During my recent two week vacation in Europe, Seville ended up being my favorite destination. A beautiful walkable city with delicious food and wonderful people watching. What’s not to love! Even better, it doesn’t take long to explore the whole city so I’ll be sharing the ultimate 2 day Seville travel guide with you today.
This is a long one so buckle in!
Best Attractions in Seville
Luckily, Seville is a very walkable city and the major attractions are all within a short distance. Here is a list of top attractions and how many hours I’d recommend spending. I’ll also provide some photos and additional information below!
- Royal Alcazar of Seville (3 hours)
- Seville Cathedral + La Giralda (2 hours)
- Plaza de Espana (2 hours)
- Setas de Sevilla (1 hour)
- Archivo de Indias (we didn’t go)
- Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Sevilla (bull fighting, we didn’t go)
- Casa de Pilatos (another beautiful palace, good for photos as it’s less crowded)
- Flamenco show (I was planning on seeing one but you can catch a fee one at Plaza de Espana)
Royal Alcazar of Seville Tips
The top attraction in Seville is definitely the Royal Alcazar. I was really excited about this place and it did not disappoint. It is an incredible display of architectural styles such as Mudéjar, Gothic, and Renaissance. The grounds are very beautiful and photogenic and there’s so much history as well!
Make sure you buy tickets online to avoid lining up for tickets and then lining up to get in. If you want to get good photos without the crowd, it’s a must to line up 15 minutes BEFORE opening time! The tickets are about 14 euros and can be bought online directly from the Royal Alcazar. We bought the general tour and there’s another option where you get access to the Upper Royal Rooms. You can also find a lot of guided tours available but we decided to do a self audio guide which is free.
Seville Cathedral + Giralda Tower Tips
Next up on the list is the Cathedral. My recommended itinerary is to do Royal Alcazar right in the morning at 930am and then buying an admission ticket for around 12pm-1pm for the Cathedral. Again, you can buy tickets directly from their website and it’s around 16 Euros for both attractions with an audio guide. Make sure you follow the instructions on where to enter though as we stood in the wrong line for 30 minutes!
I am not usually into religious attractions but the cathedral was extravagant and gorgeous. The audio guide was also super helpful in understand the significance of the displays so I highly recommend it.
Plaza de Espana Tips
I am all about the Instagrammable spots so Plaza de Espana was my second most excited spot in Seville. Luckily, you don’t need to go too early because the plaza is so large, you can find a space to yourself if you just keep walking. The main things to look at in the plaza are the two towers, the alcoves, and a faux-Venice canal.
The Plaza is located a bit further away than where the accommodations are so we took an uber. If you skip the Cathedral, it’s doable to walk over after the Royal Alcazar. Each of the alcoves represents a province in Spain and it’s a lot of fun looking at the different designs.
Setas de Sevilla
Nicknamed the mushroom, this attraction in the center of Seville is worth seeing during day and night. It’s free to walk around the plaza or if you want to get to the top, you can buy tickets on site. There’s also a “I Love Sevilla” sign that always has a line up of tourists for a postcard worthy photo.
Where to Eat in Seville
Next up in my Seville travel guide is finding the best places to eat! Seville is known for their tapas and there are many amazing restaurants to choose from! We did a lot of research cross referencing Google Reviews with Tripadvisor. We also asked our hotel for recommendations so here’s a curated list of restaurants to try.
Traditional Tapas – 30 Euros for two people including drinks
Try traditional dishes like carrillada (pork cheek, I don’t even really like meat and I thought these were so good!) or Espinacas con garbanzos (spinach and chickpea, which doesn’t sound appetizing but it was!)
- El Rinconcillo (the oldest restaurant with your bill written with chalk, line up before opening)
- Bar Alfafa (great option that’s open every day)
- Taverna Alvaro Peregil (great spinach chickepea dish)
Contemporary Tapas – 40 to 50 Euros for two people with drinks
- La Brunilda (this was the only place we didn’t enjoy in Seville, the food was lukewarm and lacked flavor. It’s very highly rated so I wanted to include our experience.)
- Espacio Eslava (slightly out of the way but so worth it! Make a reservation in advance!)
- Marmarracha Tapas
Fine Dining – 75 to 100 Euros for two people including drinks
- Amara – If you’re looking to have a nicer dinner, their tasting menu is amazing value at 39 euros. We had so many delicious courses. The ambiance is quite casual though.
- Sobretables – Where I originally wanted to take my boyfriend for his birthday dinner
- Lena el Lomo – Charcoal grilled steaks
Where to Stay in Seville
There are a lot of hotel options in Seville and they are not much more expensive than airbnbs. We ended up choosing Welldone Sierpes as it was a new hotel with nice design touches. There’s not a lot of amenities in the hotel but the room was spacious, quiet, and clean. The price was also really good (~$150 per night for a suite) so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
To Read More European Adventures