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Seville : The Jewel in Andalucia’s Crown

Besi Besemar May 1, 2012

 
I sat down last year and made a list of the European cities I had never visited but wanted to see. Krakow in Poland, Milan in Italy and Seville in Spain came top of my wish list.Without doubt I’ve missed a treat by not visiting Seville before. It’s breath taking and has much to offer the seasoned gay tourist who is interested first and foremost in culture but likes to dip into the local commercial gay scene in the evening.

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Seville is blessed with mild winters, though evenings can be chilly. When we visited in January, the average daytime temperature was 20º. We were able to drink coffee outside in the daytime at the many bars and cafés, sit and watch the horse drawn carriages and smell the orange trees that line many of the streets and avenues.

Over the centuries the city has been a hotbed of different cultures which manifests in an orgy of architectural styles. The Moors, the Christians, the Jews and even the French have stamped their indelible mark on the city’s architectural history.

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Seville is the capital city of Andalusia and has a population of 1.7 million. Despite its size, the city center can easily be explored on foot. Around every corner you will find a beautiful church or historic building – far too many to list here!

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The main areas to explore on foot are around La Macarena, with its magnificent churches and convents. A walk around the Barrio de Santa Cruz reveals the magnificent cathedral www.catedraldesevilla.es/, the third largest in Christendom after St Peter’s in Rome and St Paul’s in London; the Alcazar Royal Palace, home over the years to many of Spain’s kings and caliphs; the baroque influenced Archbishops Palace and the magnificent Archivo de Indias. Walk or take a tram along the magnificent Avenida de la Constitution and you will get a real flavour of Seville and its history.

The Parque de Maria Luisa to the south east of the city centre was the focus for the 1929 International Latin American Fair. Architects from all over the word built fantastic pavilions, many harking back to Seville’s past glories and reflecting the style of Spain’s former colonies. Put aside a full afternoon to take in the park and its surrounding areas and make sure you see the Plaza de España to the north, the Palacio de San Telmo, the Seville University building, the Plaza de America and the Casino de la Exposición.

A walk along Seville’s most famous street, Calle Sierpes, will take you through the commercial district to the city hall, an extravagant example of the fantasies of the architect Diego de Riano.

The north east facade of the building is ornate while the south west facade is completely plain. Look out for the parish church of Divino Salvador, the Parish Church of La Magdalena and take a coffee on the Plaza de San Francisco.

The Isla Mágica is over the river in the north west of the city and was home to the 1992 World Fair. Many of the space age buildings have been converted into factories and headquarters for business corporations and there is an impressive fun fair. You need a complete day to fully appreciate everything on the site, sadly something we couldn’t afford on a weekend break.

Each night we intended to eat at a restaurant and made suitable reservations. Each day a visit to a tapas bars on the way became a diversion and we stayed the evening. Tapas bars are everywhere and you really need to experience them. The chef rings a bell every time a new dish is ready and a waiters brings round a new dish to try. You keep the cocktail sticks that come with each dish and at the end of the evening the waiter counts the sticks and gives you the bill. We ate all our meals at these tapas bars during our stay. They’re on every corner and are highly recommended.

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Our accommodation was a beautiful 25 room boutique hotel on the Alameda de Hercules. The Hotel Casa Sacristía Santa Ana (tel: +34 954 91 57 22, www.hotelsacristia.com is a former 17th century noble house, restored to a very high standard and just five minutes walk to the main attractions in the city centre. Most important for us it was in the heart of the ‘gay village’. There is a business room with internet connections and a beautifully appointed breakfast room, serving eggs and bacon along with many Spanish breakfast options. The antique furniture which decorates the hotel is priced so you can buy it and take it away with you.

For up to date information on the commercial gay scene view: www.patroc.com/seville/bars.html

We visited Men to Men www.mentomenbar.com which is like a UK bears bar, with a very naughty dark room upstairs. It’s open daily, 10.30pm-4am and till 6am on Friday and Saturday. Like most Spanish bars and clubs it gets busy after midnight; relaxing till 1am and hot and sweaty from 1-3am. When we visited mid-week there was no entry charge.

For early evening drinks try the cocktail bar Ben Bendito Café on Calle de Trajano 43. It’s modern, with friendly attentive staff and reasonably priced drinks.

We used a 48 hour Sevilla Card costing €53 per person which gives you free entry to museums and monuments that are part of the Sevilla Card scheme, a river cruise or a choice of one of the two tourist bus services and a range of discounts to restaurants and shops. It’s excellent value.

I really do recommend a trip around the city on a tourist bus. Much of the city centre is pedestrianised but the bus takes in the attractions on the edge of the city which are quite a trek.

Seville has much to see – we spent three days there which just wasn’t enough. The city has a great feel to it and the orange trees give it a unique aroma and colour.

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Seville is easily accessible from Gatwick by Easyjet and the transfer from Seville airport is very quick; our only negative experience was with immigration when we arrived which was chaotic.

www.easyjet.com
www.visitasevilla.es

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