Hello all,

We made it to Sevilla! Checked into our vacation rental last night -- nestled between Barrios Santa Cruz and El Arenal -- and are settling in today. With the smell of orange blossoms in the air and the sounds of horse trotting and churchbells in the background, we think we are in store for an idyllic stay.

After walking over to Barrio Santa Cruz for breakfast, we found a grocery store in El Arenal and stocked the apartment with some basics. We are off to take another walk to Plaza de España located in the Parque de María Luisa.

We would love any restaurant recommendations. We had so many tapas in Granada and will definitely hit the bars while here. But we are looking for some typical restaurants to sit for a salad or a sandwich. There is so much here and so many people, that it is a bit overwhelming.

Thanks in advance for any tips to familiarize ourselves with this lovely city.

If you get a craving for good pasta, we loved Al Lado, which is in a nice area for walking around and window shopping -- it's also close to the Museo de Baile Flamenco. Similarly, if you are in the mood for a great steak, we liked Milonga's, which is in the Santa Justa area, about a 15 minute walk from your location. Both have a nice ambience, with Al Lado being a bit livelier.
Enjoy your stay!!

For your next visit to the Parque de María Luisa, there is a crafts market held on Sundays

Restaurants, not tapas bars for a sit-down meal and where I enjoy my moderately-priced meals (both lunches & dinners) during my stays.

Casapuerta, near the Museo de Bellas Artes, specializing in tuna dishes from the Costa de la Luz
https://restaurantecasapuerta.com

Tradevo Centro in the center
https://www.tradevo.es/tradevo-centro/

Salmedina near the Casa de Pilatos on the Plaza de Alfalfa, bookable on The Fork
https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/c...medina-r699351

La Azotea on Conde de Barajas (again, not a tapas bar). The branch on "restaurant row", Mateos Gagos, can get packed.
https://laazoteasevilla.com/en/

La Barra de Inchausti in the Arenal neighborhood, near you on Tomas de Ibarra. Despite the name, it has a sit-down dining room and fish is superb.
https://la-barra-de-inchausti.negoci...edium=referral

Petit Comité, my very favorite, also in El Arenal near you. It´s my favorite and never fails to please.
https://petitcomitesevilla.es

Becerrita, worth the walk for classic, old style, more ¨formal¨ in a good way, Seville dining. Another favorite and open Sundays. Reserve online!
https://www.becerrita.com

A new restaurant in Triana housed in a former ceramics factory with beautiful tiles, charming indoor courtyard dining, on the "street of the potters"
Alfarería 21
https://www.facebook.com/alfarera21Triana/.

Amara, with a very talented Basque chef. It's quite small so one must reserve.
https://www.restauranteamara.com

if you crave Italian, on "restaurant row", Mateos Gago in Santa Cruz, L'Oca Guiliva
https://ocagiuliva.es/en/.

If you get a hankering for other cuisines and to be able to eat at off hours, there's the very popular (particularly with a longer crowd), Mercado de la Lonja del Barranco, a giant food court with high tables. It has dishes for every appetite with its 20 different food stands and a huge outdoor terrace where young people meet for drinks at night.
https://mercadolonjabarranco.com

And another restaurant with an unusual name, décor and history to that name, by the owners of Petit Comité, La Casa del Tigre
https://www.diariodesevilla.es/vivir...854414849.html

You've probably discovered them but there are Christmas craft fairs going on now, one where you can purchase Nativity figures for a creche. Enjoy those Christmas lights!

There are several lovely Nativity Scenes up in the city now that you may enjoy seeing. This article from the Diario de Sevilla is in Spanish but has photos and a map, giving their locations.
https://www.diariodesevilla.es/vivir...854414849.html

lrice, we had lunch and dinner at Mercado del Barranco when we were in Seville. Highly recommend. And we also enjoyed lunch at the Mercado Triana. And we had 2 dinners at La Azotea on Mateos Gagos. The food is awesome. It does get crowded. So the other one that Maribel suggests is probably a better choice unless you happen to be walking by on restaurant row and there are seats available.

I think you will enjoy one of those horse and carriage rides. It's a pleasant and relaxing way to see Seville.

I wish we had Maribel's list when we were in Sevilla last year - although we did eat pretty well (including La Azotea, which many recommend). Our favorite sit-down meal was at Palo Cortao (near the "mushrooms"). It gets five oranges on Maribel's friend's list, although we originally found it through The Fork.

Here's Shawn's (Azahar Seville) updated review of Palo Cortao, another great choice.
https://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/palo-cortao/

Thanks so much everyone! This is exactly what we needed! I, unfortunately, got a little sick yesterday. Just a cold but looking for some soup and tea We found a Moroccan restaurant on Calle San Fernando that had both on their menu so we may go back tonight.

It is only 4:45 pm here, but the town is surprisingly quiet. We looped through Jardines de Murillo, then past Las Theresas and several other places on restaurant row but not many people were out yet. It's early -- but a great time for a walk.

We met a couple of Americans who are attending the University of Seville and told us about a couple of markets (flea market and farmers market).

We are thinking about heading to one of the museums or mansions tomorrow -- Bella Artes, Museo Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija, Palacio de las Dueñas, Hospital de los Venerables, Archivo de Indias or Casa di Pilatos. If I am going to save ONE of these for the week all our young adult kids are here, which one would you save?

Additionally, we are saving the Alcazar and the Cathedral for when they get here.

Thank you!

