Skip to content
Tim's Travel Tips
Plaza de España in Seville: the brick tower, tiled bridges and rowing boats on the canal

Tim's city guidesNo. 01Andalucía, España

Seville travel guide: best time to go, real prices and a 3-day plan

By Tim

Updated 12 min read

01Sevilla en 60 segundos

Seville in 60 seconds

Plan 3 to 4 days in April, May, October or November and budget about €120 a day. The airport bus is €6 and the Alcázar €15.50; July and August average 36 °C, so skip them if you can.

Ideal stay
3 to 4 days
Plus one for a Córdoba day trip
Best months
Apr-May, Oct-Nov
July and August average 36 °C
Daily budget
About €120
Mid-range, sharing a double
Airport to center
€6 bus, 35 min
Or a fixed €26 taxi by day
Tim's verdict
Seville is the Spain everyone pictures: orange trees, flamenco and €3 tapas. Come in spring or autumn, book the Alcázar ahead and, in summer, do nothing between 14:00 and 18:00.

02Cuándo ir

When to go to Seville

Spring and autumn are the sweet spot. Summer here is among the hottest in Europe, while winter is mild, quiet and a little rainy.

Aim for April, May, October or November, when average highs sit around 20 to 28 °C and you'll only see 4 to 6 rainy days a month. June and September work too, but highs climb past 30 °C. Winter is mild and quiet, with highs of 16 to 18 °C.

In July and August the average high is 36 °C, so sightsee before 13:00 and stay inside from 14:00 to 18:00. Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril are unforgettable, but if you want a room, book it months ahead.

  • Ideal
  • Shoulder
  • Too hot
  • Festival

October26.3 °C average high, 6.3 rainy days, ideal

Curve: average daily high. Blue bars: rainy days. Average daily high and rainy days per month at Seville Airport, 1991 to 2020 (AEMET).

03Qué ver

What to see: the big five and what they cost

Adult ticket prices for 2026. The two headliners, the Alcázar and the Cathedral, sit side by side, so do them on the same morning.

The old town is flat and walkable, so you can do all five on foot. Book your Alcázar time slot a few days ahead, especially in spring; it costs the same online as at the gate.

Save Plaza de España for before 9:00 or just before sunset, and go up Las Setas at sunset or later, since it's open until 1:00. Casa de Pilatos is the Alcázar's quieter cousin and it's free on Mondays if you book online. The Cathedral is free on Sundays from 17:00.

1Real Alcázar2Cathedral and the Giralda3Plaza de España4Metropol Parasol (Las Setas)5Casa de Pilatos
Old town Seville. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Real Alcázar

    Santa Cruz2 to 3 h

    A palace the Spanish royals still use, with a thousand years of Moorish courtyards, tilework and orange-scented gardens. Timed slots sell out in spring, so book a few days ahead; online costs the same as the gate.

    €15.50Skip the line

    Free Monday slot, book online

  2. Cathedral and the Giralda

    Centro75 min

    The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, with Columbus's tomb inside. The Giralda bell tower has 35 ramps instead of stairs, built so a rider on horseback could reach the top.

    €13 onlineSkip the line

    Free Sundays from 17:00

  3. Plaza de España

    Parque de María Luisa1 h

    Built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, with a tiled alcove for every Spanish province. Come before 9:00 for empty bridges, or just before sunset when the brick turns gold.

    Free

  4. Metropol Parasol (Las Setas)

    Encarnación1 h

    A giant wooden canopy with a winding rooftop walkway above the old town. Go for sunset: it stays open until 1:00.

    From €16Tickets

  5. Casa de Pilatos

    San Bartolomé1 h

    The Alcázar's quieter cousin: Mudéjar arches, tiled patios and Roman statues, usually with a fraction of the crowds.

    €12Tickets

    Free on Mondays, book online

04Trampas y timos

Tourist traps, local swaps and scams

Seville is safe, but its busiest corners are built to separate you from your euros. Here's what to skip and what to do instead.

The traps sit right around the Cathedral, the Alcázar and Santa Cruz. Skip the €45 horse-carriage loop, which spends much of its time in traffic, the tour-group flamenco dinners and the paella terraces facing the Cathedral. Each one has a better local swap below.

Around the Cathedral, also watch for the rosemary hand-off. Read how it works below before your first walk there.

  1. No.Skip

    Horse-carriage loop from the Cathedral

    €45 for 45 minutes, a lot of it spent in traffic.

    Sí.Do this instead

    Walk María Luisa park into Plaza de España

    Free, shaded and at its best in the last hour of light. It's a 20-minute walk from the Cathedral.

  2. No.Skip

    Dinner-and-flamenco packages

    A set menu and a short show in a room built for tour groups.

