Seville Spain is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South of Europe. Who would not love to visit this city, especially during winter? Seville is enlisted as one of the best places to live in Spain. The city is rich in culture and history. In the summer time your skin could get tanned, while in the winter you can get your daily dose of vitamin D which is hard to get in northern Europe. Similar to other cities in the Andalusia region, such as Cordoba, Granada, and Malaga, you will find the blend and grandeur of Moorish (Muslim) and Catholic influences during the ancient times in this city.

Seville is a city that you should not miss in your lifetime. Even if you may not visit it this year or the next year, Sevilla is worth it to be included in your bucketlists. For us, it was a very enriching experience to explore the city, even though we only had three days to do so. Given that we only got glimpse of what Seville has to offer, we are determined to come back to this city for another visit.

Why spend winter holidays in Seville Spain?

If you are looking for a place to escape Northern Europe during winter, Seville is a great choice. Being in the Southernmost of Europe, Seville is blessed with vast amount of sunshine and higher winter temperatures than Northern Europe. The average winter temperature is around 8-16 degrees Celsius. Below you will find some inspirations why you should come to Seville.

1. Seville Spain is a city of ancient monumental heritage.

The moment you enter Seville, you’ll be amazed with the historic architecture and designs of Seville dated from the ancient period. In fact, there are three UNESCO World heritage sites in Seville. These include the Seville Cathedral and Giralda, The Royal Alcazar, and the General Archive of the Indies. All these architectures stand the test of time and have been featured in many television shows and movies. These places should be the first in the lists in case you want to see the best of Seville. Of course, there are other beautiful yet underrated places in this city. But I guarantee that these underrated places are also worth a visit.

2. Seville Spain is the birthplace of artistic and cultural heritages.

Sevilla is rich in art and culture, that has been adopted throughout the world. Seville is the birth place of the famous flamenco dances. If you walk on public places such as the park or in Plaza de España Seville, you’ll find many flamenco dancers performing this traditional dance. The flamenco dancers perform in exchange for voluntary donations from both locals and tourists.

Bull fights are also popular in Seville. The fights are held every Sunday, except for the Holy week period. To watch the bullfights in Seville, you have to visit the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza. The entrance fee is 7 euros per adult or 3 euros for children aged 6-11 years old.

3. Seville is home to many delicious tapas and Spanish seafoods.

For people who travel to experience local food and delicacies, Spain is a perfect place to visit. This country is culturally rich in natural resources including agricultural crops and seafoods. You can eat many types of freshly caught fish and seafoods in restaurants, savour the well-known Spanish paellas or explore the local quisine via tapas, which offers small portions of any kind of Spanish cuisines. Alternatively, if you want to save a bit on your food expenses, you can also find many freshly caught seafoods and delicacies such as hams in the supermarkets.

4. Seville is a setting of Game of Thrones season 5.

Are you a fan of Game of Thrones (GOT) and are tracing its various settings in Europe? Seville is a place you should include in the lists! One of the three UNESCO heritage sites in Seville, the Real Alcazar, is the setting of Dorne in Game of Thrones. Dorne is ruled by the House of Martells and this has been showed in many scenes of GOT season 5. The Water Garden of Dornes is the prominent face of Seville in the series.

5. Seville is very close to the pristine sands and beautiful coasts of Portugal.

Seville Spain is very acessible from Faro, a town in the southernmost of Portugal. You can find in Faro some of the beautiful coasts and pristine sands of Portugal. Faro is along the coastline and is nearby Seville thus combining trips between these two cities are not a bad idea. If you plan to go to Faro during winter, check my blog about Faro Portugal: Spend winter holidays to discover reasons why it is a good choice to come during winter. For more information on which places to visit in Faro, especially for a one day trip, we also have a One day itinerary in Faro Portugal. From Faro, it takes two hours to drive to Seville. Driving along the coastal road gives you the breath taking view of the sea in Faro and of the dry, farmlands that stretch far away, which gives a feeling of being in the middle of nowhere in Seville. It is also possible to go to Seville by bus which only takes 2.5 hours. Bus companies such as ALSA and Eurolines have direct connection from Faro to Seville. If you are early in booking, it is possible to get a one-way ticket as low (or even lower than) 10 euros. Unfortunately there is no train connection between Faro-Seville.

6. Seville is also a city of modern architectures.

The ancient city of Seville is also blended with the modern architectures. You’ll find the cool designed Metropol Parasol, which is locally known as Las Setas (The Mushrooms). Before Metropol Parasol was constructed. this area was considered as an abandoned area used as a car parks. Now this place has been transformed into a modern sight, filled with cafeterias, bars, and food markets.

7. Seville is a kid-friendly city.

We travel as a family to Seville and we were surprised how kid-friendly the city is! There are many cool activities for kids. From simply bringing them in the park to enjoy playing with doves or with bubbles, to letting them walk in the streets and to let them explore the city. The famous Plaza de España Seville is the setting of a Star Wars Movie. Nearby the Plaza you can also find Maria Luisa Park, which is a huge play area filled with playground structures and nature activities for kids. Of course, there are also various playgrounds around the city in case you cannot visit outside the city center parks. The Seville Aquarium is also a fun activity for kids. Here you can find various sea animals such as turtles, fish, sea rays, and sharks. And finally, there is a theme park in Sevilla called Isla Magica. This theme park is filled with historical stuffs and rides for the whole family to experience. Definitely, you will never run out of things to do with the kids when in Sevilla. And most of them are for free! Indeed, nothing could take the experiences you give with the kids.

8. There are many accommodations that offer visitors to re-live the old lifestyles of people of Seville.

Many of the hostels and hotels in Sevilla are set-up in the old times. Some are filled with beautifully crafted tiles in the walls, others are with brightly color paints, and some have tropical plants such as palm trees in the garden. Staying in these accommodations gives an opportunity for visitors to experience the old culture and lifestyle of Seville – laid-back, friendly, and easy going. We stayed in the Bed & Breakfast Naranjo Seville, which is a perfect place for family. The room has two chambers which could fit up to 6 people! By simply staying in this Bed & Breakfast accommodation, we had a bit of impression of how people of Sevilla used to live in the old times.