A local-style 3-day Seville itinerary: hidden flamenco bars, nun sweets, sunset views, and exactly how to dodge the Alcázar ticket scam.
Seville is the perfect city for a short 3 day break. It’s small enough that all the main sites are close to each other, and it’s mostly flat which makes walking easy. Plus, Seville’s winding streets, lined with orange trees, are so pretty that just wandering around is a treat in itself. Read on for how I recently spent 3 days in Seville, Spain.
I personally took the train to Seville from Málaga, arriving into Seville Santa Justa railway station. I bought my train tickets in advance via Omio, and the entire journey went without a hitch. I walked from the train station into Seville’s old town centre (my accommodation was next to the cathedral), but they also have Uber in Seville as well as good public transport.
If you’re arriving by plane into Seville Airport, you can either take an Uber (23 minutes) or the EA (Especial Aeropuerto) bus connecting Seville Airport with the city centre (45 minutes). If you’re arriving late at night and concerned about safety, or if you simply want to make your trip as smooth as possible, I can recommend pre-booked transfers with Welcome Pickups. Because it’s a pre-booked ride, the time and pricing are fixed, so you don’t need to worry about availability or surge pricing.
Once you’ve checked into your accommodation and freshened up, wander over to the Setas de Sevilla for sunset. This is a bit of a controversial attraction as it’s basically a futuristic giant waffle structure. The views however are fantastic!
Setas de Sevilla is open daily from 09:30 to 00:30 (final entry at 23:45). I recommend getting the final daytime slot (their website indicates daytime/sunset/nightime) as the views during golden hour are stunning.
Time needed: 30–40 minutes.
Tickets cost €16 and can be purchased via the official Setas de Sevilla website.
Booking a fancy show is not the only way to experience flamenco in Seville. Did you know that flamenco originated in Gitano (Romani) culture, melding with Moorish and Sephardic Jewish influences, and was often performed in more intimate settings?
My favourite spot to watch flamenco is the bar La Carbonería (The Coal House). You don’t need a ticket (your drink is your entrance fee), but you are expected to politely STFU when the performers are on stage. And no phones or cameras allowed during the performance. Expect a laid back bar setting, with seating on long wooden benches.
La Carbonería is open daily 7pm-1am. The free 30-minute performances repeat every hour, so if you can't see during the first one, wait for the space to clear out in the next intermission and move to a better spot. They serve drinks and snacks. Cash only.For our first full day in Seville we prioritised a mix of culture, crafts and laid back exploring with an evening river cruise followed by dinner. Days run late in Spain (thanks to Generalissimo Franco messing up the time zone in 1940 to align with what he thought would be the winning side…), so I recommend having a slow-paced morning (ideally book accommodation with a rooftop swimming pool!) so that you have the energy to stay up late.
There are endless breakfast choices in Seville, from small cafes to fancy brunch eateries. The cornerstone of the Sevillano brekkie is tostada (grilled bread) in various forms, the most traditional being either con tomate (tomato) or jamón (cured ham).
I enjoyed the breakfast at Génova, which is super central. It has low reviews because the service is slow, but if you’re not in a rush their tostada is simple and yummy. We had the tomate, jamón and avocado options.
The hand fan (Abanico) was introduced to Europe from Asia in the 1500s, and became popular in Spain as an effective way to cope with the heat (they really do work!). In the 18th and 19th centuries, Sevillian ladies used their fans as a secret language, holding it to different sides of their face for “yes” or “no”.
Making a traditional hand fan is an elaborate multi-step process, but you can experience a taste of fan making by joining a fan painting workshop. You’ll paint a templated design (or just create your own which is what I did) on pre-made fans.
Book directly via Manos de Agua for better prices and so that more money goes to the local business.
If fan painting isn’t your thing, you could also have a look at:
Plaza de España is one of the most beautiful squares in all of Spain, possibly even in the world. This sweeping semi-circular plaza, complete with a canal and rowing boats, and crossed by four ornate bridges, was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The facades of the grandiose buildings are decorated with terracotta and intricate tile work.
One of the most beautiful things about Plaza de España is you can often catch live flamenco performances with dancers and musicians performing for free in the sunshine.
Seeing the city from the river gives you a good idea of the layout, plus it’s a lovely way to enjoy the sunshine with a glass of wine or a beer! I won’t lie, it’s not the best or most informative city boat trip I’ve ever been on, as many of the main sites are not built near the river and we moved quite slowly, but it was relaxing. I was with friends though, so we were able to fill time chatting; I’m not sure I’d have enjoyed it so much alone.
I recommend booking for early evening when it’s less hot, the sun is lower in the sky and the light is golden. Get your tickets in advance: Seville Guadalquivir River Boat Tour.
Seville is a city best enjoyed from the rooftops, and there are limitless rooftop bars and restaurants to choose from. You can either stay in the old town centre, or cross the Puente de Isabel II bridge over the river to the Barrio de Triana, an old working-class neighbourhood that is now vibrant and trendy.
A few rooftop bar recommendations are:
Remember that the sun sets late in Spain! I was there in May and sunset was around 8:30pm, and in summer it sets around 9-10pm.
Seville sits right in the heart of old-time Moorish Spain, and so the architecture has a real Arabic vibe to it. Everywhere you look, you’ll see tiles, mosaic floors, and walled gardens hidden behind arched doorways.
Later, following the Reconquista, Seville became one of the most devoutly Roman Catholic cities in Spain. Visit during Semana Santa and the whole city comes to a standstill with elaborate religious processions.
Exploring Seville, you’ll discover its unique blend of influences, with intricate Islamic geometric patterns alongside painted depictions of the Virgin Mary and the Christian saints.
