Lose your heart to Seville

Seville is a beautiful, romantic city -– even in February when the rain is falling. Like much of southern Spain, Seville’s history of Moorish conquest and the subsequent Christian return is visible throughout its central quarters –- often as part of the same buildings with earlier Mudejar architecture being absorbed into, and influencing, later constructions. The result is uplifting, from the arcades of the Alcazar Palace and Casa de Pilatos with their intricate carved doorways and vibrant tiled walls to the sheer presence of the cathedral (some measurements make this the largest place of worship in the world – even ahead of St Peters in Rome). The styles of each period are never more clearly visible than in the famous Giralda –- the bell tower of the cathedral.

And then there’s the food. In Seville, you are in tapas country -– small dishes of seafood, meats or vegetables to be picked at (traditionally while stood at the bar) while talking very loudly and expressively to your friends. Trawl round the bars and try a dish or two in each (they all have their specialities) while sampling the fine selection of wines that can be found here.

Quick Tips:

We found staying in the centre of town extremely convenient. All the major sights are well within walking reach (up to 20/30 minutes) and you don’t want to walk too far in the rains of February (I should think the same applies in the heat of a Seville summer too). The Plaza Nueva is as central as it gets with the Giralda, Alcazar, Maria Luisa Park and the main shopping streets all close by. The Plaza is also a major bus terminus with routes to most corners of the city.

If you become something of a sucker for Moorish architecture and the whole Andalucian ‘thing’, then Granada and Cordoba are both within easy and frequent reach by train. The Alhambra Palace and the Mesquita are two of the most astonishing buildings anywhere. Ever.

I would recommend not judging restaurants and bars by their outward appearance -– some of the friendliest, best value bars had nondescript entrances tucked away in the barrio Santa Cruz. If you get it wrong, you only have to stop for one drink!

Best Way To Get Around:

Seville has its own airport a little way out of town -– a cab ride of 20-30 minutes. Sadly, Seville isn’t on the ‘cheap flights’ list just yet, but trains between the cities are frequent, clean, and punctual -– ticket prices are not too expensive either (return to Cordoba for under £10).

While you are in Seville, walking around is quite straightforward and very rewarding -- it isn’t too far between sights and the windy streets allow you to stumble across reminders of the city’s varied past. There is an excellent bus network and cab ranks outside most popular hotels and tourist attractions. Much of the barrio Santa Cruz however is not accessible by car -- you may have a few surreal moments in this part of town wondering how cars got to where they are!! I’m pretty certain they were either assembled there or there’s some false walls around this district.

The Plaza Nueva is a busy central square fairly close to the Cathedral and on the edge of the twisty, atmospheric barrio Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter. The Hotel Inglaterra half fills one side of the square –- a sturdy 19th-century building with over 100 rooms.

The lobby certainly leaves a good first impression –- that ‘European hotel’ old favourite of light marble and a few unnecessary pillars. The staff was helpful and made an effort to understand our faltering phrase-book Spanish before politely replying in English.

We had a room on the third floor overlooking the square -– no balcony, but I can’t say we missed it with the February rain. The room was fairly standard; large comfy beds, enough space for a couple of small chairs, a TV with a couple of English speaking channels (and a couple that spoke in ‘an international language’ if you get my drift) and a decent sized, clean bathroom. For a short stay, this was fine -– pictures of the better rooms suggest that a little more needs to be spent to get the best of the Inglaterra.

The hotel has a restaurant on the first floor with picture windows overlooking the square. It isn’t the most impressive view in town -– more of a bus terminus than an emotive vista -– and it didn’t inspire us to dine there. We took advantage of the ‘breakfast in your room’ option for the duration of the stay and took to the tapas bars for our food requirements. This being mainland Europe, smoking is positively encouraged in the bedrooms and assisted by the ludicrously low cost of cigarettes.

The Inglaterra is a fairly anonymous largish hotel saved from the norm by being very well situated.

There are a few places in Europe that are always listed as ‘must sees’ for visitors. If the Giralda is not on your list it should be. The Cathedral and its famous bell tower dominate the skyline of Seville. It is a stunning amalgam of the gothic and the mudejar styles –- remains of the grand mosque that stood on this site prior to the cathedral can be detected in the lower levels of the bell tower.

When you walk into the cathedral and your eyes have adjusted to the gloom the first feeling is one of scale -– you are expected to feel small in this monumental space and think about your maker. The roof is forty or fifty metres above you. At floor level there is little to interrupt your gaze as you try to make out the opposite side of the cavern. If it isn’t the largest religious building in Europe (there are various ways of measuring apparently) then it’s pretty close.

