We will be in Seville next spring April 2-6. I am planning on leaving Seville on Good Friday which is April 6 by plane to Barcelona. I know there will be Semanta Santa festival during that time with the highlight events on Fri. My question is will there be problem for us to leave our hotel (Vincci La Rabida) for our 11am flight on Fri because of road close/block? Or the activities are mostly at night? It there will be a big crowd on the street on Fri, I might have to cut short on Seville and leave for Barcelona a day early. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

Perhaps the best information about traffic around your hotel would come from the hotel itself. My guess is that they deal with this question each year and will have a ready answer for you. Anyway you'd be leaving by 9 am -- that's likely well before the crowds build for Friday afternoon processions.

What about religious processions in Barcelona when you arrive there in the afternoon?

I also think you should ask your hotel. Some streets are blocked off, and areas around some of the main plazas (eg, San Francisco). Most of them are in the afternoon or later, but I checked the official schedule and there is one procession very near your hotel in the morning (it goes up Reyes Catolicos), so it probably will affect traffic to some extent on how a taxi will get out of there and to the airport. I think your location isn't as bad as some, as it's not that far to some main thoroughfares out of town.

baby108,
The Holy Week processions go on through out the night and morning (la madrug&aacute of Maundy Thursday-Good Friday and at that time large parts of the city are turned into a pedestrian zone, with many arteries blocked off to traffic. But...
As kayd, says, you should ask your hotel about the street closings at the hour you plan to leave on Good Friday. The processions follow the same itinerary each year, so your hotel will know this very well and can advise you on the best time and place to pick up your taxi.

We ran into this problem once when arriving on Maundy Thursday. The streets around our hotel were closed off, but our taxi driver got us as close as he could, and we walked the rest of the short distance.

Thank you everyone for the reply. I will contact the hotel regarding that. Christina, can you give me the website for checking the schedule since I want to see if I leave a day earlier will make a difference, hopefully none will be scheduled on Thursday morning although I don't really want to cut short on Seville. Kayd, I didn't think there is anything going on in Barcelona on Good Friday, if so where will those activities be? As long as there is only a short walk like Maribel mentioned, it will be no problem since we are planning on going light since we are taking one of those domestic flights which has very strict luggage limit.
Thank you all again!

I do not know any specifics about Barcelona processions, only that Good Friday is a day of religious observance and processions all over the Catholic world. My comment was meant as suggestion that you consider the possibility of traffic tie-ups at the other end of your flight.
I'd stay in Seville Thursday -- trust your hotel to see that you get out of the city on Friday morning and roll with whatever inconvenience you may find in Barcelona when you get there.

baby108,
I wouldn't suggest leaving a day earlier, as I think you'll really want to experience Semana Santa when it reaches its absolute fever pitch, between Maundy Thurs. and Good Friday. It's a truly magical and moving experience that you will want to witness, especially during the Madrugá, which starts around 11 p.m. Thursday with six processions running all through the night and finishing up Good Friday morning. There are also 7 processions going on all day Thurs.

I highly recommend the very extensive web site, www.exploreseville.com, created by an American living in Sevilla, with info about everything under the sun. He does a great job explaining the city to visitors. And he has written a really good primer on how to enjoy Semana Santa and what to expect. He also gives an abreviated daily schedule without specific hrs. Some processions, such as La Virgen de la Esperanza, known as La Macarena, can take more than 12 hrs. from start to finish! We witnessed La Virgen de la Macarena leave her Basilica on Thurs. night at 12:30 and her exit from the church took more than an hr. It's an experience I will never forget, and I had been wanting to witness this particular event for many, many years.

During Holy Week the ABC newspaper prints a very detailed daily schedule.

You can see the '06 schedule, in Spanish only, on www.semana-santa.org
by clicking on "Intinerario Oficial '06" on left column, then download the pdf files for Jueves Santo (Maundy Thurs.), Viernes Santo Madrugá (Thurs.night thru Fri. morn) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) but it's not of much help to one who doesn't know the city well, but it will give you an idea of the length of these processions and their routes.

Again, your hotel will give you the very best advice.

yes, I used the same website that Maribel posted for the schedule. This is the specific page for schedules

http://semanasanta.andalunet.com/itinerario/index.htm

Thank you all again, really appreciate the info. The exploreseville website is great, has a lot of details for Semanta Santa. We will be there with my parents and my 2 young sons, so probably won't be able to stay up at night to see the processions but might take glances of some here and there. I just want to make sure we will be able to move around with no problem in the city and take a day trip to Granada on one of the days. Should we stay at a hotel not so close to the town center? Any suggestion?

baby108,
I honestly would not suggest a day trip to Granada from Sevilla, as it's just way too far and too time consuming for a day outing, particularly with two young children.

The trip takes 3 hrs. 5 min. by train and 3 1/2 hrs. by bus, one way. And it takes a min. of 4 hrs. to see the entire Alhambra site and Generalife gardens well. Plus Holy Week is a very popular time for families (school holidays) to visit the Alhambra, so you would face large crowds.

See the train schedule at
www.renfe.es

Bus schedule at
www.alsinagraells.com

If you want to include Granada in your Spain itinerary, the very best option would be to overnight there, particuarly during Holy Week, as Granada's processions are quite impressive as well. But your itinerary may be set already.

As for where to stay in Seville during Holy Week, we enjoyed being in the center (we stayed in the Santa Cruz quarter), as the city really does turn into a semi-pedestrian zone, and we enjoyed "chasing" the processions. Regardless of where you walk downtown, you're bound to run into one during your meanderings.
The downtown area is compact, and you can always walk west, over to Paseo de Cristóbal Colón which runs along the Guadalquivir River or east to the Avenida Menéndez Pelayo to catch a taxi to the airport if need be, as you say you will be light of luggage. If you choose the Vincci La Rábida, you will be closer to the Guadalquivir.

