Sevilla

Sevilla,Plaza Triunfo, Giralda and Cathedral

Sevilla, the capital of Andalusia, founded approximately 2,200 years ago, conquered by the Romans, the Moors, the Visigoths, each different culture leaving clear layers of their unique personality embedded in this beautiful city.

Sevilla was the birthplace of two Roman emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, it became the first seat of a cora under the Caliphate of Cordoba, in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). It was the capital of the short lived kingdom Taifa of Seville, then part of the Christian kingdom of Castile.

It sits on the baks of the river Guadalquivir and features three Unesco World Heritage sites:
the Alcazar, the Cathedral and the Archivo de Indias.

We visited the city on our way to a wonderful wedding in Jerez de La Frontera, in May 2012. Our visit became a stop in a larger 10 days tour of Andalusia. We had an amazing time, perfect weather (it gets really hot after May), great food, music and awesome sight seeing.

The city was in full bloom, purple jacaranda and orange trees every where.
We stayed at the Hotel Alfonso XIII, steps away from all the major historical attractions and the cafe’s of the old jewish quarter.

The Cathedral of Sevilla was completed in early 16th century.
It’s the largest Gothic cathedral and third largest church in the word.
The church hosts the burial site of Chrstopher Columbus.
The clock tower, the Giralda, used to be a muslim minaret, started in 1184 by architect Ahmad Ben Baso.

Right in front of the cathedral, sits the Archivo General de Indias, a beautiful palace containing the archival of historical documents, illustrating the history of the Spanish Empire, from the first Conquistadores to the end of 19th century. One of the highlights of the Archivo is Christopher Columbus journal.

Sevilla, Archivos General de Indias and Cathedral

We had a great dinner with a bunch of friends at the restaurant Infanta. Food was delicious and the atmosphere very friendly.

One thing you should not miss is a flamenco show, consult this great site Sevilla Flamenco to find out the best shows, events and bars where flamenco is performed.

For more information on Sevilla, please see the other posts on this site:

The Hotel Alfonso XIII (post coming soon)
The Alcazar
The Plaza De Espana