Touristic Spots in Seville

One of the best things I've ever felt is the excitement + pity of coming back home from a trip. It's a weird feeling which I guess almost everybody can relate to, but the feeling is greater when your home city is as beautiful as mine!

Seville (or Sevilla in Spanish) is known to be one of the hottest cities in Europe, and I'm afraid to say there's no lie in that sentence. But, at least in my opinion, it is one of the most wonderful ones as well.

Let's start by talking about the most touristic places of the Andalusian capital, alright?

• La Torre del Oro: Definitely one of the most beautiful monuments in my opinion, and not only because of the monument itself, but because of its location: just by the river bank, surrounded by vegetation, magnificently standing there. Its name stands for "The Tower of Gold, " you can easily find the reason why this is so in Wikipedia, don't be lazy, it's a cool story.

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• La Catedral: The Cathedral of Seville, which actually has a quite longer name I never get to remember, is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. I remember coming back home from England after having lived there for some months and almost crying over the sight of the Cathedral - you can call me dramatic, I am indeed. I highly recommend going into the building which is quite beautiful as well.

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• La Giralda: This bell tower is actually part of the Cathedral even though its origins are on the Almohad period - reason why it has a twin tower in Marrakech, Morocco. You can walk up to the top of the tower, which is a bit tiring but definitely worth it. The access is on the inside of the Cathedral.

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• El Real Alcázar: Built during the Roman period it was later on modified by Muslims and Christians and was also added some elements from the Renaissance and the Baroque period. The palace happens to be home to the Spanish Royal Family whenever they are on a visit to Seville, which makes it the oldest Royal Palace in use of Europe. You cannot come to Seville and leave without paying a visit to this magnificent complex. The gardens are truly impressive and a really nice place to take pictures I must say - and if you like peacocks they are not shy to shout here.

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• El Parque de María Luisa: This large park is probably the most famous one in Seville and it's located right in the centre of the city. It was donated to the city by the Infanta María Luisa Fernanda de Borbón and apart from that, it's a really nice place to go relax, have a picnic, do footing, etc. It holds a couple of museums and a nice square I will be talking about in a second.

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• Plaza de España: If you want to find more information about this place make sure to specify that you're interested in knowing about La Plaza de España de Sevilla, since the name is not very original - there is a Plaza de España in almost every city of Spain, there's one even in Rome - but none of them is similar to ours. Also if you are wondering who is the man sculpted right at the entrance of the square, he is the architect who designed it: Aníbal González. Don't hesitate to rent a boat for half an hour, let's see if you can make it to the end of the "stream". Oh and interesting fact! Some sequences of Game of Thrones and Star Wars have been filmed here, do you recognise it?

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• Archivo de Indias: I can't tell you much about this place actually, I went on a school trip once and it was a bit boring, all I can remember is that we were told most of the documents about Christopher Columbus' explorations to America are held in this building. But still the outside is nice in my opinion and it is located right next to the Cathedral and the Real Alcázar, so you don't have to go that far in order to see it.

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• El Ayuntamiento: Which basically stands for the Town Hall. It is a beautiful building I believe located in the Plaza Nueva. Really big weddings are celebrated there, but the most magical season to come see it is definitely Christmas time. The building is decorated with lots of lights, at the back of it there's a mapping performance every year, there's also a nice Christmas tree at the front door and a Nativity scene at one of the sides. Sometimes there's also a cute ice rink and a carousel at the back. "But do you even celebrate Christmas at 20 ℃? " you guys might think. Well, we try at least. The inside is nothing special tho.

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• Metropol Parasol: Or just "Las Setas" as we locals know it. As you can see this monument is a bit more modern than the rest here mentioned. It is also located in the centre of the city. I think it costs 3 euros to go up there in order to see Seville from above, which is incredibly beautiful. Some years a mapping performance with acrobats, lights, balloons and confetti has been held here, and there's also a Christmas market underneath it.

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• Museo de Bellas Artes: Our local Art Museum which is located very near to downtown. The beautiful building was originally a convent but the most impressive thing about it is the paintings. I actually own a copy at home of one of the pictures exposed here. The paintings belong mainly to the Baroque period - so loads of religious art.

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• Puente de Triana: Originally called "Puente de Isabel II", it is the most famous bridge in the city - and probably in Spain. Triana is also the most famous neighbourhood in Seville, reason why the Trianeros tend to say that the bridge separates Triana from Seville, as if they were two different things - I will never get over these people... But the important thing is that the bridge is indeed beautiful - and it was said to have been designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, although it was later on refuted.

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• Real Maestranza: The fact that bullfighting is part of the Spanish culture is undeniable, and, even though I'm completely against it, I won't disrespect anybody who decides to go to Seville's Bull Ring. It is actually quite close to Puente de Triana and its appearance is not unpleasant in my opinion. Concerts are also held here sometimes.

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• Museum of Flamenco Dance: One of the greatest cliches about Spain - and specially about southern Spain: Everybody here knows how to sing and dance flamenco. Well some of us don't as it is my case - and I would even say that actually most Sevillians don't have a clue on how to sing/dance Flamenco - but for your relief there are special places you can specifically go to in order to watch a proper Flamenco spectacle live. There are daily performances I believe, but you can get more information on the internet.

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I have avoided to mention the great number of churches we own since they are too many, but if you're interested in that, do not hesitate to look for further information on the Internet, you won't regret it.

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