Once you’ve got over the daunted feeling the cathedral has a few treasures to reveal. The carved wooden altarpiece (the artist Dancart’s life’s work) is regarded as one of the finest and largest of its type – scenes of Christ’s life depicted with skill and artistry. The other big draw is the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

Climbing the Giralda, though, was our main reason for visiting. The tower is what remains of the mosque that originally stood on this site (built in the 12th century) and this can be detected from the architectural style and brickwork of the lower levels. The top of the tower is very clearly gothic (added in the 16th century to create a bell chamber) and more in keeping with the rest of the cathedral. From within the cathedral you are led up a fairly gentle and wide ramp that winds round and round the inside of the tower –- there are Roman numerals marking your ascent. At various points windows look out over the rooftops and the gothic architecture of the cathedral’s roof. A final climb up a short staircase takes you onto the balcony from which you can gaze across the whole city. I love staring down on cities; working out where you’ve been, catching glimpses of courtyards and buildings otherwise hidden from prying eyes and getting an idea of how the city was planned and grew. If you share this sentiment then you’ll like the top of the Giralda. It’s a great view.

I would recommend relaxing after your descent in the Patio de los Naranjos -– the courtyard dating back to Moorish times when worshippers would wash their hands and feet before entering. It is a fragrant and relatively peaceful place despite the crowds -– tourists tend to quieten down in cathedrals.

Admission fees are reasonable and should not be a barrier to you enjoying this place.

Tucked behind the Giralda, across an open Plaza you will find the high walls of the Alcazar -– the Palace that has been the home of a succession of Spanish kings and leaders since its construction shortly after the Christian conquest in the 14th century. Its design is strongly influenced by the city’s previous occupants, the Moors, with their ornate Mudejar architecture. The palace has continued to be occupied until the present day –- it is still used by the current King and Queen of Spain (which has something of an impact on opening times, as you’d imagine).

As you’d expect for a building that’s been in continual use for six or seven centuries various sections have been added over time while others have been ‘modernised’. General Franco had something of an impact during his visits…not for the better as you might imagine. The most beautiful sections are the oldest –- the Mudejar influence can be seen in doorways, columns and ornate tilework –- but you can also see state rooms preserved from much more recent periods.

The real highlight for us was the gardens. There are immaculately maintained terraces with walled courtyards and a series of tranquil ponds. Fountains provide the soundtrack (along with your fellow visitors obviously) while you explore the avenues lined with manicured hedges and borders. It is a delightful place and, in February when the crowds are quite sparse, it was quite easy to lose yourself in the scents of the fruit trees and the dazzling array of workmanship that this palace contains.

The network of courtyards . . . the crafted gardens . . . the east-meets-west opulence -– if I was in the market for a palace, this would be top of my list. Sadly, the commute to Nottingham is a bit tricky. Otherwise . . .

‘Pilates house’ is found on the Plaza Pilatos some twenty minutes walk from the Giralda and the Alcazar. An early Spanish tourist, the Marquis of Tarifa, owned the house in the early 16th century. He journeyed through Italy and the Holy Land and, like many modern tourists I suspect, what he saw influenced a bit of decorating and remodelling when he got home.

The results of his Renaissance 'Changing Rooms'-style makeover is stunning (I suspect he spent a bit more than they do on that TV show). You entered via a marble lined gate house into an outer patio and can then pass through into the centrepiece of the house. The Italian renaissance influence is clear with the open balconies lining a wide central patio. A marble fountain and statues of Roman gods decorate this space, continuing the Italian theme.

One then notices the distinctly Mudejar flourishes around the stone work giving the courtyard its more typically Moorish appearance. Brightly coloured tiles line the walls adding to the feeling of opulence and grandeur that this space has. Any one visiting this Marquis knew they were in the home of someone who appreciated the finer things –- it is a wonderful and impressive space that I think is more than a match for the more visited Alcazar.

Within the well tended gardens you will stumble across more Roman souvenirs of the Marquis’s holidays nestling amongst orange groves. For a few euros more you can also have a guided tour of the upstairs rooms -– but a better grasp of Spanish than ours would have been required to enjoy this.

Even without the extra tour this should be on your list of ‘must-sees’. The tile work, ornate stone and woodcarving, the way that two distinct styles have been so appropriately combined. It is little surprise that Casa de Pilatos has had a large influence on subsequent building in this region.

Situated south of the Giralda and occupying a prime location on the Guadalquivir lies the Parque de Maria Luisa. The walk from the centre of Seville takes you along quite a major road but you get the opportunity to see the Royal Tobacco factory -– the one where Carmen worked and sang arias –- and the impressive hotel Alfonzo XIII.