    Sí.Do this instead

    Casa de la Memoria, then Casa Anselma

    A one-hour show in an old courtyard for €24, then free-entry live flamenco in Triana from around midnight. Bring cash.

  3. No.Skip

    Paella facing the Cathedral

    Paella is from Valencia, and the photo-menu terraces on Avenida de la Constitución charge for the view.

    Sí.Do this instead

    Tapas at El Rinconcillo or Bodega Santa Cruz

    The city's oldest bar (open since 1670) and a stand-up local favorite, with tapas from about €3.

05Itinerarios

Seville itineraries: 24 hours, 3 days or a week

Pick the length of your trip. The old town is flat, so walking times are easy ones.

Seville runs late: lunch starts at 14:00, dinner after 21:00, and in summer the afternoon is for a siesta. The plans below follow that clock.

With an extra day, take the high-speed train to Córdoba, about 45 minutes away, with fares from €7. The Roman ruins of Itálica are 30 minutes away by bus for about €1.60, and the week plan adds day trips to Cádiz and Ronda.

One day: two palaces, a long tapas lunch and a rooftop sunset.

1day planned6 stops

  1. Un día

    Your day in Seville

    1. 09:30

      Real Alcázar

      Take the first timed slot, before the tour groups. Give the palace and gardens two hours.

      3 min walk to the CathedralAlcázar tickets

    2. 12:00

      Cathedral and the Giralda

      Walk the 35 ramps for the best view in town, then find Columbus's tomb on the way out.

      15 min walk to El Rinconcillo

    3. 14:00

      Lunch at El Rinconcillo

      Stand at the bar and order espinacas con garbanzos and a caña. Seville eats lunch from 14:00.

      8 min walk to Casa de Pilatos

    4. 16:00

      Casa de Pilatos, or a siesta

      In summer, go back to the hotel. Otherwise the tiled patios are rarely busy at this hour.

      25 min walk to Plaza de España

    5. 18:30

      Plaza de España

      The tiles glow in the late light and the bridges finally empty out.

      30 min walk to Las Setas

    6. Sunset

      Las Setas, then tapas in Alfalfa

      Watch the sun drop behind the Giralda from the rooftop walkway, then bar-hop through Alfalfa until late.

06Dónde dormir

Where to stay: 3 neighborhoods

All three are walkable to the big sights. Rates are typical for a double room in spring and autumn.

Santa Cruz puts you right next to the Alcázar and the Cathedral, which is why first-timers pick it. Rooms start at €150 a night, they're small, and the best ones book up first.

For better value, cross the river to Triana, with its market and flamenco bars, 15 minutes' walk from the Cathedral. Or stay on the Alameda de Hércules, where young Sevillanos fill the bars and rooms run €70 to €110. For Semana Santa and the Feria, book months ahead.

  • Whitewashed lane in Santa Cruz with bougainvillea and orange trees, the Giralda behind
    Splurge

    First-timers

    Santa Cruz

    Whitewashed lanes next to the Alcázar and the Cathedral. You'll walk everywhere, but rooms are small and the best ones book up first.

    €150+ a night

    See hotels
  • Colorful houses of Triana reflected in the river beside the Isabel II bridge
    Mid-range

    Food and flamenco

    Triana

    Across the river, with the market, tile workshops and late-night flamenco bars. The Cathedral is a 15-minute walk.

    €100-150 a night

    See hotels
  • Café terraces under the Roman columns of the Alameda de Hércules at dusk
    Budget

    Nightlife on a budget

    Alameda de Hércules

    A long plaza lined with bars where young Sevillanos hang out, and the best-value rooms inside the old town.

    €70-110 a night

    See hotels

07Cuánto cuesta

What things actually cost in Seville

Everyday prices from bars, taxis and hotels, checked in October 2026. Switch the currency to see them in dollars or pounds.

Seville isn't expensive by Western European standards, and Andalusia has no tourist tax as of 2026. A mid-range traveler spends about €120 a day sharing a double room, and a caña at a local bar costs €1.50 to €2.

You can pay by card almost everywhere, even on the €6 airport bus. Still, carry about €50 in cash for the old tapas bars and places like Casa Anselma that only take cash. Tips are small: €1 to €2 in bars and 5 to 10% at sit-down meals.

Tim's Travel Tips

Seville, España. Checked Oct 2026

Typical prices in Seville
ItemPrice (EUR)
Café con leche€1.60
CañaSmall draft beer€1.50-2
Tapa at a local bar€2-5
Menú del día3 courses at lunch€12-15
15-minute taxi€7-10
Airport bus (EA)€8 return€6
Airport taxiFixed fare, €29 nights and weekends€26-29
Mid-range double roomPer night€100-150
Mid-range day, sharing a double~€120

Prices in euros, the local currency

08Cinco frases

5 Spanish phrases you'll actually use

Tap a phrase to hear it. Sevillanos are warm, and a little Spanish goes a long way.