Maribel, thank you for the reply. You are right that it will be too rush to see Granada as a day trip. We are including 3 cities in this trip within a 2 weeks time, fly into Madrid, train to Seville and then fly to Barcelona and fly back home from Barcelona. With 2 seniors and 2 children with us, I try to limit the change of hotels to min. IF Granada is out unless we do a overnight, what other town you think will be good for a day trip from Seville? I am planning to do a day trip to Segovia from Madrid and the number of nights for the trip will be 4 nights in Madrid, 4 in Seville and 5 in Barcelona. My itinerary is not 100% firm yet except the plane ticket to/from US and I could easily change the hotel reservations.
By the way, I loved and bookmarked your site for travelling in Spain, what a nice site you got to help fellow travelers. Thanks a brunch!

Do a day trip to Cordoba instead. That is a short and easy trip, and it is a wonderful city to see--the mosque (Mezquita) and Alcazar are the highlights. There are many trains all day long to and from Cordoba. You can take the AVE between the two, but I just took one of the numerous local regional trains, which I think were a lot cheaper and the distance isn't that far. I took a cab upon arrival from the train station to the historic center right near the Alcazar and started with that.

I think the AVE is less than an hour and about 20 euro second class, and the regular Express train (eg, Andalucia express) is only about 8-10 euro and takes about 1 hr 15 min.

Thank you Christina for the great suggestion. Orginally when I looked at the map, Granada appears to be only a little bit farther than Cordoba so I picked Grandada because the pictures I saw are prettier. But if the traveling time is so much shorter, it will be a much better choice.

baby108,
I agree with Christina. I would do a very easy day trip to Córdoba.

With your large group, I think it's wise to limit your trip to only 3 hotel changes.

You can allow about 5 hrs. to see the Mosque and the neighboring Alcázar, stroll the Judería and have a tapas style lunch. We enjoy the Taberna Casa Pepe de la Judería for casual dining because it provides several options (sit down formal or just tapas), has nice, typical cuisine, is family friendly and right there in the heart of the Judería.

You could do a stop-over in Córdoba on your way down to Seville, but I don't recommend it in your case with a group of 6.
This requires purchasing 2 separate tixs, Madrid-Córdoba, Córdoba-Seville and stowing everyone's luggage in the lockers at the top of the escalators at the train station. The lockers require exact change.
I've done this with my husband, but I wouldn't do it with a large family group or with small children in tow. It makes for a very long and tiring day particularly with Holy Week crowds.

Trains during Holy Week to and from Seville will run full, and I highly recommend purchasing tixs for your family in advance both for the trip down from Madrid and for the day trip up to Córdoba.

AVE tixs can be purchased on the TIKNET system at www.renfe.es

First time purchasers on TIKNET need to register and provide a D.N.I. (National ID card) number, which for non-Spaniards can just be a driver's license or passport #, dropping the final number.
Also first time users of the system, for security reasons, can only purchase 1 set of tickets before establishing their identity when picking up tix with the locator number in Spain.
So you would need to register to purchase your Madrid-Seville AVE tickets and another family member would need to register to purchase the Seville-Cordoba AVE tixs, if you choose to travel again on the AVE.

The problem with waiting until your arrival in Seville to purchase tixs to Córdoba on the AVE will be that the tourist class (turista) seats may be sold out (lesson learned thru experience) and only the more expensive and unnecessary business class (preferente) available.

Regarding your day trip to Segovia from Madrid, I would go by bus, as it's inexpensive, takes only 1 hr. 30 min. (sometimes less), is comfortable and easy, as you can walk from the bus station to the Aqueduct to start your touring.
See the schedule at
www.lasepulvedana.es

Hope this helps.

I agree with the bus for Segovia, also--that's how I went from Madrid, and it was a nice trip. IN case it isn't clear from various instructions (it wasn't for me), the bus station for buses to Segovia is very near the Madrid Principe Pio metro stop (on paseo Florida). I just loved Segovia!

Yes, as Christina says, you can take the metro to the P.P. stop, go through the new snazzy shopping center and cross the Paseo de la Florida to the La Sepulvedana bus station, which is next door to the Florida Norte Hotel.

Maribel, I tried to type in Madrid to Seville for April 2,2007 on the renfe site, the site said there is no direct route and didn't give me a schedule nor the price. Is that because I am too far ahead or there is some other trick to do it? I know AVE should be available for that route and on the site of: www.eurorailways.com, they give me a price for $107 per adult and $71 per child. I am planning to get the tickets ahead anyway but would Renfe be cheaper than eurorailways? RailEurope site only allow reservation less than 60 days away so I was thinking maybe Renfe too.

baby108,
It's too early. You're right. Forgot to mention that. Purchases can be made on TIKNET only 2 months out. It will be cheaper than going thru Rail Europe.

Just marked my calender to order the tickets in Feb. Thank you so very much for your help especially Christina and Maribel. I am still doing research on our trip so I will be back for more questions

Getting to Sevilla's airport on viernes de Semana Santa for an 11:00 AM flight will definitely be a problem. The Vincci la Rabida (Palace) Hotel is in the barrio de Arenal: close to the Cathedral where all Processions pass by. Overnight Processions like the one for the Virgen de la Macarena could still be in that neighborhood around then.

The Ayuntamiento de Sevilla publishes a guide for Semana Santa that any taxista will have, but your trip to the airport will likely take a while and brcause of all the street closings, be indirect.

We had a hard time (also very expensive) just getting to Estación Santa Justa on Good Friday several years ago.

Plan to leave your hotel an hour or so earlier than you normally would. Good luck!