Seville is Spain's 4th largest city with a population of some 710,000. It is a city with soaring summer temperatures which have approached 50 C on occasions during the last two summers so avoid July and August if possible.
There is nowhere else in Spain that complies so closely with the foreigner's perception of stereotypical Spain as Seville. For it is here that flamenco, bullfighting and fiesta are a way of life. Never more so than during the Feria de Abril (2 weeks after Easter Sunday) when everyone seems to hit the streets for a week long party.
There is plenty to see including the Cathedral which is now reckoned to be the world's largest church. There are steps from inside the Cathedral to the top of the 90m high Giralda which is the minaret of the former Mosque. The climb to the top provides some great views but stay at the bottom and buy the postcard if you've got a weak heart! Next to the Cathedral is the Alcázar which is a great introduction to Moorish art especially if you're going to visit Granada's Alhambra Palace later during your visit to Spain.
A word of advice ... One well known US guide book warns of the dangers of Barrio Santa Cruz to the extent that many North American visitors that we have dealt with seem terrified of visiting Seville. These worries are unfounded. The area is beautiful with a wonderful atmosphere and with people all over the place ... tourists, locals, children going to school, university students. I suppose someone has had a bag snatched at some time but isn't that the case with any touristy destination? Exercise common sense as you would anywhere and you're most unlikely to run into any problems in Seville.
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