Experience in Seville, Spain by Miguel

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What is it like to live in Seville? Would you recommend it? How is it?

I am in love with the city of Seville, I came here 9 years ago to study and I'm still here, I hope to be for the foreseeable future. It is a really friendly and accessible city with a great atmosphere! The thing that I like the most about Seville is its combination of culture and history, as well as its perfect size to be a city which has everything without becoming a big metropolis; so it doesn't have the same amount of pollution and overcrowding as the big cities.

What is the student lifestyle like in Seville?

The student atmosphere is really varied, I have lived through a radical change the last few years, going from the main student profile being those coming from nearby provinces, to the current one being a fundamentally international one, where students from lots of different countries live together, especially Erasmus students from the rest of Europe, along with American students who come here to study the language. There is also a noteworthy number of African students from various countries who come here to do their entire degrees.

How much does it cost to live in Seville?

The purchasing power in Seville is average, given its features, it enjoys prices a little bit lower than in a big capital like Madrid or Lisbon, although it's certain that it still remains a tourist city where lots of business are targeted towards them.

There are so many different supermarkets and flats to rent at reasonable prices, I reckon that for around 600-700 euros per month you can live really well in Seville.

Did you have trouble finding accommodation in Seville? Do you have any advice?

It is really easy to find accommodation in Seville, the old method of having posters stuck onto balconies of available accommodation has slowly given way to the Internet, which makes the process a lot easier for the person who is looking for accommodation.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

I think the food in Seville is delicious. My favourite dish is the Andalusian gazpacho or the salmorejo, although they are battling for first place with my favourite dishes with snails, homemade croquettes, or paella.

What places would you recommend visiting in Seville?

There's an endless amount of historical and cultural places to visit in Seville, and being an active city, it has a huge offer of things to do, it's difficult to just pick a few places. I will say the most well-known ones that you can't miss seeing like the cathedral, the Torre del Oro, the Plaza de la Magdalena, the Plaza de la Encarnación, a walk through Isla de la Cartuja (Island of the Carthusians), Plaza de España, the Orilla Del Rio Garden, walk through the Triana old town or visit the Lope de Vega Theatre. A place that I personally like to visit regularly, called the CAAC (Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo) where there is always an artist's exhibition (painter or a sculptor... and where they also organise concerts for different kinds of music and events. I also recommend the Flamenco museum.

Is it good to eat out in Seville? What are some of your favourite places to go?

There are some vary traditional places such as Las Carbonerías, los coloniales or the bar perejil.

For me, it's bars like "Las golondrinas" or "Casa Casimiro" in the Triana quarter.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Seville?

Alfalfa and plaza del salvador in the city-centre, during the winter, and la zona de chile, bilindo, and the casino during the summer.

Personally during the winter, first of all, I go the bar "El Postura" where there's a drink of the same name made by them with wine and rum or gin, I'll usually have a drink there to later go onto the clubs in the city centre like Tokyo, Charlotte or Rockefeller.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Seville in the future?

Don't let yourself get caught up by the places that everyone recommends visiting in Seville and go and explore it for yourselves, it's a delight to love yourself in the city centre and find new places unexpectedly.