Tours in Sevilla

Seville is 80 kilometres from the sea and still built its wealth on ships. Everything arriving from the Americas was registered here for two centuries. That money paid for what you walk through now.

Three buildings and a square

The cathedral, the royal palace and the trade archive stand in one block, and all three carry UNESCO listing. You can see the outside of them in an hour. Inside is another day.

• The cathedral. The largest Gothic church in the world by volume, with Columbus in a tomb held up by four bearers.
• The Giralda. Its bell tower, and before that a minaret finished in 1198. Ramps instead of stairs, built so a rider could go up.
• The Real Alcázar. A working royal palace, Mudéjar work above Gothic, with gardens that take longer than the rooms.
• Plaza de España. A half-circle of brick and tile built for the 1929 exposition, with a canal and rowing boats.
• Las Setas. A timber lattice over the Encarnación market, finished in 2011, with Roman ruins in the basement.

Across the river

Triana sits on the far bank and thinks of itself as separate. It made the tiles that cover half the city. Food tours start at its market, built over an old castle.

Flamenco here comes in two forms, and they are not the same evening. A tablao is a show with a ticket. A peña is a members' club where things begin late and nobody explains anything.

Roman ground and rented kingdoms

Itálica lies nine kilometres north, founded in 206 BC and the home town of the emperor Trajan. Its amphitheatre held 25,000. Television used it as the dragon pit and the Alcázar as Dorne, which brings its own visitors.

Practical

• The heat is the main fact. July and August routinely pass 40C. Sightseeing happens before noon and after seven, and the middle of the day is spent indoors.
• Two weeks to plan around. Semana Santa and the April Fair fill every bed and close streets to traffic. Prices roughly double.
• Alcázar tickets. Timed entry, and sold out days ahead in spring.
• Getting around. The centre is walked. The city also runs a bike-share scheme on flat lanes, which is rarer in Spain than it sounds.
• Cooking classes. Most teach paella, sangria and tapas together, which is a tourist menu rather than a Sevillian one. The Triana market tours are the more local half of the trade.
• Prices. A tapa is three to four euros standing at the bar, a sit-down dinner around twenty-five.
• Orange trees. The fruit on every street is bitter and goes to marmalade. Do not bother.