Where's the party? In Seville even the dresses—candy-colored with big polka dots or flowers—reflect the fiesta atmosphere.
In National Geographic Traveler's May/June issue, writer Raphael Kadushin explores Seville, one of the historic capitals of Andalusia. The tapas, fiestas, and flower-filled patios may all be cliches, but they're authentic ones, true to a city that knows how to celebrate.
48 Hours in Seville
Text by Raphael Kadushin
Seven ways to celebrate this fiesta-mad Andalusian town.
What you notice first are the candy-colored flamenco and fiesta dresses hanging in Seville shop windows. Falling in tiers, splashed with polka dots bigger than poker chips, these aren't just the ultimate party dresses; they're a party in themselves. Seville follows suit: Metropol Parasol, a new urban landmark featuring a covered market and panoramic terraces, is due to open soon. And the revival of neighborhoods such as nightlife hot spot La Alameda in the west part of town means that Seville's long-running party may just be getting started.
1. Feel the Emotions of Flamenco "Flamenco dancing is a fusion of all of Seville's cultures and roots," says Kurt Grötsch, a curator at the year-old Flamenco Dance Museum. "Most authentic are the neighborhood peñas, flamenco social clubs," notes Grötsch. But, he says, "you can get some sense of that spirit at Casa Anselma [Calle Pagés del Corro 49]," run by a retired dancer. Another option: the Casa de la Memoria (Calle Ximénez de Enciso 28, in Santa Cruz), with short shows (tickets $17) most nights of the week. "The colors of the flamenco dresses are your guide to the four essential flamenco emotions," observes Grötsch. "Passion is red; happiness is yellow; sadness is black; and seduction can be almost any color."
2. Spend Time With the Spanish Masters The Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) has "one of the finest collections of baroque paintings in Spain," says Marìa Domìnguez, recently retired head of the museum's restoration department. On Sundays an art market sets up stalls in the leafy plaza fronting the museum, where you can pick up a reproduction El Greco at starving-artist prices.
3. Survey the City from a Blessed Height The one city landmark that's impossible to miss, and resist, is the Cathedral, which was started in 1402 on the site of a Moorish mosque. It grew to be one of the largest Gothic buildings in the world, and one of the tallest cathedrals in Spain. Climb the stone ramps of the Cathedral's Giralda tower, once the former mosque's minaret. From the top you can see out over the lush gardens of the Alcázar Palace and the maze of narrow Santa Cruz streets.
4. Explore an Authentic Neighborhood For a truer sense of Seville's soul, leave the medieval center and cross the Guadalquivir River to the barrio of Triana. "Triana used to be the home of flamenco, when I was growing up," says Tina Panadero, niece of one of the city's most celebrated flamenco dancers. The neighborhood's Gypsies have given way to more moneyed bohemians, but the quarter still retains a sense of its past. The best souvenirs of Seville can be found in Triana's ceramic workshops, where artisans paint brightly colored plates and tiles. At the sprawling Mercado de Triana, in Plaza del Altozano, vendors still sell chorizo, the daily catch of seafood, and the juiciest of Andalusian oranges.
5. Catch Fiesta Fever Seville comes most exuberantly into its own in April, when Easter Holy Week celebrations give way to the Féria de Abril—a marathon of carriages, costume parties, parades, dance, and bullfighting.
6. Take a Carriage Ride Through Spain "Now that I have my son, Fernando, I'm always in María Luisa Park," says English professor Mercedes Guinea. "You can rent a bike or take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the park, or a miniature carriage for kids, pulled by a donkey." The most popular carriage route runs through the park's grand Plaza de España, where colored tile panels represent 48 provinces of Spain.
7. Join the Tapas Crawl The tradition is to collect some friends and promenade from one tapas bar to the next, sampling the bite-size snacks that are the local signature dish. You can tailor your crawl to a neighborhood or style. Eslava (Calle Eslava 3-5), in the trendy La Alameda district, draws a fashionable crowd looking for new-wave tapas (courgette quiche or a sliver of sirloin crowned with sliced potatoes and Cabrales cheese). Traditionalists will prefer Cervecería Giralda (Calle Mateos Gago 1), in a former Moorish bath.
Fast Facts One of Andalusia's historic capitals, located 340 miles southwest of Madrid, Seville has benefited from successive waves of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian populations. Winters are generally mild; summers sultry. The historic center, anchored by the medieval Barrio de Santa Cruz, is easily walkable, but hail a cab for less visited neighborhoods.
