Are advance tickets recommended for a late April / early May tour of Catedral de Sevilla?

We showed up and bought tickets and toured it ourselves. The line was about 30 minutes long.

If you don't buy in advance and find the queue is off-puttingly long, there is a well-known trick - go first to the nearby el Salvador church and buy a combined ticket, which then allows you to jump the queue at the catedral. Obviously it only really makes sense if you were planning to visit the church anyway - otherwise you could spend more time doing both than if you'd just queued up at the catedral.

1/5 is a public holiday in Spain - Labour Day - so it might be busier than usual. You didn't ask, but I'd definitely pre-book for the Real Alcazar.

Thanks to both of you for the inside scoop! It's our first visit to Spain and we're already planning the second.

Any chance you can adjust your schedule slightly? April Fair starts on May 4 (assume at midnight). It's something you should make an effort to attend - at least once at night and once during the day. Opening night is packed but it's fun, we left at 4 am and it wasn't slowing down at all.

There are also bull fights every night of the Fair (but not everyone wants to see that).

I can't remember a long wait to get into the Catedral but the Alcazar always seems to have a line.

Thanks Brad, but we've already booked travel to and rooms in Barcelona starting 2-May. The April Fair is on our list of things to do on next year's trip. That and the Alhambra tour, which is pretty solidly booked now. We're just a little late making plans because our transatlantic cruise with Royal Carib just got cancelled. The good news is we're cruising free next year - and - we get to see more of Spain this year.

@Nick-
Thanks again for the heads up on pre-booking the Real Alcazar. Was just about to score tickets for that and the Catedral for our brief visit.

Hola from Wayne in Spain,

I would attempt to buy Real Alcazar tickets in advance. That is a building you want to get into. The lines there are a horrible way to spend your holiday in Spain. The cathedral's lines are less onerous. I would still buy those tickets in advance too.

And you seem to be a do it yourself tourist. The official city maps, and most other locally produced maps in Andalusia (where Cordoba, Granada, Ubeda, Ronda, and Sevilla lie) have east at the top of their maps while your Micheline and Google maps will use the conventional, north at the top. What is the big deal? Put the two side by side and one will tell you the cathedral is to your left, the other will say it is straight ahead of you.

Enjoy Spain the wine is great

Wayne iNES