Seville

Our Seville series covers all the popular sights – the cathedral, the palaces, the museums – and also helps you ‘meet’ those who made their mark here, whether real (Christopher Columbus, Laurie Lee) or fictional (Carmen, Don Juan) And we cover all the top Seville themes too, from flamenco and bull-fighting to tapas and Moorish architecture.

The 13 episodes in our City Break Seville series bring you all the background history and culture you need to fully understand this stunning city. In short, here is all the research you’d do yourself if only you had the time.

Each episode centres around a podcast, available here or on all the usual providers.  The blog posts here on the website include a summary of the main information, plus pictures, useful links and ideas for further reading.  So, let’s go, or as the Spanish say Vamos!

SEVILLE : HISTORY & CULTURE

Episode 1: Introduction to Seville

January 11, 2023

Bienvenida a Sevilla. This introduction to Seville introduces a melting-pot of a city with many cultures in its history: the glorious cathedral, centre of Christian heritage, sits bang opposite the atmospheric Alcazar, designed in the … Read more

Episode 2: The Alcazar – Seville’s Moorish Roots

February 22, 2023

The Alcazar is the heart of Moorish Seville, perhaps the most beautiful building in the city, although there’s strong competition. Its mix of Islamic, gothic and renaissance style is captivating and its beautiful gardens, again … Read more

Episode 3: Seville’s Cathedral, the Giralda and Santa Cruz

February 22, 2023

At the heart of Seville, three cultures overlap: the Moorish Alcazar Palace is just opposite the city’s enormous cathedral, where Christian heritage was built on Muslim foundations, some of which – parts of the mosque’s … Read more

Episode 4: The Golden Age of Seville

February 22, 2023

Sailing from Seville to discover the New World This post tells the story of the Golden Age of Seville, when explorers like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan left the city to discover the New World … Read more

Episode 5: Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril

February 22, 2023

Seville’s two biggest annual festivals This post explains two of the most important weeks in Seville’s calendar, leading up to and just after Easter. The first is the Semana Santa (Holy Week in English), and … Read more

Episode 6: The Parks and Palaces of Seville

February 22, 2023

4 places to wind down in Seville This post is a wander through the main park and some of the palaces of Seville, indeed the city’s loveliest spots. You can enjoy shade and relaxation in … Read more

Episode 7: Triana, Seville

February 22, 2023

The ‘other’ side of the river Triana is the ‘other’ Seville, the lesser-visited part across the river which has an atmosphere all of its own. Very much a former working-class area, its roots are in … Read more

Episode 8: Bullfighting in Seville

February 22, 2023

Bullfighting is an integral part of Sevillian culture, whether you are for or against it. We look at the arguments on both sides, then learn a little history and some basic facts about bullfighting today. … Read more

Episode 9: Seville’s flamenco Tradition

February 22, 2023

The unique art-form which Seville has made its own Flamenco originated in Andalusia and has a long tradition in Seville. This post traces its roots in gypsy culture and explains all the aspects which combine … Read more

Episode 10: Art in Seville

February 22, 2023

Much of the most spectacular art in Seville dates from the ‘Siglo de Oro’, the ‘golden century’ when the city grew rich as the hub of New World exploration. This post begins with two ancient … Read more

Episode 11: Gastronomia in Seville

February 22, 2023

‘Gastronomia’ in Seville: an important topic! A Spanish proverb says that he whom the gods favour will eat in Seville. (‘A quien dios quiere bien, en Sevilla le da a comer’) This episode offers an … Read more

Episode 12: Travel Writers on Seville

February 22, 2023

There are so many excellent travel writers on Seville. This post begins with a few short quotes, then we recommend 5 books by authors who went to Seville and then wrote memorably about it. We … Read more

Episode 13: Stories of Seville

February 22, 2023

Fictional characters who make the city famous This episode is devoted to some of the best-known stories of Seville whose characters are symbols of the city. We start with Cervantes’ low-life tricksters Rinconete and Cortadillo, … Read more

Seville Extra: A Virtual Visit to Seville

February 22, 2023

This virtual visit to Seville takes you on a tour of websites, YouTube videos and books which will bring the spirit of the city alive for you even if you can’t go there right now. … Read more

MORE READING ABOUT Seville

4 useful websites for tourists
Visit Seville
Welcome to Seville
Andalucia: Seville 
Seville City Guide

5 useful guidebooks
Seville City Plan by Michelin
Rough Guide to Andalucia
Eyewitness Guide to Seville and Andalucia
Lonely Planet Guide to Andalucia
A Guide to Seville: 5 Walking tours by P S Quick

6 books of travel writing
Spain by Jan Morris
As I walked out one Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee
As I walked out through Spain in Search of Laurie Lee by P D Murphy
Death and the Sun by Edward Lewine (‘A Matador’s Season in the Heart of Spain)
Andalus by Jason Webster (‘A Quest to Discover Spain’s Moorish History’)
A Handbook for Travellers in Spain by Richard Ford (published 1845!)

3 Literary anthologies
Andalucia, A Literary Guide for Travellers by Andrew and Suzanne Edwards
Spain, A Literary Companion by Jimmy Burns
Seville, Cordoba and Granada: A Cultural and Literary History by Elizabeth Nash

2 novels which feature Seville
A Rose for Winter by Laurie Lee
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway

PODCASTS TO GET YOU STARTED

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