Seville

Why Seville works

Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, was built atop a former mosque and retains its minaret — the Giralda tower — now a bell tower reached by ramps once used for horseback ascents rather than stairs; Christopher Columbus's tomb, held aloft by four royal pallbearers, sits inside. Next door, the Real Alcazar remains a working royal palace, its Mudejar tilework, horseshoe arches and geometric gardens commissioned by Christian kings employing Moorish craftsmen — a fusion so distinctive it later appeared as a filming location for Game of Thrones' Dorne. The Santa Cruz quarter's whitewashed lanes, hung with orange trees and wrought-iron balconies, wind toward Plaza de Espana, a vast 1929 semicircular building with tiled alcoves representing each Spanish province, its canal crossed by four bridges. Seville is broadly considered flamenco's birthplace, and the Triana neighbourhood across the Guadalquivir River — historically home to Roma communities and ceramicists — still hosts intimate tablao performances alongside its ceramics workshops. Tapas culture here favours standing at the bar over sitting, moving between establishments for their single specialities — a plate of jamon at one, salmorejo at the next. April's Feria de Abril, a week-long festival of flamenco dresses, sherry and all-night dancing in a temporary tent city, remains the city's defining annual event.

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