists, especially flamenco artists such as Isabel Pantoja and Antonio Canales. It is also known as a neighbourhood of potters and craftsmen. In the Plaza del Altozano, next to the Triana Bridge, is where the potters converge to show their art.

If you like ceramics, don't miss the Triana Ceramics Centre, which will leave you amazed. The Triana Bridge, which is actually called the Isabel II Bridge, is the oldest bridge in the city and was built on the site of a former Almohad bridge.

Betis Street is one of the most traditional and beautiful streets in the neighbourhood, and offers the best views of the city and the river. If you are looking for gastronomic offerings, Calle San Jacinto is the place to be. You can also find typical food and products in the Triana Market, where the remains of the old 12th-century Moorish castle of San Jorge are on display.

The Museum Quarter gets its name from the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, which was inaugurated in 1841. The district is on the banks of the Guadalquivir River and is located in the Old Town.

The building of the Museum of Fine Arts was a former convent of the Order of the Merced. The Museum is dedicated to preserving Baroque works of art from Seville, such as those of Murillo, Zurbarán and Valdés Leal, as well as Andalusian paintings from the 19th century.

It is located in the Plaza del Museo, where there is a sculpture dedicated to Murillo, inaugurated in 1874. Sabino de Medina, its sculptor, made a second reproduction which is on one of the façades of the Prado Museum in Madrid.

The Arenal neighbourhood is located in the Casco Antiguo district of Seville, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, on its left bank. It borders the Museo, Santa Cruz and Alfalfa neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood has a cosmopolitan feel to it, as for a long time it was an important port area.

Walking at sunset along the tree-lined Marqués de Contaderos promenade on the banks of the Guadalquivir and coming across the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower) is truly a picture postcard view. In the Arenal you can see the remains of an ancient wall that connected with the wall of the Alcázar and other buildings, such as the Torre del Oro, the Torre de la Plata and the Torre Abd el Aziz, which were used to defend the port.

Other attractions in the district are the Maestranza Bullring, the Maestranza Theatre, the Hospital de la Caridad (in the Baroque style), the Arenal Food Market and the Seville Shipyards, which are considered a Spanish Historical Heritage Site.

The Torre del Oro (Golden Tower)

The Torre del Oro is a dazzling 12-sided tower on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. It was built in different stages: its base in 1220, the second body in the 15th century and the third in 1760.

It was used as a chapel, gunpowder storehouse and even a prison. Today it houses the Naval Museum of the Navy, where you can see a 16th century cannon, compasses, nautical charts, engravings and all kinds of documents, among others.

The Cabildo Square

The Plaza del Cabildo is a beautiful semicircular square with three floors. On the ground floor there is a gallery framed with arches and columns, and decorated with paintings by José Palomar.

The straight part of the square, where the semicircle closes, is a section of an old wall of Seville. In front of it is a water fountain. In the square there are several antique, philatelic and restoration shops, and even a sweet shop. If you are passionate about collecting, you must visit the square on a Sunday morning, where you will find stamps, philately, coins, minerals and other curiosities.

It is located in the Casco Antiguo district and is one of the neighbourhoods with the strongest Moorish influence in Seville, especially because of the Puerta de la Macarena, which was built by Sultan Ali Ibn Yusuf in the 12th century.

The Puerta de la Macarena is one of the three gates of the old Almohad wall that remain in the city, together with the Puerta de Córdoba and the Postigo del Aceite, and a section of the wall that connects with the Puerta de Córdoba. Due to their historical importance, they were declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1985.

Next to the Barqueta bridge is the 45-metre high Torre de los Perdigones, which was part of an old factory built in 1885. Around it is a beautiful park with gardens, fountains and children's playground.

You can visit its viewpoint and its Camera Obscura, which offers a kind of "photography in movement" of what is happening in monuments, the river, churches and other places in the city. Nearby there is also a restaurant serving typical Andalusian food.

The San Jerónimo neighbourhood is located in the northern district of Seville, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. It is named after the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Buenavista, which was founded in 1414. The location of the district is related to the construction of the railway between 1850 and 1860.

The Monastery of San Jerónimo used to host the kings of Spain, which was probably a reason for the grandeur of the district. Today, however, the monastery is almost in ruins, except for a part that serves as a cultural centre and a baroque bell tower. Many works of art that were recovered were taken to the Museum of Fine Arts.

