If you have a few extra days in your Spain itinerary, consider a short trip to Seville (or Sevilla), Spain. Seville is steeped in history from the Romans to the Moors and beyond. Kids will love the tales of kings, conquistadors, and explorers.
We visited in November and the weather was beautiful (we were comfortable with a light jacket), but I’ve read that Seville is scorching hot in the summer. If at all possible, try to visit Seville in the off season to avoid the 110 degree days in the summer.
This city is in the south of Spain about a 5 1/2 hour train ride from Barcelona, and only 2 1/2 hours from Madrid. Visitors can enjoy Seville with a short trip of two nights and 1 1/2 days.
Here are the top things that you and the kids will enjoy in Seville, Spain.
Visit a Palace: Real Alcázar
The Real Alcázar (pronounced ray-al al-CA-zar) is translated into royal palace. This palace has been the home of kings since the 10th Century. Even today, this is where the Spanish royal family stays when visiting Seville.
The palace is a marvelous example of Mudéjar architecture, which is uniquely Spanish. Moorish craftsman, hired by Christians who re-conquered Spain, constructed the palace. The style is highly ornate with intricate mosaics and carved stones. And, don’t forget to look up at the ceiling. Each room has a completely different ornate ceiling.
Wander around the palace and let the kids feel the intricate carvings on the walls, trying to comprehend the long process of carving the stone. Look for the Hall of Trade…this is where Columbus petitioned Queen Isabel to sail to the new world.
The Alcazar has a large, beautiful garden with cooling fountains. This is by far the highlight for kids. Kids will enjoy running through the hedge maze and admiring the ducks in the ponds.
The Real Alcázar of Seville is a Unesco Heritage Site and is the largest royal palace in Europe that is still in use.
If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you might recognize this palace as the set of Dorne. This article in Business Insider describes why the Alcázar was the prefect location for the setting of Dorne. The article includes many screen shots of Game of Thrones showing the Alcázar .
Enjoy a Carriage Ride
Just around the corner from the Alcazar (and on many other corners), you will find horse-drawn carriages lined up ready to take visitors on a tour of Seville. You won’t have different drivers giving you different prices, because the fare is a flat fee. Some drivers speak English and others do not; but, they will do their best to describe places of interest as you are riding past.
Our driver took us through different parts of Seville and through the Parque de Maria Luisa. Once in the park, the driver offered for our daughter to sit up front with him. She loved it! She loved riding in the open air down the park roads, and being close to the horses. The park leads to the Plaça de España and our driver stopped at a beautiful location in front for the perfect photos of the carriage and the ornate building behind.
Our carriage driver was great with our daughter. He offered to let her sit on the saddle when we were stationary in the plaza (which he told us did not happen very often). The driver even volunteered to take photos of us in front of the beautiful building of the Plaça de España.
Walk around the Plaça de España
This beautiful semi-circular brick building was built for the 1929 World’s Fair. A long canal with four bridges surrounds the plaza. Each bridge represents one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Castile, León, Aragón and Navarra).
Big Star Wars fans will recognize that the Plaza was used as Naboo in Attack of the Clones (and can also be seen in Lawrence of Arabia, but your kids probably haven’t seen that).
If you take a carriage ride, then the driver will probably take you to this beautiful plaza.
See a Flamenco Show
Flamenco consists of three distinct parts: the ‘cante’ or song, the ‘toque’ or playing of the guitar, and the ‘baile’ or dance. You hear the intense feeling in the singing, and see the emotion in the dance.
Most children will love a flamenco show with its bright colors and high energy. Especially if your children are fans of music and dance. Our daughter was the exception to this (maybe it was her mood that day). She just didn’t like the chanting sounds of the singing, and wasn’t impressed with the dancing. I, on the other hand, loved the intensity.
The flamenco dance and music is Andalucia’s cultural offering, and Seville is considered the birthplace of the art form. Many cultures have added their influence to the music and dance of flamenco including Persian, Jewish, Gypsy and West African.
The show we watched was in the Santa Cruz neighbor at Casa del Flamenco. The show is held in the building’s internal patio, which creates an intimate setting.
The venue was close to our hotel and our hotel booked the tickets for us. Even though it was close to our hotel, we got LOST on the way to the show. What should have taken us 3 minutes to walk ended up taking us 20 minutes to find it. We were late for the show, but the nice people at Casa del Flamenco added a few more chairs and we were able to still see the show. There are really no bad seats in the house.
Get Lost in Barrio Santa Cruz
The historical area of Barrio Santa Cruz is a maze of narrow paths. Much too small for a car to drive through, the paths are sometimes too narrow for two people to walk side-by-side. The streets are so narrow, they are sometimes called “Kisssing Lanes” as people on balconies on either side could lean over and kiss each other. A typical moorish design, the buildings provide shade limiting the sun in these narrow paths.
The area is home to the Cathedral, the Real Palace and many souvenir shops and cafés. This is also the area where you can hire a horse-drawn carriage. It’s a very good area to stay in.
It is easy to get lost in the narrow, winding streets. Have fun with it.
There’s something fun about buying food from a street vendor. In the late fall many European countries including Spain offer street-side roasted chestnuts. Since we often travel in the late fall, it has become compulsory for us to stop for chestnuts when we see them.
Another option is to stop into a shop for a quick churros con chocolate. Spaniards often eat this treat for breakfast, but is great any time of the day. A thick chocolate sauce is served with the churros (deepfried dough).
There are many fun things to do for grown ups and kids in Seville. It was one of our favorite places in Spain and we would like to go back one day to explore more of this ancient city.
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