Sights of Seville

The Triana Bridge, known sometimes as the Elizabeth II Bridge, is located in the Triana section of Seville over the Guadalquivir River. Built back in the mid 1800s (1845-1852) this bridge is now one of the most active bridges heading over the river.

One of the greatest things about the Triana Bridge is not only its transportation abilities but the aesthetic qualities it throws onto the Sevillian background. For instance, seeing the night time river views with the lit up bridge in its background is a really beautiful sight.

Now, if you can, which I highly suggest that you do, walking over the bridge from Triana to the Paseo de Cristobal Colon, or vice versa. Usually, the crowds heading over the bridge are on their way to one of the many late night party palaces all along the river, so they are in an extra friendly mood.

Also, while you are heading over the bridge, take a look over the railing at the water. The lights from the bridge illuminates the water perfectly so you can see the mayhem. Since all of these restaurants have tables along the river's edge, people, every now and then, throw their uneaten bread into the water. Then, schools of fish surround the bread and attack until nothing is left. But it's really strange to see these large dark circles in the water splashing around. And from above on the bridge, the fish can be seen more clearly. It's a really weird sight to see.

Now after a walk over the bridge and a gawk at the fish, standing on the rivers edge to see the bright bridge reflecting in the large basin of the river. It's a real beautiful thing to see. Anyway, enjoy the bridge!

After a long Saturday night of partying and exploring all throughout Seville and Triana, we decided to wake up early and go explore the sights of downtown Seville and try our hardest to get rid of our hangovers.


After we were thoroughly lost inside the gardens, we came across the Cathedral in the center of the city. Our handy little Lonely Planet book suggested that the Cathedral was free on Sundays, so we hopped our dried up, dehydrated bodies on line and waited with scores of other cheap travelers. Although the line is long, it is totally woth the price; free.


Upon entering the Cathedral, we immediately realized that there was a Sunday Mass happening. Since neither of us are very religious, this was a rather awkward moment. But, besides that, it was an extremely beautiful place. The main altar was extremely awe-inspiring with its bright gold everything and velvet floor. And the choir seats off to the side looked like (we weren't allowed in so I can't be sure) hand carved wood. Also, the high ceilings and stained glass windows were amazing. Sitting so high above of the parisioners for hundreds of years, I really was impressed. The whole Cathedral was beautiful.


I am not really sure what the Cathedral costs on other days of the week, but going in on Sunday is the best thing I think that we did. But who wouldn't love free?

After perusing the Cathedral for free during the Sunday morning Mass, we were asked to come back later after the mass if we wanted to climb the Giralda Tower. So we headed off for some lunch and to learn a little about this tower we were about to climb.


We found out the tower, was built as the minaret of the 12th century Moslem mosque. When the Cathedral was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, the mosque was converted into a Christian bell tower. And now, the tower is used daily and the observation deck is always packed and probably the best place to see the entire city from above.


When we were allowed back into the Cathedral, the line for the Tower was rather short the we couldn't believe it. We soon realized that the reason it was so short was because everyone was already upstairs. But, before we get to that, let me explain what happened first. We were told to climb up the ramps to the top to get to the observation deck. These ramps were put in so guards could go up and down while on horseback so they wouldn't be winded. We unfortunately didn't have that luxury and walked up 33 different levels constanly waiting for the next level to be the last. When we finally reached the pinnacle, we were exhausted.


The view from the top was amazing, overlooking the city in every direction. It was really a great sight. Unfortunately, it was extremely crowded with antsy tourists and finding a viewing spot was damn near impossible, so our tenure up there was short lived. The walk down was a little hard but enjoyable, since we were constantly passing people who had that look of "When the hell does this stop?" on their faces.


After the Gardens, the Catedral and the Giralda, we were exhausted and headed back to the hostel for a seista and prepared for the evenings festivites. Enjoy!

While waiting on the extremely long line for the Cathedral, my girlfriend and I decided to jump into the line for the Alcazar Gardens because the line was smaller. After paying our small 7 Euro fee to enter, we were transcended into a world of lavish beauty immediately. Alcazar (royal in Arabic) is a royal palace that at one time was a Moorish fort and since then has expanded dozens of times. The expanded parts started being built in the late 1300’s and continued for centuries, most in the style of mudejar architecture, which is a style under Christian rule in Spain but using Islamic architectural influence.


While we were inside the gardens, we immediately got lost due to the large, expansive palace and the exquisite beauty surrounding us. Each section of the gardens is almost like a small, private garden that was added on to the whole. One thing that was very strange was that there were a lot of weddings going on at once while we were there. We saw at least 15 different wedding parties walking around taking pictures in the splendor of the gardens. To see these magnificent couples completely un-phased by the onlookers and gawkers was a truly unique experience and a little overwhelming so we made our way out of that area and headed to the back of the gardens.


In the backside of the gardens, we were allowed to enter up into the higher towers of the gardens and get a birds eye view of our surroundings. From up here, with the walls blocking the sound of the surrounding city, we experienced a view of true beauty. The silence was deafening and extremely relaxing. Even running through the different stairwells and different levels was an exhilarating experience. One of my favorite parts of this place was an underground pond that was a rectangular shape and blocked off, so all you saw was the wall at the end of the pond and the calm water in front of you. I am not sure what it was about this place, but it was amazing.


So, if you plan to head to Seville, which you should definitely do, please take the time to head over to Alcazar Gardens for a relaxing and picturesque time. I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.