One unusual thing to do in Seville that is also super cute: you can buy yemas (sweets) from the cloistered nuns at San Leandro convent. These hermit nuns have become Instagram and Tiktok famous without ever showing their faces, all because of their unusual sales technique.
It’s definitely a unique cultural experience to buy handmade sugar and egg yolk sweets (made using a closely guarded 16th century secret recipe) from hidden nuns at a 13th century Augustinian convento!
You place your money (cash only) on the rotating turnstile (torno) and ring the bell. The turnstile will rotate, you’ll hear the swish of movement and the sweets will appear as if by magic!
The San Leandro nuns sell yemas from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm and 4:30pm to 7pm (closed on Sundays). Allow some extra time as it can be tricky to find the courtyard (entrance pictured above).
Seville’s impressive cathedral (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) sits at the centre of the old town. Part of the building used to be a mosque (completed in 1198) during Moorish times, which explains the shape of the tower (La Giralda), which used to be a minaret for call to prayer. It’s shape was inspired by the Koutoubia Mosque minaret in Marrakesh, Morocco.
You can visit the cathedral (which is massive inside as it’s one of the largest churches in the world!) and climb La Giralda tower for stunning views over the rooftops of Seville.
Get your tickets via the official cathedral website. They cost around €14 for entrance to the cathedral + Giralda Tower.
Christopher Columbus, the man famed for “discovering” the Americas in 1492, has a tomb in Seville Cathedral. Whether or not his remains are actually buried there was a subject of debate, as he’d been exhumed and moved around multiple times. But, scientists recently confirmed that the remains in Seville Cathedral do in fact belong to the famous explorer.
After all this culture vulture-ing it’s high time for a snack, and luckily this is something that Spain does incredibly well. Churros originated in Spain and Portugal, and have been around for a long time (similar recipes have been found in cookbooks dating back to Roman times!). They are a type of fried dough piped into a sausage shape.
Churros are not actually a dessert; they are traditionally enjoyed in Spain either for breakfast with coffee, or as an afternoon snack with hot chocolate! I can recommend the churros at Bar El Comercio, which has a well-earned reputation for the best churros in Seville.
The Royal Alcázar of Seville is an incredible palace complex with extensive gardens, famous as the filming location for the Water Gardens of Dorne in Game of Thrones.
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Alcázar is one of the best things to do in Seville. The beautiful fusion of Islamic and Christian architectural styles is called Mudéjar. Inside you’ll find countless rooms, all magical in their own way, tiled courtyards with fountains, and exquisite gardens, overlooked by balconies, transporting you back to 14th century Royal Spain.
Make sure you get your tickets via the official Alcázar website, as there is a fake site that ranks higher than the real one in Google search that will charge you twice as much! Genuine tickets should cost around €15.50. You'll need to select a timeslot.Alternatively, if you’d like someone to fill you in on the history, you can book a guided tour of the Alcázar.
Tickets sell out fast, especially in spring and summer. Book direct at alcazarsevilla.org, or grab a guided early-access tour via Viator (skip the queue, optional Cathedral upgrade included).
First entry (9:30am) is the quietest. Avoid mid-morning in summer as the courtyards fill up fast by 11 am. I also like the late afternoon golden hour.
Photo ID is required for entry: your passport or national ID card. Don't forget it!
The palace rooms and gardens are both vast. The gardens alone deserve a full hour.
In summer, go early, bring water, and wear sunscreen for the gardens.
The gardens of the Alcázar of Seville are planted in a traditional Islamic style, blended with Renaissance and Baroque additions. There are countless plants, trees, flowers, benches, fountains, peacocks and a maze.
From the gardens you can also access the Banos de Maria de Padilla, a massive underground vault once used for swimming.
Allow 2-3 hours for your visit to the Alcázar and gardens. It's open from 9:30am-7:45pm in summer and 9:30am-5:45pm in winter (September - March). Definitely book your ticket ahead of time, otherwise you'll need to queue and might not even get in. (It's one ticket for the Alcázar and gardens, you don't need separate tickets).
The word tapas comes from the Spanish word tapar, meaning to cover. Legend has it that in bars, people used to cover their beers with small plates to keep flies away, and over time they started putting small snacks on those plates. And thus was born the tradition of tapas: a selection of small dishes to be enjoyed alongside a beer.
It would be impossible to visit all the tapas bars in Seville, but it’s certainly worth having a good stab at it. You can either grab a table or just enjoy your tapas standing by the bar, which makes it easy to move around between different places, trying new dishes in each.
Join a group tapas crawl, and discover new dishes in the most authentic tapas spots with the help of a local!Some of my favourite tapas spots in Seville are:
There’s so much to do in Seville in 3 days, so if you have time on your final morning it’s worth squeezing in a bit more! We had breakfast at our airbnb and enjoyed the pool one last time before checking out.
The Casa de Pilatos is another beautiful Andalusian palace. Construction began in 1483 under Pedro Enríquez de Quiñones and his wife Catalina de Ribera, though the bulk of the work was done by their son Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera in the early 16th century.
The result is a beautiful mix of Mudéjar, Gothic, and Italian Renaissance styles, the last of which Fadrique picked up on a trip through Italy and the Holy Land between 1518 and 1520. It was that pilgrimage to Jerusalem that gave the palace its name: on his return, Fadrique established a Holy Way of the Cross procession through Seville, beginning at his palace, which became associated with Pilate’s house in Jerusalem. And so it became the Casa de Pilatos.
Book your tickets in advance, to avoid having to queue! Alternatively, you can buy tickets on entry.
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