Samana Santa in Seville 2023

Best is to ask your hotel how it will be to arrive there during Semana Santa.

Otherwise I'd say don't avoid it. This is a gift rather than a hinderance. Semana Santa in Sevilla is one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences Spain has to offer. Yes it will be crowded in the city center, yes it will go late into the night, some times the ambiance is loud and passionate and other times it is more somber and reflective, depending on the specific procession. Go with the flow and let the magical energy in the air, the "duende Andaluz" invigorate you.

I happen to love Semana Santa so I would just embrace it. It's really something and visually stunning! Seville has one of the largest Semana Santa processions, so it will definitely be crowded and noisy. If you stay in your current accommodations, I would probably pack as light as possible and plan out a route ahead of time to your hotel.

There are a number of Semana Santa apps you can download with route information. Also keep Google maps handy for getting around and to avoid the blocked off streets.

The processions are mainly somber. This is not Mardi Gras.

Thank you both for your replies. Mardee, I see you are in Duluth. My family lives in Grand Rapids, MN, and we have a cabin there as well. Good to see someone from Nothern MN contributing to this forum.

We've actually rented an apartment for those 4 nights and the host did say it will be "interesting" getting to our place during that time of day. It's an Airbnb so I'm not sure of the specific address yet, only, what looks like, the street name. I've looked for the route information online with no luck but haven't looked for the downloadable apps yet so I'll give that a whirl.

We most definitely are looking forward to witnessing this great event, just worried about how far we will have to pull luggage, and getting stuck on the wrong side of the street in hoards of people. Packing light certainly would be ideal but not always a reality in our situation. Feeling a little intimidated by it right now.

The processions are mainly somber. This is not Mardi Gras.

Well what I mean is that sometimes a musical band accompanies the paso and sometimes the paso marches in in silence, perhaps somber is not the right word in English, it is not a "sad" ambiance, maybe better word is passionate?

Carlos, I totally understood what you were saying through my, now, extensive readings about it and appreciate your response no matter what words you were using. I guess I'm mainly looking for "real-life" experiences and how difficult it will be to get through the crowds, as well, as the overall feel.

I have a pen pal who lives between a number of European cities and chooses Seville specifically for their Processions. However, she does know of people who have suffered some of the incoveniences you mention. Loud processions - yes, many do have musical instruments - and challenges getting into their hotels. Also, in case you aren't aware, tourist sites, like the churches, may be closed during the processions moving in front of them, and I do recall a past RS forum member saying that churches in Milan were sometimes closed as they prepped their procession floats (statues). So, unless you are willing to embrace the experience and just roll with it, or head to districts away from that day's processions (they can last 5-8 hours), then maybe Cordoba is an alternative....if you can't shift your apartment to a different location. Or move to Triana which is across the river from Seville. They have churches, but maybe the app will give you the dates for those church processions, if any. From there you can explore Parque Maria Louisa, the Old town, plan on a day trip to Cordoba. But you could see if that helps to avoid the bulk of the processions.

schaferaz, hey, fellow Minnesotan, welcome to the forum! You will love Spain - it's such a beautiful country! Are you flying out of MSP?

MariaF, that seems to confirm what I was thinking. We are thinking we may change our flight to the earlier flight and hope we can stow our luggage until time for check-in. We want to embrace it, just not sure we want do it in such close proximity for 4 nights. Thank you so much for your response.

Mardee, we live in the Washington DC area now so will be flying out of here. We spend a good deal of time in MN in the summer at the cabin so we are "fair weather" Minnesotans these days...ha! So looking forward to our trip.

Hopefully the app referenced here shows the routes on a given day and that you won't be front and center all 4 nights.Take ear plugs and embrace the events. It should be a memorable experience (and I hope only in a good way).

I loved Samana Santa, I hope you do too! Lots of people, packed really, but what a treat. Be happy your going to see one of the most amazing things ever. YES I was dropped very far from my Airbnb due to a procession. Your phone should have a compass and google maps or somthing similar. Be flexable, if your mobility is limited and the taxi driver cannot get you to your lodgings then get dropped at a restruant wait an hour or so and take another taxi to your lodging. I did not have a problem with noise, but I was not on a big street. Since your in Southern Spain is there a reason your not going to Cordoba and Granada (maybe you are?) and going to two big cities, Barcelona and Madrid? For me I would cut Barcelona and add Cordoba and Granada. I am so jealous, I wish I was going back to Samana Santa. J

A taxi will take you as close as he can. It is likely to be a 5-10 minute walk to your hotel from there. How easy it will be depends mostly on where exactly your hotel is. I stayed at the Amadeus which is close to the cathedral but the streets leading to the hotel were only closed for a few hours when a procession was scheduled to go along those streets. It was my luck to arrive mid-week just when those streets were closed off. I had no trouble walking to the hotel since the procession hadn't yet arrived (the route can be a kilometer or more) and I had stayed there before so I knew exactly where it was. If the procession would have blocked the street, I would have simply parked myself at a nearby cafe for a while.

That visit I was there for 4 nights toward the end of the week. Noise never really reached my hotel room and I was often out very late enjoying it all.