Text by Mary Beth LaRue
Before you go to Seville, check out Traveler's picks for blogs, podcasts, magazines, and more.
Blogs
A Wandering Woman Writes from Spain
This 42-year-old American woman leaves her "nice fat VP job" in downtown Chicago for a two-month language course in Spain. The learning never truly ends as "wandering-woman" settles into a slower-paced life in Salamanca, Spain.
Let Flickr bring Seville to you. Photos tagged "Seville" are aggregated on this page—from cathedrals to locals to delicious dishes. Prepare to be inspired.
Podcasts
Download Scott and Sheryl's Seville podcast where they dish about life in La Macarena, take a walk through the Feria Market, and try Spanish foods.
Started in 2005 by English transplant and travel writer Ben Curtis, the "Notes from Spain" website is a gold mine of Spain podcasts. Choose from three categories: Notes from Spain, Cuisine from Spain, or Notes in Spanish.
Newspapers
Download Spain's most widely read newspaper in an English-language format through the International Herald Tribune's website or read it in Spanish on their website.
This Web-exclusive publication provides English-speaking residents and visitors with continually updated news, features, and information relating to living and traveling in Spain. Click on Andalusia to get news and features pertaining only to the Andalusian area.
Southern Spain's weekly newspaper includes a guide to weekly events and food and beverage news. Readers will find a wide selection of local topics—from news, current events, sports, and regular columns.
Magazines
Expatica Spain's website is a wealth of information for those traveling in Spain. Browse through Spanish news, events, a business directory or an expat blog. Meet expats through the discussion forums or events and "meetups." Spain isn't your only stop? Check out Expatica websites for Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Madrid's glossy mag, The Broadsheet, features articles on topics from hot art galleries to restaurants, as well as features on Spain's pollen factor and interesting expatriates.
Maps
National Geographic MapMachine
Use National Geographic's MapMachine to get a road, satellite, or physical map of Andalusian territory.
Download a variety of maps—monuments, city bus routes, the Seville province—then print or transfer to your iPod.
Books
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway (1926)
This classic American novel follows Jake Barnes, a World War I vet who works as a journalist in Paris, and Robert Cohn, a Jewish ex-boxer. Set in Pamplona and considered to be Hemingway's first significant novel, it depicts life for the "Lost Generation" after World War I.
The Seville Communion, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte (1998)
When a computer hacker breaks through Vatican security to send an urgent plea to the Pope, Father Lorenzo Quart investigates. The message concerns a 17th-century church in Seville. Though Reverte's elegant mystery thriller begins in the Vatican, it is mostly set against the backdrop of contemporary Seville's historic churches, neighborhoods, and orange-scented gardens.
Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia, by Chris Stewart (2001)
Whether it's scorpions, runaway sheep, or droughts, English sheep shearer Chris Stewart has his fair share of headaches after moving to an isolated farmhouse in the mountains outside of Granada, Spain. Publisher's Weekly wrote, "His hilly farm is a harsher place than Peter Mayle's Provence or Frances Mayes's Tuscany, and the local cuisine far less appetizing, yet his unfailing good humor and invincible optimism carry him past obstacles that would send most readers scurrying for home."
Movies
The Barber of Seville (1987)
Gioachino Rossini's world-famous comic opera is performed before a live audience in this film graced with the sounds of the Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra. French dramatist Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais explains the plot of The Barber of Seville in his foreword: ''An amorous old man intends to marry his ward on the following day; a young man who is more clever forestalls him, and on that very day, captures the girl in the guardian's house, right under his nose, and makes her his wife.''
Flamenco (1995)
Flamenco is Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura's tribute to the beauty and diversity of Spain's national dance. Filmed in an abandoned Sevillan train station, the film presents the 13 rhythms of flamenco.
Volver (2006)
Written and directed by Spanish film icon Pedro Almodóvar, the film follows Raimunda (Penelope Cruz), a mother in Madrid, who lost her parents years ago in a fire in La Mancha. After her aunt's death, Raimunda's sister Sole returns to the village for the funeral and finds that her aunt continues to speak to her departed mother after her death.
Abre los ojos (1997)
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar and remade by American director Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky, this film follows César, a successful and handsome young man in Madrid who becomes severely disfigured in an automobile crash. The surreal plotline also involves a company specializing in cryogenically preserved human beings.