Tuesday 27th February 2018
The forecast for the weather across Spain was not looking promising at all. Rain, rain and more rain!!! Today would probably be the last dry day in the region, so it was back to Seville Cathedral to explore this, and more, of this delightful city.
We made our way into the city the same as we had done yesterday, but rather than using the A7 motorway we went cross country.
The journey didn’t take much longer and a change of scenery can always be interesting. So, onto the A-483 out of the campsite, heading east on A-474 at Almonte.
The route took us around the edge of the National Park of Doñana and past a number of provincial towns; Hinojos, Pilas, Aznalcázar and Bullullos before heading south on A-8068 to our metro station.
From the metro stop at Puerto de Jerez we walked towards Park Maria Luisa. It is a public park, stretching along the Guadaquivir River. Most of the grounds were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 and were formerly the gardens of the Palace del San Telmo.
The park was the site of the Expo 29, which had the Plaza de España as its centrepiece. The exposition focused on Latin-American countries, particularly the larger ex-colonies in South America, with 23 countries taking part in total.
Each country built its own pavilion, which represented the architecture and culture of its country. The grandest and most impressive of these can still be seen. They include Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Peru, which can be found outside the perimeters of the park itself.
It is home to numerous pools and fountains, one of the most famous being the Fuente de los Leones, the Fountain of Lions.
It also serves as a botanical garden with many plant species, palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, elms and formal flower beds.
Towards the southern end of the park are two of the grandest pavilions, either side of the Plaza de América. This area is well known for the large population of white doves which make their home in the park. It is called Dove Park, or Parque de las Palomas.
The Pabellon de Bellas Artes, now the museum of archaeology.
The Pabellon Mudéjar, now the museum of popular arts and customs.
From here we made our way along the Avenida de la Palmera and Paseo de las Delicias taking in the Pabellon de Argentina, now a dance conservatory.
The Pabellon de Guatemala, part of the dance school.
The statue of Christopher Columbus.
The Costurero de la Reina, the Queen’s sewing box. It is the oldest building in Seville in the neomudéjar style and now houses the tourist information office on the ground floor.
The historical landmark, Fuente de Hernán Cortés.
Back along the Avenida de Maria Luisa and along the edge of the park, we passed other notable buildings.
Teatro Lope de Vega Sevilla. A Small baroque-style theatre, also built for the expo.
The Pabellon de Portugal, now the Portuguese consulate.
From here we made our way to the tram stop (Metro Centro) on Avenida Carlos V, Prado De San Sebastián. The service only has 5 stops and covers 1.4 km in the centre of the city. A ticket cost €1.20, a little on the expensive side for one journey but a fun experience.
Archivo de Indias was right outside Seville Cathedral, nearest to the entrance to the Cathedral on Avenida de la Constitución.
Seville Cathedral is also known as the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is possible to walk all around the exterior of the Cathedral and it is a most imposing and stunning building. Although it now has a Gothic appearance, two parts of the original mosque were preserved; The Moorish entrance and the Giralda Bell Tower.
Our only mistake was not purchasing a combined ticket for the Cathedral and the Bell Tower. Schoolboy error 😉
Nevertheless we were able to view from a distance the exterior of the tower, if not the wonderful views of the city from the top!
Here are some of our highlights.
After leaving the Cathedral via the Patio de los Naranjos, part of the old Almohad mosque we made our way through the narrow alleyways to enjoy a spot of lunch. A selection of tapas and a delightful, fresh, light Huelva white wine to wash it down.
From here we did make our way to the controversial Metropol Parasol, locally known as the Las Setas, the mushrooms.
Unfortunately we didn’t take any photographs, as neither of us were particularly enamoured with the iconic landmark. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, which is obviously why this modern piece of architecture has caused so much public controversy.
It is organised on 4 levels. Level 0, which is underground, houses the Antiquarium, which we didn’t realise we had tickets for (included in our entrance ticket to the Real Alcázar) where Roman and Moorish remains were discovered on site, when construction began on the project. Level 1 is an open air public plaza, where you can walk under the six wooden parasols and Levels 2/3 are the stages of the panoramic terraces, where you can eat or enjoy the city views. On the day we visited this section wasn’t open.
Next we made our way towards the banks of the Guadalquivir River and Seville’s bullring, The Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballeríia de Sevilla.
The beautiful Baroque exterior of the bullring.
From here we crossed the main road to walk along the banks of the Guadalquivir towards our final stop for the day.
Torre de Oro – Tower of Gold
Before returning to the metro stop of Puerta de Jezez and heading for home.
Seville had certainly won a place in our hearts and we will be sure to revisit and enjoy more highlights of this fabulous friendly city.