Getting there
Initially I considered driving a rental car but that would have been a 6.5hr trip and I did not want to deal with rentals across countries. I came across a direct flight via RyanAir. My kids warned me about flying RyanAir as they have the reputation of being one of the worst airlines in the world. I thought it couldn't be worse than Spirit Airlines and I was right. I booked the family plus fare which includes 4 pieces of 10kg luggages plus one 20kg luggage all of which have to be checked in. It ended up costing US$70 per person. The flight was on time, our luggage was delivered so I was actually quite happy with the experience. The only nuisance was that while checking with the RyanAir application I was prompted to upload COVID requirements to travel to Spain. They redirected me to download the official government application from Spain: SpTh. Based on the country I was traveling from (Portugal) I was not required to provide any COVID documentation, but the application required uploading one, so I ended up uploading my vaccination records and nobody asked me anything about them.
Unlike Portugal, Uber service was not available. The ride sharing options were FreeNow and Cabify. I ended up using Cabify. It was slightly more expensive compared to Uber in Portugal, but still much cheaper compared to Uber fares in the US. Most of their cars, if not all, were black Skoda Superb which is very similar to the Volkswagen Passat and with plenty of room for luggage.
Where to eat
We arrived in the middle of a heat wave. Temperatures reached 42C/100F which we were told is more common in July/August, but not in early June. It was also a very dry heat. We took a Cabify into downtown. Some streets within downtown are very narrow and our driver insisted in getting us as close as possible, even though we offered to walk. We tried to eat at Bodega Santa Cruz, one of our recommended stops but it was way too crowded. We ended up eating at La Sacristia, which ended up being pretty good. From our experience, you can't go wrong with a restaurant with tapas, which most restaurants at Spain offer.
Seville Cathedral and Giralda Tower
This was our first stop after having lunch. I chose not to purchase the tickets online because we didn't know exactly at what time we would arrive to the Giralda Tower which is what requires a timed entry, but thankfully there was no ticket line around 5:30pm. The inside of the Cathedral is magnificent. You can find the tomb of Christopher Columbus inside the Cathedral.
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| Christopher Columbus tomb |
The access to the Giralda Tower is from inside the Cathedral. They didn't seem too strict about the entry time, but they do scan the tickets. The views from the top are great and unblocked. Instead of stairs you climb via ramps and they are wider than your average church tower, so if you are not a fan of climbing towers, this is an easier one that you should consider.
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| The Giralda Tower |
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| View from the top of The Giralda |
Because of the extreme heat, we decided to head back to our hotel and enjoy a swim in the pool which was very refreshing. Afterwards we had dinner at a nearby restaurant at a coffeeshop called
Ananas and was surprisingly good and healthy.
Plaza de España
On our second day, we decided to walk to Plaza de España which was 2km from our hotel. Even though it was almost 80F in the morning, it was much bearable than the day before. Plaza de España is a must to visit and walk around. It is also a must for any
Star Wars fans. The architecture is gorgeous and it has so much detail that it will take several visits to fully appreciate.
Real Alcazar
From the Plaza we walked to
Real Alcazar, which is a Moorish Royal Palace and another must see destination. We had bought tickets ahead of time so that saved us some time entering. The palace is beautiful with so much detail and multiple rooms to see. Here is just a sample of the rooms you will see inside the palace.
More to eat
We then stopped to get lunch at
Bodeguita Reyes Antonio Romero. It was one of the dining recommendations we got and it was well worth it. They have multiple locations, the one we visited is in between the Cathedral and the Plaza de Toros. We arrived around 1pm which is early for lunch and the place was empty, so I was afraid we were not on the right place. We had several tapas as well as montaditos (small sandwiches), they were all really good. We tried morcilla, piripi, chorizo, bacalao and their jamon serrano was one of the best we had in our trip.
Before heading back to our hotel we stopped by Amorino to get a treat. It is right across the Cathedral. We then headed to
Iglesia de El Salvador which is included with the Cathedral tickets. Unfortunately because it was Sunday, it is not open for visits, so we missed it, but be sure to check the schedule before heading there as it is a few blocks away.
