Hi,
We will be spending a week in Seville, we haven't really made any plans, we are going to just kind of wing it. But, I was wodering if anyone had any suggestions for an itinerary.
We are planning a day trip to Cordoba and Cadiz. We were going to try Madrid, but I'm thinking it's a little too far for a day trip.
Thank You1
Posted by
Washington DC
30522 posts
Rick's top sightseeing suggestions for many countries are on this website.
In both cases you'll need to click on At a Glance to see the list. There is more detail in his guidebook, of course.
The fast trains from Sevillle to Madrid take about 2 hr. 40 min. each way (then you have to add time to get to and from the train stations). That's an awful lot of time to sit on trains. I'd be more inclined to do it if heading to a much smaller town where I thought I might be reasonably satisfied with a half-day visit. That wouldn't be the case for me in Madrid.
If you're interested in horses and/or sherry, Jerez would be another day trip possibility. It's closer to Seville than Cadiz is.
Posted by
Chicago
4214 posts
Lucky you to have a full week. I’m in Seville now and don’t ever want to leave.
If you want to see the Alcázar or cathedral buy tickets in advance as they have been selling out days in advance.
My favorite thing to do here is wander all the narrow lanes. My sister says it’s like Venice minus the water.
Posted by
new york
1465 posts
Just stay in Seville. or take the train to Cordoba for an overnight.....to go to Madrid on a day trip is nothing I would even contemplate...
Posted by
NYC
146 posts
The guide Rick Steves recommends, Concepcion, offers terrific walking tours. Highly recommend. We toured with her 9 years ago, but now she has a stable of guides. I am sure being included in the Rick Steves guidebooks and broadcasts built her business even better than word of mouth.
We got into some restaurants for dinner just by being there when they opened. Even 8 pm was late for this American. And I agree with Carrie above. I loved Seville. And the super narrow alleys.
Also we were there in May and Féria plus jacaranda trees in bloom were both sights I’d never before seen.
Posted by
MPLS, MN
462 posts
We just returned from 5 nights in Seville. While we thoroughly enjoyed Seville, the highlight of our trip was an overnight trip to Cordoba. We were there the last week of February and found the crowds in Seville to be a bit thick, so it felt like a short vacation from our vacation to spend 24 hours in a relatively quiet and serene Cordoba. The Mezquita in Cordoba blew us away. Seville was beautiful, but we walked away thinking about how we would feel about it if we were there in the Summer with sweltering heat and even more humans.
Posted by
1021 posts
gift link from NY Times 36 Hours Seville, Spain
Posted by
Chicago
2259 posts
If it were me I’d take a few days from Seville and spend them in Madrid or Granada. A week is honestly too much time there. Madrid for a few days and Seville for 5 days would be more than enough for me.
Posted by
OP
42 posts
Thank you, everyone for the suggestions. I appreciate the input!
Posted by
Ardmore
17 posts
We spent five nights in early March in Seville. We stayed in El Arenal near the river and the bullfighting arena. For us this stay was too short. We toured the Cathedral and the Real Alcázar, which are both musts. And a few other sights we enjoyed included the Plaza Espana. But we wandered a lot too and not just in Santa Cruz. We spent one day wandering in Triana which was a real treat. There is much to do and see - I don’t think a week would be too much. The October we hope to go back for a month to Seville - we hope to use the city as a base to explore the south. (If you’re not planning on visiting Cordoba then reconsider! Even if you have to see it on a day trip it will be worth it. A week there would be a lot of fun. Good luck on your trip!
Posted by
SF Bay Area
1322 posts
We spent 5 nights in Seville in November and two more nights would have been great. I think it's a good idea to take a day trip to Cordoba to see the Mezquita since you will have a full week. I haven't been to Cadiz, but I've heard great things.
As NYCMOM says, Concepcion Delgado's tours are great--we did the walking tour and the Alcazar tour. Her website is https://sevillawalkingtours.com/. Very worthwhile.
You can read what we did in my trip report here, if you are interested:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-analucia-and-madrid-in-november
You might also look at the trip reports by CWSocial and GeoffB. CWSocial spent a full week in Seville.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
9549 posts
Hi, I just returned from souther Spain two weeks ago. I’ve been to Sevilla four times, and it’s a favorite! I also have stayed a few times in Cordoba & Cadiz - like them both. If you were going beyond those, I would head to Malaga or Granada instead of Madrid, but not for day trips.
Sevilla keeps getting more crowds, so anything special will need reservations purchased on-line before you arrive: Alcazar, Cathedral, (Cordoba Mezquita). I will add my last trip report. The city bike tour for a few hours is fun & very popular and a great way to see more of the city. Be sure to walk over to Plaza de Espana - one of my favorites.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/southern-spain-trip-feb-march-2026
Posted by
95 posts
Agree that you will have plenty to do just in Seville!
But if you want day trips, absolutely yes to Cordoba (or even an overnight). You may also want to ride out into the country and visit some White Hill towns like Ronda. We did a day trip on a bus. It was ok, but it got us out of the city and a flavor of other towns and we enjoyed it. But I wouldn’t sacrifice Cordoba or plenty of time in Seville to do that.