Seville Sights

  1. Iglesia del Cristo de la Expiración

    Triana has several diverse and important churches and chapels. Among the most important is the Iglesia del Cristo de la Expiración, which houses a much loved figure of the dead Christ, dating from 1682, that takes an honoured place in Seville's Semana Santa processions. The image is known as El Cachorro (The Puppy): sculptor Antonio Ruiz Gijón was reputedly inspired by the agonised body of a gitano singer of that name who had died in a fight in this street.

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  2. Isla Mágica Amusement Park

    The large Isla Mágica amusement park provides a sure-fire great day's fun for kids and all lovers of white-knuckle rides. It stands on the Isla de La Cartuja, a tongue of land lying between two branches of the Río Guadalquivir, 2km northwest of the cathedral. The theme is 16th-century Spanish colonial adventure, and highlight rides include El Jaguar, a roller coaster with high-speed 360° turns, and the Anaconda water roller coaster, which features vertiginous drops.

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  3. Judería

    Seville's medieval Judería, east of the cathedral and Alcázar, is today a tangle of quaint, winding streets and lovely plant-decked plazas perfumed with orange blossom. It's tourist central, but still a vital part of the city and one that's remarkably easy and pleasant to wander.

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  4. Museo Arqueológico

    On Plaza de América, at the southern end of the park, is Seville's Museo Arqueológico, whose big collection includes a room of gold jewellery from the mysterious Tartessos culture, and fine collections of Iberian animal sculptures and beautiful Roman mosaics.

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  5. Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares

    Facing the Museo Arqueológico is the Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares, with mock-up workshops of local crafts and some really beautiful old festival costumes.

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  6. Museo de Bellas Artes

    The Fine Arts Museum, housed in the beautiful former Convento de la Merced, is Andalucia's best art museum, with the 17th-century Sevillan masters Murillo, Zurbarán and Valdés Leal especially well represented.

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  7. Palacio de Don Pedro

    Whatever else Pedro I may have done, posterity owes him a big thank you for building this wonderful palace inside the Alcázar in the 1360s. His Muslim ally Mohammed V of Granada, the man responsible for the Alhambra's fabulous Palacio de los Leones, sent along many of his best artisans to help. These were joined by others from Toledo and Seville, and their work, drawing on the traditions of the Almohads and caliphal Córdoba, is a unique synthesis of Iberian Islamic art.

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  8. Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija

    The Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija, a block east of Calle Sierpes, is a 16th-century noble mansion remodelled in 1914 by Doña Regla Manjón, Countess of Lebrija - one of those lucky aristocratic travelling archaeologists. The countess filled the house with her rich collection of art and artisanry and treasures from her travels. There are plenty of remains from Roman Itálica, including a marvellous mosaic in the lovely central courtyard. Upstairs are Arabic, baroque and Spanish rooms.

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  9. Parque de María Luisa

    A large area south of the tobacco factory was transformed for Seville's 1929 international fair, the Exposición Iberoamericana, when architects spattered it with all sorts of fine, fancy and funny buildings, many of them harking back to Seville's eras of past glory or imitating the native styles of Spain's former colonies. In its midst, the large Parque de María Luisa, with 3500 magnificent trees, is a beautiful respite from the traffic and noise of the city.

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  10. Parroquia de Santa Ana

    The Parroquia de Santa Ana, dating from 1280, has a wealth of antique religious imagery. A strange tradition has it that every woman who kicks 'El Negro', a 16th-century tomb that has tiles depicting a recumbent knight, will find a husband. Poor El Negro has been protected by benches and other obstacles to prevent damage to this precious artwork, but women still want husbands and keep on kicking.

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  12. Parroquia del Divino Salvador

    The Plaza Salvador, which has a few popular bars, was once the forum of Roman Hispalis. It's dominated by the Parroquia del Salvador, a big baroque church built between 1674 and 1712 on the site of Muslim Ishbiliya's main mosque. Before the mosque, early Christian churches stood here, and before them, a Roman temple.

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  13. Patio del León

    The Patio del León was the garrison yard of the Al-Muwarak palace. Off here, the Sala de la Justicia (Hall of Justice), with beautiful Mudéjar plasterwork, was built in the 1340s by Alfonso XI, who disported here with his mistress Leonor de Guzmán.

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  14. Plaza de América

    On Plaza de América, at the southern end of Parque de María Luisa, is a large flock of white doves (they'll clamber all over you if you buy an around €2 bag of seed from vendors) and two interesting museums, the big Museo Arqueológico and the Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares.

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  15. Plaza de España

    Plaza de España, a rather isolated and relaxing spot with its fountains and mini-canals, faces the northeastern side of Parque de María Luisa across Avenida de Isabel la Católica. Curving round the plaza is the most grandiose of the 1929 Exposición buildings, a brick-and-tile confection featuring Seville tilework at its gaudiest, with a map and historical scene for each Spanish province - all designed by the leading Iberoamericana architect, Sevillan Aníbal González.

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  16. Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

    This may be your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the grand theatre of bullfighting at its highest level. Seville's bullring is among Spain's best, oldest and most elegant. If you decide to go, aim for the high-season (late July-early June) when the best matadors are working their craft.

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  17. Reserva Natural Castillo de las Guardas

    About 1000 animals from around the planet roam in semi-liberty & can be viewed from your own vehicle or the park's road-train. There are also bird-of-prey demonstrations. It's 58km northwest of Seville in the village of El Castillo de las Guardas, off the N433 towards Aracena.

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  18. Sacristía de los Cálices

    South of the Capilla Mayor are rooms containing many of the cathedral's art treasures. The westernmost of these is the Sacristía de los Cálices, where Goya's 1817 painting of the Seville martyrs Santas Justa y Rufina (potter sisters who died at the hands of the Romans in AD 287) hangs above the altar. A lion licks Rufina's feet, as reputedly happened when she was thrown to the said beasts during her travails.

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  19. Sacristía Mayor

    The large domed Sacristía Mayor is a Plateresque creation of 1528-47: the arch over its portal has carvings of 16th-century foods. The room's centrepiece is the Custodia de Juan de Arfe, a huge 475kg silver monstrance made in the 1580s by Renaissance metalsmith Juan de Arfe. In a glass case are the city keys handed to the conquering Fernando III in 1248.

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  20. Tomb of Christopher Columbus

    Inside the cathedral's southern door stands the Tomb of Christopher Columbus, an elaborate monument dating from 1902 with four sepulchre-bearers representing the four kingdoms of Spain at the time of Columbus' 1492 voyage: Castile, León, Aragón and Navarra. But are the bones within really those of the great explorer?

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  21. Torre del Oro Maritime Museum

    The 13th-century river-bank Islamic watchtower, which once crowned a corner of the city walls, supposedly had a dome covered in golden tiles, hence its name, 'Tower of Gold'. Inside is the small Torre del Oro Maritime Museum.

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