Seville Beyond the Main Attractions

Things to check out in Seville when you’ve got more than a couple of days:

Plaza de España

The Plaza de Espana is a massive, half circle structure built for the 1929 Expo in the Parque de Maria Luisa. The park is a beautiful and extensive area of lush greenery, tiled fountains, pavilions, ponds and peacocks, great for a leisurely walk. To the side of this park stands the Plaza, with its fountain front and centre, and a canal crossed by four bridges that represent the four old kingdoms of Spain: Navarra, Aragon, Castille and Leon. It’s an interesting walk along the lower walkway, unfortunately in the sunny side, not in the shaded upper walkway so plan accordingly. Tiled scenes of a significant event or personality of each province represent the provinces of Spain. There are also references to some of Spain’s most illustrious characters like Seneca, Quevedo, Magallanes, and Velazquez. They chose this monumental pavilion as Palace of the Kingdom of Naboo in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

The Barrio de Triana, or Triana neighbourhood

Across the Guadalquivir river, over the old iron bridge, the colorful domes of the Chapel of Virgen del Carmen welcomes you to Triana, the barrio where Gypsies lived when they were not allowed inside the city walls. Today it is famous for its ceramics, flamenco artists and sailors, like Juan Sebastian Elcano, first to circumnavigate the world, Triana being km 0. There is an Inquisition Museum in the remains of St. Jorge’s Castle, the seat of the Inquisition at the time, underneath what is now the Triana Market. You can browse around the market and grab a tapa and a canita before continuing on your way. Triana, or as locals call it: ‘Independent Republic of Triana’, is historically and socially separated from Seville, more so than by the Guadalquivir river. But two of the biggies that make Seville special: Flamenco and ceramics (tiles) have their roots on this side of the river. Tile making techniques are explained in English in the Centro de Ceramica de Triana Museum and tile and ceramics stores showcase their goods. You can also enjoy a show at any of the local Tablaos, venues with wooden platforms for Flamenco dancers, this side of the river after an evening tapas crawl in one of the many quality bars around.

Las Casas Palacio, or resident’s palaces

Back when riches were coming in from the New World right through Seville locals built many magnificent homes. You can visit a few of the ones that are restored. Most have outstanding collections of art, gardens, furniture, decorations, etc. Among them: Casa de Pilatos – This is the largest privately owned of these Palaces; it belongs to the Dukes of Medinaceli. Casa Pilatos is the precursor of the Andalusian Palaces. Around 150 different patterns of glazed tiles adorn its walls. There are statues from ancient Rome, a Greek one from 500 BCE, and paintings and frescoes. Palacio de Lebrija – This museum is in one of the finest houses in Seville, belonging to the Countess of Lebrija, an educated, cultured lady with a passion for archeology. The valuable antiques collections she gathered are as varied as they are interesting. The most impressive being the 580 m2 of roman mosaics. Recently renovated, it includes a visit to the upstairs winter rooms, and a 4000-book library. Casa de las Duenas – This was the home of the famed Duchess of Alba. Not only is this Palace a significant historical landmark but it houses a treasure of 1400 antiquities including paintings, tapestries, and ceramics. The accuracy and originality with which it has been conserved make it a unique choice to visit.

Italica

After taking in the Christian, Moorish and Jewish cultures, every well-rounded visit to Seville must include checking out the Roman ruins of Italica. It was built in 206 BCE upon a Tartessian village that was there since 600 BCE, after the romans defeated the Carthaginians in this region. This was the birthplace of two Roman emperors and some senators from the time. It used to be a modern city with sewage systems and running water that grew to be about 52 ha. The remains are impressive even after the moors used these buildings as quarry to build their own city. There is a theatre and an amphitheatre and two buildings that housed the baths with the choices of frigidarium, tepidarium, and caldarium (they could go from polar dip to hot tub). The baths even had a library. Among the remains of the houses of the most influential families of the city at the time archeologists have unearthed varied and beautiful mosaics that decorated the floors of their palaces. They have also excavated some of the streets and sidewalks, and the outline of the city in general.

Las Setas or rather, the Metropol parasol

This unexpectedly large wooden structure is like cilantro. People either love it or hate it. Very hard to keep to middle ground. To some, it just doesn’t go, to others, it’s a welcome respite from ancient everythings. The city wanted to rehabilitate the Plaza de la Encarnacion to bring it back to life. And that they did. They chose Berlin architect Jurgen Mayer’s Setas (mushrooms) project to do this. It is quite the structure, largest wooden one in the world. There’s 3500 pieces of lumber joined by 16 million screws. It provides a large shaded area for social activities at ground floor, where there’s also a market. Underground is an antiquities museum that holds the artifacts found when doing the excavations. To climb the structure and stroll along the 250 mt long walkway/viewpoint, you must first go down to the elevator that’s beside the entrance to the Antiquarium.

Seville Aquarium

It’s not the largest of the aquariums but it provides a nice break for the kids when they’re all museum-ed out. There are over 700 specimens of about 400 species that include more than ten species of jellyfish. The aquarium is divided in Atlantic, Guadalquivir, Amazonian, Pacific and Indo-Pacific areas following Magallanes round-the-world voyage of 1519.