On the banks of the river is the Paseo de la Ribera, which is connected by a footbridge to the Alamillo Park. An interesting sculpture on this promenade is the 30-metre high Monument to Christopher Columbus by Zurab Tsereteli, which is known as Columbus' Egg because of its shape.

Another very striking and historic sculpture and building can be seen in the north of the neighbourhood, known as Templete de San Jerónimo or humilladero de San Onofre, which is in the Mudejar style from the 15th century.

This is a neighbourhood in the centre of Seville that belongs to the Casco Antiguo district. It is to the north of the Barrio Santa Cruz and, like the latter, the Jewish quarter that inhabited its lands has given it a very particular identity.

Its origins date back to the Andalusian period. Two of the churches in the neighbourhood were first mosques, then synagogues and finally Christian churches. These are the churches of San Bartolomé and Santa María la Blanca.

The church of San Bartolomé was built between 1780 and 1796 in the Baroque style. The church of Santa María la Blanca, originally built in 1391, was restored in the 17th century. It is a Baroque style church with interesting plaster ornamentation on its ceilings.

You can also see in this neighbourhood the Casa de Pilatos, built in the 15th century, where Renaissance and Mudejar styles are combined. It is also called the Palace of Medinaceli, as this is where the dukes of that family currently reside. Don't miss its beautiful tiles and interior gardens.

Other places of interest are the palace of Mañara, the palace of Altamira and the convents of María de Dios and Santa María de Jesús.

The Feria neighbourhood is located in the Old Quarter and its name has a curious history. It is named after the emblematic Feria Street, where a fair has been held since the 13th century.

This fair is the oldest in the city and today it is dedicated to the sale of antiques, vintage clothes, objects for one euro, and there are even artists who create their art there. It is also called the Thursday market, as it is held on Thursday mornings. Calle Feria is also a street known for its varied gastronomic offerings.

In the Feria neighbourhood is one of the oldest squares in Europe, the Alameda de Hércules. Its origins date back to 1570, although it was transformed in 1781. The Alameda is a rectangular square and is known for its two columns with sculptures of Hercules and Julius Caesar at either end. There are also other columns in another part of the square with lions that were added at the end of the 18th century.

Another point of interest is the Palacio de los Marqueses de La Algaba, in Mudejar style and considered an Asset of Cultural Interest. Construction of the palace began in 1474. Today it houses the Centro de Arte Mudéjar (Mudejar Art Centre ) where you can find various pieces of this style of art.

The neighbourhood of San Lorenzo is also located in the Casco Antiguo district, on the left bank of the Guadalquivir River. It is a neighbourhood steeped in history, whose most representative place is the Plaza de San Lorenzo, in Gothic-Mudejar style, which was founded in the 13th century.

In the square is the church of San Lorenzo, also from the 13th century, the Basilica of Jesús del Gran Poder, inspired by the Roman Pantheon of Agrippa, and the Monument to Juan Mesa, by Sebastián Santos Calero.

La Macarena is not really a neighbourhood but a district made up of 23 small neighbourhoods, although it is commonly known as a single neighbourhood. Here you can see historic buildings such as the Basílica de la Macarena, the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, the Puerta de Córdoba and the San Luis de los Franceses church.

It is a neighbourhood that offers many options for tasting typical dishes, and is also crossed by the Feria street.

The Cordoba Gate

It is part of the San Hermenegildo Church building and belonged to the wall that surrounded the city of Seville. It is the oldest surviving gate of this wall. Its keys are in the custody of the brotherhood of the church, who watch over its conservation, and it is not open to the public every day.

Hospital de las Cinco Llagas

The Hospital de las Cinco Llagas began to be built in 1546 and was inaugurated in 1556. It functioned as a hospital until 1972 and in 1992 it became the seat of the Parliament of Andalusia. It was also known as the Hospital de la sangre.

It is in Renaissance style and has about 8 courtyards (although it was planned to build 10), as natural lighting was essential for this architectural style. Its former church now serves as a plenary hall.

It can be visited 2 days a week in the afternoon, with prior reservation, from mid-September to the first week of June. In the case of groups, visiting hours are Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm, except in July and August. As this is an official building, be sure to contact them to make a reservation on this website.