People here talk fast and often drop the "s" at the end of words, so "¡Buenas!" can come out more like "buena". You don't need to sound local: a greeting when you walk into a bar or shop, plus "¿Me cobras?" when you want the bill, covers most of your day.

09Antes de ir

Before you go: your Seville checklist

Tick things off as you plan. Your progress is saved on this device.

Book the Alcázar a few days ahead and reserve your flamenco show early, because small venues sell out on weekends. Pack something that covers your shoulders, since the Cathedral can turn you away without it.

If you're not an EU citizen, expect a face and fingerprint scan at the border under the EU Entry/Exit System instead of a passport stamp. Don't pay any site for a €20 ETIAS travel authorization: it hasn't launched yet, so those sites are scams.

Boarding pass / Tarjeta de embarque

Seville prep checklist

Papers and money

  • Compare plans

Phone and power

  • Spain eSIMs

Bookings

DoSí, claro

  • Say "¡Buenas!" when you walk into a bar or shop
  • Eat lunch from 14:00 and dinner after 21:00
  • Order tapas a couple at a time, standing at the bar
  • Drink the tap water; it's perfectly safe
  • Leave €1 to €2 in bars and 5 to 10% at sit-down meals
  • Cover your shoulders and take off your hat in churches

Don'tMejor no

  • Take the rosemary sprig, however friendly the hand-off
  • Sightsee between 14:00 and 18:00 in July and August
  • Expect small shops to be open between 14:00 and 17:00
  • Drive into the center: the lanes are tiny and the bus corridors have cameras
  • Order paella on the terraces facing the Cathedral
  • Pay through a QR code that's stuck onto a menu

10Preguntas frecuentes

Seville FAQ

01

How many days do you need in Seville?

Three to four days covers the Alcázar, the Cathedral, Plaza de España, Triana and a flamenco night without rushing. Add a fifth day for Córdoba, about 45 minutes away by high-speed train.

02

What is the best time to visit Seville?

April, May, October and November. Average highs run from about 20 to 28 °C and rain is light. July and August average 36 °C, so avoid them unless you love heat.

03

How do you get from Seville airport to the city center?

The EA airport bus costs €6 one way or €8 return, takes about 35 minutes and runs every 12 to 20 minutes during the day; you can tap a contactless card on board. A taxi is a fixed €26 on weekdays from 07:00 to 21:00, and €29 at night, on weekends and on holidays.

04

Do you need to book the Real Alcázar in advance?

Yes. Timed tickets cost €15.50 and often sell out days ahead in spring and autumn. The price is the same online and at the gate, and the free Monday slot has to be booked online too.

05

Is Seville expensive?

Not by Western European standards. A caña costs €1.50 to €2, a tapa €2 to €5 and a three-course menú del día €12 to €15. A mid-range traveler spends about €120 a day when sharing a double room.

06

When are Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril in 2027?

Semana Santa runs from Palm Sunday, 21 March, to Easter Sunday, 28 March 2027. The Feria de Abril runs from 13 to 18 April 2027 and starts with the Lunes de Pescaíto on 12 April.

07

Is there a tourist tax in Seville?

No. As of 2026 Andalusia has no tourist tax, so your hotel bill won't include a per-night city charge.

Free download

Get the Spain guide and every Seville spot on Google Maps

  • A printable Spain guide with costs, phrases and the scams to know
  • Every spot from this guide, saved as one Google Maps list
  • Updated when prices change, so your copy never goes stale

Free. One email with both links, then Tim's best tips once a week.

11Notas de viaje

Visited recently? Drop a price or tip update

Prices and opening hours change every season. Tell the next traveller what you found in Seville.

Add your update

What kind of update?
0/280
  1. Visited Oct 2026Price update

    The Alcázar was still €15.50 online. We booked two days ahead for a Saturday and the 10:00 slot was already gone.

    Marta, Rotterdam
  2. Visited Sep 2026Heads-up

    Got the rosemary move right outside the Cathedral exit. Hands in pockets, kept walking, and she gave up after a few steps.

    James, Leeds
  3. Visited Sep 2026Tip

    Casa Anselma was packed by 23:30 on a Friday. Get there before 23:00 if you want to see anything, and bring cash.

    Ana, Lisbon
  4. Visited Aug 2026Tip

    41 °C at 17:00 in August. We did the Alcázar at 9:30, slept from 14:00 to 18:00 and had the best nights of the trip.

    Kenji, Osaka