During our one full day in Seville we walked ten miles according to my wife Silvette’s phone tracker. Seville is one of the most fascinating cities I have been to in terms of architecture and places to visit. My almost 420 photos taken on this day would confirm that. I saw a sign there that said Seville is underrated as a tourist destination. I think that’s true. More people need to be aware of its intriguing and unique places.
Our ten miles started with a walk into town. It’s about three quarters of a mile from our hotel into town over narrow cobblestone roads and sidewalks. I do mean narrow. As we were walking, I had to pull in my belly at one spot as I thought the car driving past was going to hit me with his rear view mirror. Sidewalks are sometimes basically a curb. Of course in the city center it’s not that bad. The narrow roads don’t allow cars so it’s pretty safe to walk there.
When we arrived in town we decided to check out what was under the Encarnación Square where the interesting wooden structure is. It turns out to be like a farmers’ market with various shops including vegetables and meats along with food to go.
Walking further through town I spotted a small chapel, the Capillita de San Jose. Renovation work was going on inside so it wasn’t the best time to visit. However, note the door in the last photo. The large main door has been cut to create a more normal sized door. This is something we saw in other churches as well.
Our first major destination was on the other side of town. As we walked through town, I took photos of some of the more interesting architecture that we encountered. The detail that one sees on older buildings is quite interesting compared to many of the sleek modern buildings. It gives the buildings greater character, I think.
We finally arrived at our first destination, the Plaza España. The Plaza España was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is basically a large semicircle of buildings with a fountain in the middle and a lagoon that goes around the plaza in front of the building. Visitors can rent a rowboat and row around the lagoon. I have to say that watching people try to row their boat was quite amusing at times. It was obvious this was a new experience for them.
The building seems to contain government offices now, but visitors can still walk along the inside hallway. At each end are two tall towers that are identical. Visitors can climb up to the second level here, but no higher. Around the base of the building are a series of tile mosaics that seem to showcase different cities or regions of Spain. People seemed to be seeking out the location of their home town and taking selfies there.
In front of the Plaza is a large park with lots of trees and some paths and the occasional pavilion. We walked through part of the park as we were leaving. It seemed a nice place to cool off when the weather gets particularly warm.
From the Plaza we returned to the Cathedral of Seville for our timed entrance into the church. The day before we had wandered around the massive building. We discovered that the inside is equally large. Most churches that we visited on our trip took maybe twenty minutes to explore unless there was a tower to climb up. We were at the Cathedral of Seville for close to two hours; it’s that big.
Yes, there is a tower to climb, the Giralda. The good news is that except for the last little bit, there are no stairs to climb. The ascent is all on a ramp that winds around and around. The tower was originally built as a minaret for a mosque, and the ramp allowed animals to carry things to the top. At every corner one turns, there is a number that tells you how many turns you have made. There are 34 turns.
The views from up above are nice, but the openings all have bars across them, I guess for protection, so taking photos is a bit of a challenge. The platform is also crowded. There’s a final step up to a ledge to look out, and one has to line up and wait for a turn. It was pretty crazy.
One can see the various decorative elements on the top of the church. One can also look down and see the tops of buildings which included swimming pools. It almost felt like you were spying on people at times.
Of course coming down was easier. Then we began to wander around the church. What was interesting was all the places one could discover. There would be a room off to the side which would lead to another room which connected to another room. Eventually it would lead back to the main sanctuary. In the rooms were a variety of art and statues and other pieces of the history of the church.
The main sanctuary was huge with high beams and stained glass pieces as one looked down the corridors formed by the columns. There were also huge pipe organ configurations in three different locations. I would love to hear what the pipes sound like. The main altar area was blocked off with a gate, but it was quite the piece. The whole back wall was carved with various stories from the Bible. There was so much to see on the wall. It was a bit overwhelming and hard to pick out any particular story from them all. My photo shows only a portion of the wall.
One interesting aspect of the church is they claim to have Christopher Columbus’s tomb there. The tomb is very elaborate with four statues holding up his coffin on poles. The funny thing is that when I lived in the Dominican Republic back in the 1970s, a church there claimed to have Christopher Columbus’s tomb. I have read some about this mystery, but not sure who to believe. Check here if you are intrigued about this controversy and want to learn more.
After seeing all that we wanted to see at the church, we rested for a bit in the courtyard before venturing back out onto the streets. We then looked for the entrance to the Alcazar which we had tickets for later in the day. After finding the entrance we looked for food. We settled on a random place and had a decent meal there although the waiter wasn’t very friendly with us. Silvette documented our visit for us.
With about 45 minutes before our time to visit the Alcazar, we walked toward the river, Rio Guadalquivir, to see the exterior of two places. One was the Torre del Oro, kind of a watch tower. The other was the Plaza de Toros, where the bull fights take place. Yes, bull fights are still held here. It seems it is the younger generations that have interest in the sport now. This is the largest bullring in Spain, and some say the most important. There is also a museum and a chapel on site. One could visit all this inside, but we didn’t have time.
Our final visit for the day was the Alcazar, but I will defer recounting that visit until next week. I have already shared over fifty photos so I think that’s enough for one week. Join me next week for the rest of our stay in Seville and our trip east to Granada.
In the meantime has anyone else been to Seville, Spain? I’d love to hear from you and what your favorite part of the city is. Also feel free to ask questions in the comment section below. Thanks for all the faves and shares. I appreciate you all.
Beautiful! But I’m a little disappointed you didn’t say anything about getting a haircut. Could you not find the Barber of Seville?
I listened but never heard him singing so didn’t know where to go.