Seville Attractions

From Santa Catalina, Calle Gerona runs northwest to Seville's 15th century Palacio de las Dueñas, which has a beautiful Mudéjar-style patio.

On the north side of the Plaza Nueva is the narrow Calle de las Sierpes, Seville's main shopping street, now a pedestrian zone lined with shops, cafes and restaurants.

The Andalusia Contemporary Art Centre in Seville is located in the Cartuja de Santa María de las Cuevas Monastery. The collection includes works by 20th Century artists including Chillida, Ortega Muñoz, Saura, and Gustavo Torner to name a few.

The April Fair in Seville is a six-day secular festival, during which sevillanas are sung and danced in the streets.
The festival takes place beginning two weeks after Semana Santa and presents a good opportunity to see locals dressed in traditional costume.

South of the Cathedral in Seville is the Plaza del Triunfo, on the southwest side of which is the Casa Lonja, the former Exchange, a High Renaissance building by Juan de Herrera (1583-98). On the first floor, housed here since 1781, is the General Archive of the Indies, with many thousands of documents relating to the discovery and conquest of America and the Philippines, including autograph documents of Magellan, Pizarro and Cortés, Columbus's diary and plans of Spanish foundations in the New World.

East from the Seville Cathedral is Casa Murillo, a house which is believed to have been occupied by the painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

The Semana Santa celebrations in Seville are one of the most impressive festivals in Spain. Particularly striking are the processions of the brotherhoods (cofradías, hermandades) from the different quarters of the town, clad in penitents' garb and carrying richly decked figures of saints (pasos), and the main procession in the night before Good Friday and on Good Friday morning. The ceremonies in the Cathedral during Holy Week are of particular splendor.

Located in the north end of Seville is the area of La Macarena. This area is a working class district with numerous churches, offering visitors a glimpse of everyday life which is not as obvious in some of the more tourist oriented areas.

The University of Seville was founded in 1502 by the Catholic Majesties and was at that time the School of Santa María of Jesus. Today the university is comprised of 14 faculties, 46,000 students and maintains 2,300 professors.

On Calle de la Cuna in Seville, which runs north from the Plaza San Salvador, is the Palacio Lebrija, a good example of a Sevillian noble mansion, with a large staircase leading up to the entrance and an artesonado ceiling.

On the west side of the Town Hall in Seville lies the spacious palm-shaded Plaza Nueva, surrounded by banks and offices.
An equestrian statue stands in the middle of the plaza which is now a pedestrian only zone.

The Romería del Rocio, in Whit week, is one of the most celebrated pilgrimages in Spain, in which groups of pilgrims from Seville, Huelva, Cádiz, Jerez and other towns travel on horseback, on mules or in ox-carts to Almonte in Huelva province to pay honor to Nuestra Señora del Rocio in her azulejo-clad church in the presence of the Archbishop of Seville.

On the north side of the Seville Cathedral, reached through the Puerta del Sagrario (on left), is the Sagrario (1618-62), a handsome Baroque building, now serving as the parish church. It has a retablo with a "Descent from the Cross" by Pedro Roldán.

From the Plaza de Pilatos in Seville, Calle de Caballerizas runs northwest past the twin-towered Baroque church of San Ildefonso. Beyond this Calle de los Descalzos continues into the long Plaza del Cristo de Burgos, on the northwest side of which is the Gothic church of San Pedro (14th century), with a beautiful Mudéjar tower. Velázquez was baptized in this church.

In Calle Jovellanos Gallegos, off Calle de las Sierpes, is Seville's church of San Salvador, built in the 16th century and radically remodeled in Churrigueresque style at the end of the 18th century. It contains works by Montañés, including an "Ecce Homo", and a painting by Murillo.

A little way east of San Pedro is the church of Santa Catalina, with a tower which was originally the minaret of a mosque.

East of the Seville Cathedral is the church of Santa María la Blanca, which until 1391 was a synagogue. The dome has a painting of 1659.