Built in the 1920s when Seville were planning to stage a major exposition, the park itself occupies an enormous area and is criss-crossed with elegant, shady boulevards. It is extremely pleasant to stroll through the exotic plantings and underneath the shady pines, elms and Seville’s eponymous orange trees. Tucked away at various points are pavilions and ponds . . . the Mudejar style that characterises much of the architecture again being well represented and influencing the building here.

There are a number of grand palaces dating from the same period within the park. Two lie to the south, flanking the ornate, more formal garden of the Plaza de America. These grand buildings now house a couple of the city’s museums -– a costume museum in one and archaeology in the other. Hmm . . . I have to admit that the Blonde and I were in complete agreement that we shouldn’t risk spoiling the good impression that the museums had made on us by venturing inside.

The grandest structure in the park by far is the Plaza de Espana –- a building that is rivalling the Giralda as the distinctive landmark of Seville, particularly since the release of the latest Star Wars movie. The crescent boasts grand porticoes along its length and ends with dramatic towers at either end. The ornate Moorish influence has been given something of an Art Deco twist and, from a distance, it is a most impressive structure. A little closer up, however, signs of age were very obvious. The bridges crossing the rectangular pool had balustrades in great need of repair. Some of the tile works in the alcoves representing the provinces of Spain looked somewhat tired. The porticoes and the stairways had a barren, almost seedy air about them.

The Plaza clearly makes an excellent backdrop to events and public performances but, on a cloudy February day, its use as a government building seemed to have seeped into its soul . . . it looked uncared for (like public servants!!). I suspect, however, that since our visit in early 2001 the visit of a certain Mr. Lucas and his friends . . . and the transportation of the Plaza to the planet Naboo…may have had an impact on its state of repair!

Seville really was planning to show off in the 1920’s with its exposition and this park would have left many a visitor impressed by the city’s style and panache.

I have to admit to a certain hankering for a ‘Hemingway’ lifestyle. Not all of it, I add hastily . . . a succession of ex-wives to be maintained, depression, and a shade too much alcohol do not appeal. The passion for manly pursuits though: hunting, fishing, bullfighting, and wandering the globe during a time when travel was a more serious business.

Which is by way of explaining why I dragged the Blonde to the Plaza de Toros in Seville. It was off-season and midweek (bullfighting occurs on Sundays and the season runs from April to September), so I didn’t have to wrestle with any moral dilemmas about actually watching a bullfight. What we could do, however, was enjoy a tour of the bullring and the bullfighting museum under one of the stands -– continue the fantasy life without having to be confronted with too much reality.

The entrance to the Plaza is an imposing gateway painted in white, gold and red facing out toward the River Guadalquivir. We had approached from the city side and had got an early impression of just how large the bullring is. Seville is one of the grandest and most prestigious venues for bullfighting outside Madrid –- an Old Trafford or Soldier Field if you will.

Tours are pretty frequent and not overly expensive (around 10 euros) –- around every half-hour except on Sundays -– and, allegedly, one in every two or three is in English. As it turned out, I got something of an ‘alternative’ version of the guide’s insights. The Blonde, a fluent French speaker, picked up fragments of a translation of the original Spanish that a French father was giving to his family and relayed them to me in English. So . . . the Blonde had to stand close enough to hear a hushed, and frankly dodgy, French translation and then sidle back over to me during which time the Spanish guide had meandered on to some other exhibit. As you might imagine, the Blonde got heartily fed up of such an arrangement and, after reducing two minutes of detailed descriptions and amusing anecdotes by the guide to ‘it’s where the donkeys live’ through gritted teeth, I decided to just absorb the ambience.

Even without the wherewithal to understand what’s being said, it is still a fascinating tour. Stables are stables, obviously and it would take an obsessive to get overly excited by empty bull pens but an ornate little chapel and fully equipped operating theatre under the stands gives you something of an insight into the pre- and post-fight concerns of the matador.

The tour also takes in the ring itself –- golden sands carefully raked and that atmosphere of an empty stadium; sad yet anticipatory -– and a museum lined with photographs, matador outfits and bulls heads relaying the arenas illustrious past. Even without a full grasp of Spanish, one can get an impression of the action and drama that takes place here. Bullfighting shares with opera the ability to provoke powerful emotions and the hallways of the museum and the stadium itself start to draw you in.

It’s a fascinating place –- it seems to combine artistry, pageantry and grand architecture in a way one never sees in ‘standard’ sporting arenas. If you want to put together a full experience of Andalucian life, include a visit here.