We spent nearly a week in Seville at the end of May and June.  It’s such a beautiful city and really easy to get around.  Here are some ideas on what to do when if you go with a child. Mademoiselle was 9 at the time.

Day 1

• Arrival at the hotel.  Read my review
• Taxi from the airport is a set price of 30 Euros plus luggage cost
• Diner at Torre y Garcia: really good pizza for children and great dishes for adults.  Modern Spanish food. I had a delicious gazpacho with sweet mozzarella iced ball and a red fruits soup with a lime and basil sorbet. Very fresh and summer flavours
• Walk around the Corrida theatre and the banks of the Guadalquivir

Day 2

Go to Iglesia de Salvador to get a combined ticket to that church and the Cathedral.  It will save you hours of queuing at said Cathedral to get your ticket for it.

• Walk around the neighbourhood of Iglesia de Salvador.  There are a lot of shopping streets, which are good to note for later
• Lunch at Papirusa restaurante with nice fresh classic and modern tapas
• Visit of the cathedral.  It’s really worth going up the Giralda. Mademoiselle was scared at the thought but actually the climb is very easy and once up there she absolutely adored the views and was so proud she went so high.
• Walk around the cathedral to really admire its size and the different wonderful doors including a very Mauresque one. It really gives you a good idea of the various cultural and historical influences of the city.
• Back to the hotel and relaxation on the rooftop with its pool and bar
• Diner at Barbiana: a classic Spanish restaurant with good seafood and fish. The staff didn’t speak much English so I had to freshen up my Spanish pretty fast!

Day 3

Alcazar: REALLY recommend to book online a few weeks or months in advance.  Make sure to buy the ticket with the visit of the apartments.  

This is absolutely fabulous: they only let about 12 people in at a time which means a very privileged visit.  The apartments are still the royal residence when they come into town. Splendid rooms and the audio guide was really well done for children. Mademoiselle really enjoyed it.  This is also a great introduction to all the history of the Alcazar.

• Even with a reservation, do come 30 to 45 minutes early as even the “reserved” line is busy with groups of tourists.
• You can spend the whole day at the Alcazar as there is so much to see. And the gardens are a real oasis of freshness, beauty and calm.  I wish they sold tickets to the gardens only as I would have been back every day.
• We actually had lunch there in the cafeteria.  Basic food but a nice glass of rosé and a place outside while admiring the garden made this pit stop a really nice moment.
• Continue visit after lunch, as I said, there is much to see!
• Back at the hotel to relax
• Diner at the tapas bar of the grand Alfonso XIII hotel. It was fine for the view to the square but it’s expensive for what you get.  The gastronomic restaurant might be more of a special treat.

Day 4

• Parque Maria Luisa and the Expo 1929 buildings. Again a park where you could spend more time during the day.
• Walk across the river to the Bario de Triana.
• The Betis street is a nice short walk and gives a good view of the Guadalquivir and the old city across.

There is also a food market which is a) air conditioned (really handy when it’s 35 degrees celsius) and b) has several food stalls where you could have a quick lunch.  

• After a bit of a walk around we went back to the hotel pool
• Diner at the hotel that night was not what we liked so I wouldn’t recommend it.

Day 5

• Metropol Parasol : a wooden structure that looks like big mushrooms.  You have a great view of the city from the top (the ticket comes with free drinks too!) and it’s interesting to see a more “modern” take on the city although we were not convinced.
• Nearby though we discovered la Casa de Pilatos, which is a typical andalusian palace.  The mixture of renaissance italian and mudejar spanish styles and the wonderful gardens really make it a special place

Lunch at Taberna Coloniales San Pedro: initially the outside tables attracted us but we were unsure whether the food will be OK.  Turns out that all the locals were inside and the food was really good!

• Back to the hotel for relaxing by the pool
• Diner at a place I can’t remember and had nothing special
• Walk by night around the old town

Day 6

• Exploring the Barrio Triana further. We tried to walk all the way towards the site of Expo 1992 but it’s actually closed for refurbishment
• The barrio and its streets was really nice and interesting and gives a much real view of the life in Seville
• We then went back to the hotel for a lunch on the rooftop by the pool. This was delicious so that’s the thing to do!
• Departure for the airport