Spain and Portugal 2026 – what’s not to like? Part Five – Sevilla

Another really enjoyable 2 hour drive from Cordoba to Sevilla away from the main highway and journeying along secondary roads and tiny towns.

So much farming through here, with Olives and Oranges the primary crops. And solar farms 😬

Again, our accommodation is inside the Old Town with no vehicular traffic or parking so we followed the apartment owners advice and parked in a public car park just outside of town. Great option – except every parking spot was created for a Fiat Bambino or mini minor. We have an MG SUV, which while it’s not huge, it’s challenging to park anywhere.

Bring on dry mouth and sweaty palms again. But with expert guidance from Karen we managed a spot. But then couldn’t get our luggage out haha.

Some minutes later …… we made the 5 minute walk to our apartment and it’s fantastic.

Ideally fitted out with a separate kitchen, lounge room, huge bathroom and bedroom with shutters over the laneway. Nice.

The cleaner was still doing her thing when we arrived so we wandered off aimlessly and of course got lost.

Just behind our apartment we happened upon some Roman Ruins from the time of Hadrian ! Just sitting there minding their own business.

But ! We got lost in a gorgeous little laneway with a fab taberna out on the street.

Anywhere with a spare space seems to be turned into a cafe or tapas bar and these little ones in hidden back lanes are often the most appealing.

It’s getting hotter now, probably around 26 degrees c which is a welcome change in the weather. So being outside is just beautiful.

What started off as a couple of drinks to plan out our next four days ended up being a little lunch of various tapas.

So, we ordered fresh anchovies in vinegar, a Russian King Prawn salad, artichoke with Iberian ham and a “Tomato Salad” with the biggest slices of tomato I’d ever seen, with buffalo mozzarella and pesto. And bread. Sounds a lot but these are all “single serve” tapas which are perfect for sharing.

Wow.

Not a bad little snack.

We kept on wandering and came across some beautiful buildings, countless bars and streets swarming with people in a great atmosphere.

Typical tapas bar with people spilling onto the streets

The cathedral (which we will explore in the coming days) is magnificent –

During our lunch/snack planning meeting we sought out a Flamenco bar to visit, with Flamenco being created in the Andalusia region originally. So we got some advice from our landlord and she recommended a tiny, authentic experience in an area called Triana

It was about 15 Minutes walk through the Old Town and across the Guadalquivir River and down a couple of back lanes. Beautiful walk.

This Flamenco bar is called Baraka Flamenco and it is in a tiny room with seating for no more than 45 people – there were just 30 in our group.

A huge glass of sangria on arrival and then the four Flamenco artists arrive and sit literally 5 metres away.

They don’t allow photography until the very end of the show which is totally understandable

The quartet comprises the most magnificent Flamenco guitarist, a male singer and a male and female dancer.

The show is performed in the traditional manner with no microphones nor amplification – just as it was done when it was created in the 18th Century as a subculture of mixed races that had gathered in Andalusia.

The show lasts for 60 minutes of high energy, mesmerising guitar playing and dance and emotional experiences. It’s exhausting just watching them perform with such passion. At the end of the 60 minutes the four of them are a sweating mess.

But wow – what an experience.

At the end of the show they do a “finale” and invite the audience to take photos and video, this way the rest of the show is not impacted. A great idea.

A perfect way to finish our first day in Seville – a town that looks like it will tick a few boxes.

We took a day trip option further south to the beach side town of Cadiz which sits right on the Atlantic Ocean. We decided to go by train rather than drive and it was a great option. 90 minutes is all it took to get there and the railway station is right at the entrance to the grand Old Town.

Cádiz is the oldest continually occupied town in Western Europe with signs of the Phoenicians arriving in around 1100 BC. That’s insane. And they are still discovering archaeological gems now !

In 1980 they uncovered a Roman Theatre that was built around the first century BC (!!) and was abandoned in the 4th Century and in the 13th Century a fortress was built over the top of it. It was discovered just 46 years ago when excavating the site. It was the largest Roman Theatre ever built.

Despite the old town still having the majority of its walls intact, the location of the sea immediately beside the town keeps the temperatures constantly mild. It’s a beautiful environment

So many beautiful buildings in the town and so much to see and do.

We visited the Central Market of Cadiz and ogled the fresh produce on display being bought up by the hungry locals. The seafood was insane !

Have a look at the size of these tomatoes !

They have little tasting plates to try as you walk around so we got a beautiful fresh seafood scallop and some smoked tuna – the best !

I could have stayed in there all day but there were so many other amazing buildings to check out and lunch to be had –

An absolutely brilliant town, where a couple of days could easily be spent. But we had to head back to Sevilla and we did it by bus, and a quick 80 minute ride saw us back for the next couple of days adventure.

Our last full day in Sevilla was spent just wandering, walking, following no real plan and it was a great day.

The highlight probably being the Plaza Espanawhich is the most gorgeous parkland very near the riverfront.

Inside the Plaza Espana you have direct access to the most magnificent and beautiful building in the city. In fact nearly anywhere.

It’s hard to believe it was only built just over 100 years ago. The ceramic tiles, the fountain, courtyard as well as the main building must surely

Rank this plaza as among the best anywhere in the world.

It is simply a masterpiece of design

The parklands surrounding the plaza are like an oasis – stunningly beautiful

It was time for a quick snack and drink to review our morning, so we found a quaint little taberna in one of the million back lanes and refreshed with a couple of drinks – including local Chilled Jerez (or sherry) and a Manzanilla which is a local specialty- it’s quite dry, but very refreshing.

And Karen tried one as a spritz which was super as well

One of our taps snacks was quite different but brilliant – mushroom stuffed with marinated oranges in a sherry sauce. random? You bet. Beautiful ? You bet again.

We spent the rest of the afternoon heading back to our apartment for a quick siesta before heading out for a last night meal on a rooftop of a beautiful old building to have a seafood paella.

While the service wasn’t fantastic, the views and the food and drinks made up for it.