Santa Cruz
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Landmark grandeur: Seville's famous 1929 grand hotel, with a colonnaded courtyard restaurant and an outdoor pool.
Seville guide
Four days in Seville: an itinerary
Four days in Andalusia's capital, planned around you.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
The Cathedral and the Giralda, Triana’s market with a chef, flamenco at night, the city’s great painters, and a last day in Córdoba or at an easier pace. Treat it as a starting point for a private, tailor-made stay in Seville, planned by Avelia from Málaga; every part of it can change.
Highlights
Three moments of the four days
The Mezquita, for a day
Córdoba's forest of double arches, forty minutes away by high-speed train.
Flamenco at night
A performance at Casa de la Memoria, or a private evening at Casa de Pilatos on request.
Dinner above the river
María Trifulca, at the Triana end of the Isabel II bridge, as the city lights up.
Days 1–4
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival, and the hotel itself
Morning
A private transfer from the airport or Santa Justa station, arranged before you travel, and check-in. At Hotel Alfonso XIII the building is the first sight: neo-Mudéjar halls of brick, carved wood and painted tiles around a courtyard with a fountain at its centre.
Day 2
The Cathedral, Triana and flamenco
Morning
The Cathedral and the Giralda
UNESCO calls Seville Cathedral the largest Gothic building in Europe, and the visit begins with its bell tower, the Giralda, climbed by ramps rather than stairs: they were made wide enough for a rider on horseback. Then a late brunch at El Pintón, a few minutes’ walk away on Calle Francos.
Afternoon
Triana's market, with a chef
Across the river, the Mercado de Triana stands on the remains of the Castillo de San Jorge. A local chef can take you round its stalls, from jamón ibérico to olive oil and sherry, and on to tapas nearby — arranged on request, subject to availability. Our Seville food and cuisine guide has more.
Evening
Flamenco
A performance at Casa de la Memoria, a flamenco cultural centre on Calle Cuna. For a private evening, the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli hosts private events at Casa de Pilatos, and a performance there can be requested, subject to availability. More on private flamenco in Seville.
Late
For a late dinner, Cañabota: fish and seafood, with one MICHELIN star.
Day 3
Art, courtyards and a slow afternoon
Morning
The Museo de Bellas Artes and Santa Cruz
The Museo de Bellas Artes, in the former convent of La Merced Calzada, holds Seville’s great painters — Murillo, Zurbarán, Valdés Leal — and is best seen with a private guide. Then Santa Cruz and its lesser-known courtyards, among the most photogenic corners of the city.
Afternoon
At the hotel
Back to the hotel for lunch and an hour by the pool. At Hotel Alfonso XIII, tapas on Ena Sevilla’s terrace, then the garden pool or a treatment in the wellness centre; at Mercer, the rooftop pool, and a massage in your room on request.
Evening
Dinner
El Disparate on the Alameda de Hércules, in the MICHELIN Guide, with a seasonal menu built on local and Andalusian produce, or María Trifulca, at the Triana end of the Isabel II bridge, by the river. Then a drink on a rooftop above the lit-up city.
Day 4
Córdoba, or Seville at leisure
A day in Córdoba
Renfe’s high-speed trains run to Córdoba from Santa Justa, or a chauffeured car takes you there. The Mezquita-Catedral, the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter, and lunch in the old town. Our Córdoba page has more.
Or
A slower day in Seville
A ceramics workshop in Triana, home to the city’s pottery tradition, or a wine and sherry tasting, both on request; the Parque de María Luisa and the Plaza de España by horse-drawn carriage; and a long last lunch.
Where you stay
Two hotels in the old town
From either, the old town is on foot. Hotel Alfonso XIII stands at the Puerta de Jerez, beside the Alcázar gardens and a few minutes from the Alcázar: the choice when the hotel is part of the point of the trip. Mercer Sevilla is the quieter house, with 12 rooms in El Arenal, between the Cathedral and the river.
El Arenal
Mercer Sevilla
An intimate five-star boutique hotel in a late 19th-century mansion in El Arenal, with a rooftop terrace and pool for guests.
Every hotel we recommend in Seville, by area and compared side by side, is on our where to stay in Seville page.
What the four days include
Plan this journeyYour proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
- Planned with you — by Ramin Jafari, who shapes the order, the pace and the days around you; every part can change.
- Your hotel — Hotel Alfonso XIII or Mercer Sevilla, both in the old town.
- Private transfers — from the airport or Santa Justa station on arrival, and a chauffeured car to Córdoba if you would rather not take the train.
- Private guides — at the Museo de Bellas Artes, and wherever else you would like one.
- Tables and tickets — the Cathedral and the Giralda, flamenco at Casa de la Memoria, and Cañabota, El Disparate or María Trifulca, reserved ahead.
- Experiences on request — a market visit with a chef in Triana, a private performance at Casa de Pilatos, a ceramics workshop and a sherry tasting, each arranged for your dates, subject to availability.
- Support while you travel — if a transfer is delayed or a booking changes, we coordinate with the partners involved and take you through the options.
Seville in a longer journey
Seville works as the start of a longer journey through Spain, or as its centrepiece. Wine country, the coast or the great buildings: we connect the regions around what you want to see. Four of our journeys stay here.
To add one or two places to a stay in Seville: the Duero Valley for vineyard stays and wine, Mallorca for the Mediterranean, boutique hotels and dining by the sea, or Granada for the Alhambra and Andalusia’s Moorish heritage.
The Charm of Andalusia
from $9,800 per person
The Grand Spanish Tour
from $27,200 per person
Luxury Spanish Honeymoon
from $16,800 per person
Spanish Family Adventure
from $9,400 per person
Seville guides
- Seville travel guide
When to go, where to stay, the food, the great sights and three days in the city.
- Things to do in Seville
The Alcázar, the Cathedral, tapas, flamenco, the river, and the horses of Jerez.
- Seville food and cuisine
Seville's table, where to eat, and the market, the ham and the sherry.
- Best time to visit Seville
Season by season and month by month, with the festivals and the heat to plan around.
Plan this journey
As it is set out here, or shaped around your dates, your pace and who is travelling. Tell us when you would like to go.
Plan this journey Our Seville page
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