Seville, Spain

Sevilla is amazing. If you have enough time to see the Alcazar, cathedral and Plaza de Espana, I'd go in a heartbeat. Tickets for Alcazar and probably cathedral should be booked ahead.

Yes, Seville is a great destination for a few days. You can fly direct from Barcelona, or change trains in Madrid. The pros include exposure to the Moorish culture that dominated southern Spain for centuries longer than the north, probably very pleasant October weather, the world's largest Gothic cathedral, and plenty of good sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The only cons I can think of would be the time and money it takes to add this city to your trip.

Without knowing more about the tour you're already taking, it's hard to say more. If the tour takes you into other parts of southern Spain, like Granada or Cordoba, then Seville offers less incremental benefit for the time and cost. But I'm in favor of as much time as possible on a Europe trip, you'll never run out of fascinating places to see and things to do!

Seville is beautiful. Here's my trip report; Seville starts on the 3rd post. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-november-2023

Sightseeing in Seville has quite a few beautiful things to see. There is also delicious food in Seville, and there are, of course, their flamenco shows and bars. Shopping? Probably no different than anywhere.

Having done Seville on a different trip than Barcelona, I can't say definitively that flows well paired together. We really liked Seville, so know it a nice place to visit, but not how logistically easy it is to add it to your plans.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my post. We could not find favorable air back to the states to visit both Barcelona and Seville. It's one or the other. Our tour starts in Lisbon, goes north to Porto, then northeast through Spain ending in San Sebastian. I then add 3d/4n in Barcelona. We have heard so much about Seville (after booking Barcelona of course) it's driving me crazy. So, which one? We like historic neighborhoods lined with quality shops and restaurants. We have traveled Europe and have seen many beautiful churches. More would not be on top of our lists.

I have been to Seville and loved it! I'm going back in November. I have not been to Barcelona yet. Good luck with your decision!

We enjoyed both Barcelona and Seville. You can’t go wrong either way, but three days in Barcelona offers so much to see…plus the option of a day trip to the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Sagrada Familia is incomparable! Seville is lovely but without the quirkiness.

I love Sevilla but I'd not want to spend more than 3-4 days there at a time. I could spend another 2 weeks in Barcelona and still want more.

It's generally easier to fly out of Barcelona which has multiple transatlantic flight options. Sevilla's airport is small so you'd have a short flight to a large city airport to cross the Atlantic. Or a long train ride with a one change in Madrid to get to Madrid's airport.

We just returned from Spain and Sevilla was the highlight of our trip. See Flamenco there-amazing. The Royal Alcazar is also wonderful. We also did a cooking class that was out of the food market there (in the RS book for Spain) and that was really interesting and special. We stayed by the cathedral and loved the location.

Having been to both Barcelona (2x) and Seville (1x), I definitely recommend Barcelona. It’s a much better city so it offers more options for what you’re looking for. I’m actually returning to Barcelona for a third time in March. The Gaudi sites- Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera, are amazing. The old bullring has been converted into a shopping mall with a viewing deck. Take a walking tour with Devour tours to experience the tapas bars.

I spent 4 nights in Seville, in March 2022. I have not seen Barcelona yet. Seville has a big highly ornate cathedral that you need advance tickets for, an alcazar, the Tirana neighborhood where there is a museum about how they made pottery, some historic homes you can go inside, Plaza de España, a bullfighting venue, a small naval museum with one or more models of old ships, the museum that has some exhibits on conquistadors coming to the Americas, and so on. Check the guidebooks and Google maps. Seville was a good place except that I got a horrifying disease that affected my digestive tract severely for a day and mildly for another day. The idea that you only have to be careful about the water in Mexico is a myth. You can get this kind of disease in any part of the world, I had something similar in my apartment in Michigan a year before my trip, maybe I could have become too dehydrated and needed a hospital or worse. Don't rinse your mouth with tap water, don't touch your face, don't drink tap water.

If you can change your air you may want to add Seville to the front of your line-up.