The time this year came again, and my good friend Paulo and I were ready for our yearly escape during springtime. Well, it turned out that Sevilla is more a summer escape already in May, the temperatures reach easily around 40 degrees celsius in the afternoon! That’s why I wouldn’t reccommend to you guys to plan a superquick citytrip here, you won’t be able to do much outside between 2pm and 6pm, you totally should take some extra 2-3 days instead.

This is where enjoying Sevilla really starts: stop rushing yourself. Take a break like the locals, enjoy a peaceful siesta or keep yourself busy in the shade. We were lucky enough to have an amazing apartment located in the middle of the historical centre, that included a huge terrace overlooking the roofs and the blue sky. We adjusted our lunchtime pretty much to the hispanic way of life, that means late lunch, exactly around that time of the day where you should hang out for a while.

It wasn’t my first time in the Andalucia region, but I really felt that Sevilla offers much more a traditional vibe than it’s bigger pendant Malaga, for example. It started, as I said, with the way of living, like the late night tapas and wine, breathing in the feeling of “togetherness”, speaking of social life at the tables, and ended with the amazing architecture everywhere.

We decided to hit first the famous Plaça de España. I fell in love with the andalusian art of ceramics quite a while ago already, but standing here took it totally to another level. The imposant, half circled building is far one of the most detailled places I’ve seen, the marbles and ceramics are just amazing! By strolling around, you will notice that 48 Spanish regions and islands are symbolized here, some of them with mosaics as well, you basically won’t have an idea of what to photograph first. The baroquesque athmosphere and the andiecent park will take you maybe a whole morning to explore, but it’s totally worth it and you won’t be disappointed.

Another great experience was our visit at the Palace of the Countess of Lebrija: this two stories mansion is huge and one of the most visited in town. The ornaments, mosaics and ceramics are impressive as the ones above, just wrapped in more privacy. Wandering around the different rooms, you’ll discover various historical furnitures, jewelry and a supersweet patio. The most impressive part of this house for me was the huge mosaic located in the middle of the entrance hall: believe it or not it was taken there directly from Rome!

While being in Sevilla, we couldn’t miss a Flamenco show. Even if I don’t really practice these kind of dances (too romantic? :D), I always was blown away by tango and flamenco performances – to me, these are two of the most passionate art to dance and sing. You’ll find places offering flamenco shows almost everywhere, and you might be a bit overwhelmed by that. We were lucky enough to have an amazing host, who reccommended to book our show at Casa de la Memoria, which offers different shows, very authentic ones, accessible for the public. As we figured out, it’s quite hard especially for a tourist, to get into a genuine flamenco performance, since the circles are very closed and everything is kept private. We were amazed by the performance, just try to purchase your ticket around 2 days before the show, the space is very limited and every night (usually 2 shows) is sold out.

The biggest contrast in the building, architectonically speaking, was walking over the Metropol Parasol, located on Plaça de la Encarnacion. This giant, mushroom looking wooden thing, was installed by 2011 and is an award winning construction. Bringing some shade during the day, and awesome views around sunset (always try to go there around sunset!), this place includes some tapas bar and shops on the ground floor, but be aware that not everyone of them is open. Have a walk up there before going out for dinner, you will have an unbeatable 360 degrees view of the city!

Practical Infos

Where to stay: Barbara’s Airbnb apartment was the most amazing thing! I rarely had such a well equipped kitchen. This place is also a mini art gallery that shows different pieces of local artists and definetly has a 70s vibe. The rooftop terrace is as huge as the flat itself, and I can totally say that I was heartbroken to leave it. Exploring the city was very easy by walk from there, so go for it! You can book the apartment here.

Where to eat: you’ll find tapas bar at every second step you take, and unfortunately not everyone of them is good. Speaking about my own experiences here… I was totally in love with this place called the room art cuisine, which offers a great fusion between some Spanish, Southamerican and Asian dishes. Everything here is pretty laid back and I would also reccommend it for a glass of wine at night.

Getting around: as I told you, I walked. A lot. Trying to avoid the heat of course. It’s the best thing for enjoying the small streets of the historical part of town and make some stops in between for a shoot or a drink. Taxis are very affordable if you plan to visit the little farer located Plaça de España, it will bring you on the other side of the river in a couple of minutes.

Shopping: The street behind the Metropol Parasol, Calle Regina, is a real gem for vintage lovers. You’ll also find some shops that sell some oriental looking articles for your home. I obviously spent the most time in there trying to calculate how much weight I have left in my luggage before hitting overweight 😉

Happy travels ❤