Book the Alcázar for nine. Keep the night for Triana.
Which palace slot beats the coach groups, what a seat at a tablao really costs, and whether Córdoba or Ronda deserves your one free day. Reviews of the tours you can book in and around Seville.
Cathedralfrom $20Alcázarfrom $23Flamencofrom $7Mezquitafrom $16Riverfrom $17Open the fan: five lists, five starting prices
A palace, a bell tower, one tablao and the Mezquita.
The four tickets a first Seville trip is built around, with what each costs and what people who went say about it.
01Alcázar at openingRoyal Alcázar Entry TicketMudéjar courtyards and the long gardens behind them. Take the first entry slot and you have the Patio de las Doncellas almost to yourself.
02Up the GiraldaCathedral and La Giralda Entry TicketThirty-odd ramps up the old minaret, built wide enough for a man on horseback, and the whole city laid out at the top.
03Flamenco after darkLive Flamenco Dancing Show Ticket at the TheaterGuitar, cante and a dancer who makes the boards crack. An hour that explains why people come back to Seville.
04Córdoba by trainSkip-the-Ticket-Line Mosque-Cathedral Guided TourForty-five minutes on the fast train to Córdoba, then the striped arches of the Mezquita without the ticket queue.
Seville’s two big tickets sit on the same square. Do them in the right order.
Every cathedral tour →
The Alcázar opens first and fills fastest, so it takes the morning. The cathedral is cool inside at midday, and the Giralda ramps are kinder after lunch than before it. These three combine the pair best.
Royal Alcázar, timed entry
Pedro I’s palace is still a working royal residence, with carved plaster, tiled halls and an orange-tree garden that runs on for acres. Guided or not, give it a morning.
Cathedral and the Giralda ramps
The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, with Columbus’s tomb near the south door and a bell tower you walk up by ramp, not stairs.
Plaza de España and the park
A brick half-moon built for the 1929 fair, with a tiled bench for every Spanish province and the shade of María Luisa park right behind it.
Seville eats at ten and the guitars start after that.
Tablao seats in Triana and the old Jewish quarter, tapas crawls through the bars behind the cathedral, sherry poured straight from the cask. The most popular three, and the lists behind them.
Mountains, the coast or another Moorish city: where to go from Seville.
Seville sits in the middle of Andalusia, so most of the region is a day out. Five directions, what a seat on each costs, and the trip people book most.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 3,849 reviewsPueblos Blancos and Ronda Full-Day Tripfrom $52
Ronda and its gorgeA town split by a 100-metre ravine and the bridge across it.
from $28
2
Pueblos blancosHill towns of the Sierra de Grazalema, whitewashed to the rooftops.
from $52
3
Granada for the AlhambraThe long day: Nasrid palaces, then the Albaicín lanes.
from $93
4
Cádiz on the AtlanticAn old port on a sandbar, with fried fish on the seafront.
from $11
5
Jerez: horses and sherryDancing Andalusian horses in the morning, bodegas after.
from $18
Every tour that starts in Seville →
August in Seville regularly passes forty degrees. Plan the day around the shade.
From June to September the afternoon heat in the Guadalquivir valley empties the streets. Do the walking before eleven, spend the afternoon under vaulted ceilings or in a cool kitchen, and come back out when the river breeze arrives after eight.
Córdoba is forty-five minutes away and a thousand years older.
The Mezquita’s red and white arches run on for what feels like forever, with a cathedral dropped into the middle of them. Around it: the Jewish quarter, the Roman bridge, and courtyards that spill geraniums down the walls every May.
All of Córdoba, every tour →
What everybody else in Seville books.
Every Seville review, one list →Past the four tickets above, these are the tours that fill first, with what earns each one its place.
1
Casa de la Memoria Flamenco Show
At Casa de la Memoria, watch live flamenco in an intimate 15th-century setting in central Seville. Dancers, singers, and musicians bring the form’s powerful footwork, guitar rhythms, and emotion to the stage. Tickets are unassigned, so arrive early if you want a central seat. The show is not recommended for children under six.
Seville price from $28
Read our review →
2
1-Hour Guadalquivir River Sightseeing Eco Cruise
from $19
3
Cathedral, Giralda, and Royal Alcázar Guided Tour
from $69
4
Setas de Sevilla Entry Ticket
from $18
5
Cathedral, Giralda & Alcazar Entry With Guided Tour
from $65
6
Priority Access Cathedral, Giralda & Alcázar Tour
from $64
7
Guadalquivir River Cruise
from $21
8
Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral: Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
from $35
Andalusia measured from Seville: the hours on the road or rail.
Córdoba
GibraltarWhat a day out in Seville costs.
Every tour on the site, sorted by ticket price. Plenty of the best Seville evenings cost less than the dinner afterwards.
Monument tickets, a seat at a tablao, an hour on the river, bike mornings.
Guided Alcázar and cathedral pairings, tapas crawls, Ronda or Córdoba by coach.
Gibraltar and Tangier runs, private guides and the long Granada day.
Four Seville bookings to make before you fly.
Most of Seville can be decided over a late breakfast. These four run on timed slots, small rooms or daily caps, and none of them cares when your flight lands.
- 01Granada Day Trip with Alhambra and AlbaicínThe Nasrid Palaces admit visitors in timed slots against a daily cap, and spring dates sell out weeks ahead. A day trip with tickets included is often the only way in at short notice.
- 02Royal Alcázar Entry TicketEntry runs on timed slots, and the walk-up queue in spring can take an hour in the sun. The early slots also beat the heat.
- 03Casa de la Memoria Flamenco ShowA small room with the dancers close enough to touch. Weekend shows fill up days in advance.
- 04Caminito del Rey Hike Day TripThe walkway runs on timed tickets with a daily limit, and the gorge is more than two hours from Seville, so the whole day hangs on the entry slot.
By town: Seville and the places around it
By kind of day: monument, stage, river or road
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