Seville - Backpacking Travel Guide

About

Seville is the capital of the Andalusia region of Spain. Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis and later became known as Ishbiliya after the Muslim conquest in 712. During the Muslim rule in Spain, Seville came under the jurisdiction of the Caliphate of Córdoba before being incorporated into the Christian Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. The period of Islamic rule in Andalucia has left an indelible mark on the region and the Alcazar in Seville along with the Alhambra in Granada and the Great Mosque of Córdoba offer amazing insight into that period.

Hostels

Sevilla Hostel One Centro

This place is lovely. The staff are very kind and the dinners are great and the location is perfect. The beds have curtains, charging stations and personal lamps, free coffee and snacks in the morning, communal spaces to meet people - couldn't ask for more. The free home cooked dinner every night as well as the nightly bar crawl really tops it off and makes it a great place to meet some other travellers.

Triana Backpackers

Located in Triana, a neighbourhood on the west bank of the Guadalquivir River. It is a little away from the densely packed streets of the city centre but still walking distance from everything. They have a lovely roof top area which is a great spot for relaxing or taking a quick siesta. The common spaces were spotless, and the rooms very comfortable. I found the staff to be very friendly and took advantage of their insider tips. The Triana neighbourhood might be across the river, but for me it was a perfect location.

Hostel One Catedral

This hostel offers a free dinner, free night tour, free morning snack, and free walking tour. Thats a pretty sensational list of free stuff to offer. Thankfully, the hostel lives up to the expectation and is a very friendly and warm place to stay. The hostel is located in the centre of town not far from the Alcazar. A very easy place to recommend to others.

Sights and Highlights

Alcazar

The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace originally developed by the Muslim kings of Andalusia. The palace is renowned as one of the most beautiful in Spain, being regarded as one of the most outstanding examples of mudéjar architecture found on the Iberian Peninsula. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. Game of Thrones fans will recognise the Alcazar as the setting for the Water Gardens palace, in the Kingdom of Dorne.

The Alcazar is daily 09:30 - 17:00 October to March and 09:30 - 19:00 April to September. Standard entry ticket is 9.5€ and should be pre-purchased online at alcazarsevilla.org.

Seville Cathedral

Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the largest the largest cathedral in the world. After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus.

Standard cost entry for adults is 9€ and 4€ for students. The Cathedral is open:

Winters - Mondays 11:00 to 15:30; Tuesdays to Saturdays 11:00 to 17:00; Sundays 14:30 to 18:00 (mass takes place in the morning)

Summer (July & August) - Mondays 9:30 to 14:30; Tuesdays to Saturdays 9:30 to 16:30; Sundays 14:30 to 18:30pm (mass takes place in the morning)

Plaza de Espana

The Plaza de España is a plaza in Seville built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the former Spanish colonies in attendance. These now independent countries did not enjoy particularly good relations with Spain following a series of Spanish-American Wars of Independence in the preceding century.

The Plaza de España has been used as a filming location, including scenes for Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones in which it featured in exterior shots of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo. It also featured in the 2012 film The Dictator.

Free Walking Tour

There are a couple of good free walking tours in Seville. They are great way to see the city quickly and get your bearings before you see it in more detail over the coming days. All the main sites in Seville are concentrated around a relatively small area making it well suited for a walking tour.

Free Tours Sevilla

These guys run three separate tours in Seville. Their Casco Histórico tour is probably the one to take if you only have time for one. It covers the historic centre of Seville and takes in the Alcazar, the Cathedral and Plaza de Espana. Their other tours take in the Santa Cruz district (old Jewish quarter) and the Triana district on the other side of the river. All times and departure points can be found at freetoursevilla.es/en.

Pancho Tours

Pancho tours also offer a free walking tour of Seville. The call it the Monuments Free Tour and it is at 11am every day and runs for 2.5hrs. The meeting point is here.

To Eat

Bar Casa Ruperto

Casa Ruperto is not glamorous but it is honest, and that is sometimes what you need. It has gained notoriety for the speed of its service and its "pajaros" (fried birds - their speciality). Order one or two of there deep-fried quails, pork loin sandwiches or their homemade hamburguers, and continue on your way, all in less than 15 minutes. A great place to go to if you are staying in Triana.

Pizzeria La Bambina

La Bambina is located in Triana but close to the river and not far from Seville centre. The Chef welcomes you into his tiny restaurant, sits you down and explains his pizzas. Each one made by him, in front of you. No waiters, just him and his kitchen. The pizza was delicious and the restaurant full of happy diners.

The Burger Shop

This place is also located in Triana. That should tell you something about where you need to for good but cheap cooking in Seville. Really tasty burgers her. Well run with very good customer service. It is recommended to call in advance and order before picking it up. They deliver to the local area as well. I recommend trying the craft beers they have on the menu.

For Drinking

Maquila Bar

The beer here is excellent, most of it comes from the SON Brewery. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is young, vibrant and the place is clean and crowded. We were lucky to find a spot right away. They offer a great selection of beer, I highly recommend their IPA it was a very good one. The menu has a some great tapas as well.

Cervecería Internacional

The variety of beers you can get here is amazing. We tried some of their draft beer as well as some local Sevillian IPA and can definitely recommend this place to all beer lovers. Belgian beers tend to dominate with also German, British and others. Some excellent American bottled beers including Flying Dog.

La Jeronima

Small friendly craft beer bar, that is also a bookshop and tea shop. The staff is very friendly and always willing to give you advice on what drink to order.

For more beer advice, check TheCultureTrip.com - Best places for craft beer in Seville

Transportation

Local

As a tourist you will likely be spending your time in the city centre of Seville, as such the only public transport you are likely to need is the tram. There is one tram line in Seville and it runs in a north south direction starting at Plaza Nueva light rail station and heading south on the western side of the Catedral and stopping at the Archivo de Indias station next to the Alcazar. From here it continues on to the Puerta de Jerez stop on the south side of the Alcazar. Next comes the Prado de San Sebastian stop which is just north of the Plaza de Espana. The tram terminates at the San Bernardo station.

Purchase tickets for 1.20€ from any station. Stamp the tickets on board the tram. It runs from 6am until 1:30am.

Getting In and Out

Cordoba

By far the most convenient way to travel between Cordoba and Seville is by train. The fastest trains make the trip in under 45min and tickets can be found on loco2.com for as low as 20€. If you take one of the slightly slower train, the price will decrease.

You can also take a bus with Alsa, at a cost of 12€ but a journey time of 2hrs. I think the train is the best option.

Granada

With no decent direct train, bus is the easiest way to get to between Granada and Seville. The journey takes around 3 hours. If you look carefully on alsa.es/en you can find tickets as low as 10€.

Seville Backpacking Travel Guide