Hi all
Got back from a wonderful stay in Seville on 7th October. What a fantastic city.
While we were there the weather was very hot 32-35 degrees and not a cloud in the sky for the entire stay.
Plenty of lovely places to see and the food and drink wonderful!
River trip very good, 14 Euro each for about a one hour trip.
Horse and carriage trip around the city very good way to see all the sites that you can then re visit on foot, 30 Euro. Giralda tower 33 floors high worth the effort for the view from the bell tower. Loved the Santa Cruz area really buzzing.
We stayed in the Becquer Hotel and could not fault it and it has what we considered to be the best Tapas bar that we tried called La Leyenda.
If anyone has any questions they would like to ask about Seville I will try to answer them.
TF

Glad you had a good time duck! It's a lovely place and we're planning on going back at some point.

Glad you enjoyed Seville, it is a lovely place and a good weekend destination now that Ryanair are flying in from Stansted.

We thought the Santa Cruz area was wonderful in the evenings and had a fantastic paella. Earlier in the day I'd overheard a spanish lady telling someone that it was famous for it's paellas.

Apologies for this but I posted in Airport transfers with result of one reply.

First anyone got any ideas on cost of taxis from Seville airport to the town centre?

Second, anyone got any tips etc for whilst we are there(going for long weekend)

third, I have heard that they aren't very english language orientated. Doesn't bother me as we prefer the local ways but I may need to polish my spanish a bit. Is this right?

thenks in advance

Bill

I think Seville is one of the most outstanding cities in Europe.

Our taxi from the city center to the airport was some EUR 20+. However, there was no cash receipt and the driver informed me to pretend to be a friend if police would stop us.

What to do in Seville? I think you'll need at least a week to see everything.

Cathedral, Hiralda, Pilates House, Guadalquivir, Ramon Sanchez Pisjuan, Plaza De Espagna, Barrio Santa Cruz (our hotel was there)...Los Venerables - there I heard Guantanamera sung in a way that would make Jose Fernandez Diaz feel envy.

http://www.andalucia.com
http://www.sevillainfo.com
http://www.exploreseville.com
http://www.ole-andalucia.org/why-sevilla.php

A couple of hours after you're there you start asking questions how have you spent so many years without getting there and start planning how to stay there longer, or come back as soon as possible.

Seville is my favourite place in Spain and may be in Europe.

I agree with Zaro, Seville is a beautiful city and I'm surprised it's not more widely recognised as a week-end break.

It is as spanish as you can get and so English isn't widely spoken, although they are used to English speaking tourists so usually hotels have someone who speaks English on reception and most restaurants have an English version of the menu - that's the basics covered but I would take a phrase book with you just to be on the safe side!

If you want to visit the Cathedral, its worth knowing that entrance is free on Sundays only, I think it's 7.50€ at other times.

The Alcazares is beautiful and in my opinion worth a visit, it's so peaceful that it's hard to imagine you're in a city centre.

You don't say when you're going but be aware that Seville is noted for it's climate -it's one of the hottest cities in Spain, it was over 30 c when I was there a month ago! Also the spanish are night owls. They don't go out in the evening much before 10 pm but bars will stay open well into the early hours - There still be lots of activity at 3am and it's cooler!

Have a great weekend, you're sure to want to go back!

Jan400 and Zaro.

Thanks for your replies. We are actually going the first weekend in August!!!! Got a very good deal on BA

We are aware that the temp and humidity etc will be very high then, but it was the same when we went to Venice last year. Went out very really in the morning, back to the hotel for a siesta(made sure the hotel has A/C) and then back out for the evening.

Again thank you both, and its down to the shop tomorrow for a phrase book, as when I was at school we did Spanish rather than French but very old and rusty now.

Bill

Bill, you know what they say about mad dogs and Englishmen - we were there in August last year!!

In that case I'd recommend the horse and carraige ride as a leisurely way to familiarise yourself with the sights - it's so hard to pound the pavements in the heat,

Seville is wonderful after dark when it's a little cooler - and of course the beer is always very cold and the bars plentiful!!

Seville is a beautiful city and I'm surprised it's not more widely recognised as a week-end break.

I think that this makes the experience more realistic.

Please be aware - as anywhere else in the world - that Seville has a very bad reputation for car theft - don't leave anthing of value in your car which may be on show.
We have had a couple of visitors recently who went to Seville and both were robbed from their car - after being warned - both broken windows for nothing more than a coat and an empty bag but were both on show.
It could have happened in Malaga or Nerja but we have heard more in Seville than anywhere else.

@ Narial

This happens everywhere in the world, unfortunately.

What do you suggest, staying home or going to the most sterile place of the world or travelling and taking reasonable actions to avoid such unpleasant events?

Thefts and picpockets are where tourists are. So ... watch your back and enjoy the trip.

Seville does seem to have a problem at the moment, maybe they need to follow Malagas lead and have very high sentences when they catch people.
A few weeks ago some friends of mine were driving out of Seville and were slowing down coming up to some lights, a motorbike came alongside and the driver threw a rock through the window and the passenger grabbed the bag on the lap of car passenger, the car was still moving!
Needless to say they got away with the bag and my friends sister got a nasty shock and a very big bruise on her arm.
I suppose the lesson is to keep bags out of view (behind your feet?) even when in the car and never leave anything on display when you park.

we are not taking a car so thats one less problem. Theresa won't need to carry a bag with anything of value in (if they want to steal her used tissues good luck to them)

we aware of theft problems wherever you go. Keep only what money we need for our time out of the hotel, and that stays in my front pocket.

Bill

Just back from our long weekend in Seville. What a disappointment. We are very open in our attitudes to places we visit. We have been to many places where things are not what we would like "back home", but as they say..when in Rome etc.

Greece, France , Egypt, Holland, USA,Italy etc have all had something which we adjusted to whilst there.

But Seville? I could not believe the scruffiness, graffiti. dog feaces(spelling?) that greeted us. The people were surly to the point of rudeness, even though I made a point of using Spanish as much as possible.

I cannot remember a holiday that we have been on, home or abroad, that when we returned we couldn't wait to revisit. Well, Seville is the first!

Now I remember why I don't holiday in Spain, I should have given up after Barcelona in 1995.

And before I get flak from fans of Spain, please don't bother. You are welcome to it.

Are there two Sevilles?

Probably yes

We are travelling to Seville at the end of October and would like to know what the weather is normally like at this time, also, is it safe to go out in the evenings as we have two children who are fussy eaters and may need to find the fast food places(we are staying in Avenida Eduardo -so it is quite a walk into the city).
We were hoping to visit Isla Magica for a day, is it busy at this time of year?

Thanks in advance for any help

Guest, the weather at that time of year should still be very warm but hopefully not as oppressive as in summer.

I'm not sure about fast food places, it is very spanish, but there again the spanish are not isolated from the rest of the world and spanish friends tell me that the spanish do like their MacDonalds!!

I've always felt very safe walking about at night but I would take the same precautions as I would anywhere else.

Bear in mind that 10 o'clock is early in Spain so the streets will be busy until the early hours.

Thanks for that, maybe if we can't find a McDonalds, the children will have no choice but to eat Spanish food - we can but hope!! We've been to other parts of Spain but they're not usually very willing.

I have read reports about not wearing shorts, or certain trainers etc to hide the fact that you're a tourist, however, I know that the map in my hand will kinda give me away! So I'm glad to hear you have always felt safe. We have wanted to visit Seville for many years so we are looking forward to going, we have been to Barcelona, Girona, Paris so we know you have to be careful in the citiies but it's nice to be able to relax a little when you're away.

Does anyone have any comments on Isla Magica?