Of those museums on your list, for the "wow" factor, I would save the Palacio de las Dueñas, the home of the late Duchess of Alba for when the young adults are here. The Duchess was an extremely colorful character, very much an aficionada of flamenco and an avid art collector. Her palace was opened to the public upon her death by her son and is impeccably maintained by the House of Alba.

The Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija and Casa de Pilatos might pale in comparison to Las Dueñas, but they're all worthy choices. I don´t know whether your kids would enjoy the Archivo de Indias, but perhaps they're history buffs. The Hospital de los Venerables is another treasure, not for its patios, which are underwhelming after seeing the patios in the 3 palaces, but instead for its heavily Baroque chapel (on a Sunday morning you might catch the organist practicing) and its small Centro Velázquez, with priceless paintings by Velázquez and Murillo, Sevilla native sons.

Yes, the city is quiet at 4:45 but just wait until 9 pm, when it will be packed with locals doing their evening stroll. Temps are warming up. day by day, right before Christmas, especially in the south!

Hope your cold goes away quickly!
People were even swimming in Málaga!

edited to add, in my post above about El Mercado de la Lonja del Barranco, I meant that it's extremely popular at night with a younger crowd, and with international dishes and extended opening hours, it's something that your adult kids might enjoy.

Another place for cocktails that your adult kids might enjoy in El Arenal: XIX, on Tomás de Ibarra.

Fantastic advice! Thank you Maribel.

I am starting to put some pen to paper. We love the slower pace that we can go when we settle into a city for an extended period but if I don't make some plans, we will blink and our time will be gone.

I need to the Apple dealer tomorrow so we are going to head to the Mercado de Triana and check out that market. Then we will make our way into the city center for a few errands.

The Hospital de los Venerables sounds lovely for a Sunday! Will save Las Dueñas and the Archivo de Indias for the young adults!

At the Mercado de Triana, next to the Isabel II bridge, there are great stands where you can nosh, especially the Iberian ham and charcuterie stands. There´s also a cooking school, Taller Andaluz de Cocina. And a shop that sells those gorgeous silk shawls that the elegant sevillanas wear during the April Fair. It's a treat.

If you want to get an idea of how very, very seriously the sevillanos take their devotion to their favorite churchs and their processions during Holy Week, there are two beautiful late Baroque churches within walking distance of the Triana market, whose Madonnas are venerated during Semana Santa and whose interiors are really lovely-----Nuestra Señora de la O on Calle Castilla number 30 and Hermandad de la Esperanza-Capilla de los Marineros at Calle Pureza 53. Entrance to both is free but they both close during siesta from 1:30 and open again at 6 or 6:30.

And I did love having lunch in the pretty interior courtyard of the Alfarería 21 Casa Montalbán, the former ceramics factory just whose interiors are covered with beautiful Seville tiles.
https://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/alfareria-21/

we were there last Christmas. We loved Tradevo Centro so much we ate dinner there twice. Fantastic seafood. When waiter knew we were returning the next evening he reserved certain seafood for us (giant prawns to die for!)
Brunilda was also delicious- I remember the duck confit.

Lrice,
The belén or nativity scene is now up at the town hall, Ayuntamiento.

La Azotea's new dessert--arroz con leche cheesecake! Yummmm.

So grateful for the recommendations!

We are a bit unclear about the taxi service from the airport. The airport website says there are several different official taxi companies, yet it also says that taxis operating at the airport are white with a yellow stripe on the back doors.

Daughter #1 is flying in JFK-MAD-Sevilla on Iberia. She arrives here Thursday around noon. Is the Taxi Stand clearly marked? https://www.aeropuerto-sevilla.com/s...rt.php#/search

Just had to post a picture from lunch at Alfarería 21 Casa Montalbán today! We made reservations for dinner in one of the "oven rooms" for after Christmas with all the kids!


A dry Spanish red and a glass of Tinto de verano !

Hi Lrice,
The official taxis and white with a yellow stripe. And the taxi stand is clearly marked and probably there will be a taxi dispatcher there to regulate it. Plus, there is a set rate from the airport to town.
Here's the fare information on the right side of this page
https://www.aena.es/en/sevilla/getting-there/taxi.html.

Gorgeous tiles at Casa Montalbán!

In case you're interested....
There will be 2 Candlelight concerts of Christmas carols at the Casa Salinas on Friday, December 22, one at 7 pm and another at 9. Tickets here-
https://feverup.com/m/121672/en

Also there is "Navigalia, la magia está en el río", which is a Christmas light, audiovisual "mapping" spectacle on the Muelle de la Sal pier of the Guadalquivir River, starting the evening of Dec. 20 and continuing until Jan. 4. It will last for around 12 minutes with 3 shows at 8, 9 and 10 pm. There will be bleachers set up between the Torre de Oro and the Puente de Triana bridge, with capacity for 12,500 people each session to watch the mapping show.

More about a Seville Christmas and Navigalia

https://murciatoday.com/see-the-sevi...2284315-a.html

Update on La Azotea
https://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/la-azotea/

Thank you!

We're getting breakfast at La Azotea tomorrow on Calle Mateos Gagos before we head out for an afternoon of shopping. My husband is craving an American breakfast and the menu looks good!

Our daughter arrived safe and sound today and she wants to hit the shops tomorrow. We found several that she'll love as we make our way up Calle Tetuan. Perhaps we'll have lunch at one of the cafes on Plaza San Salvador -- it is such an atmospheric place! Or somewhere on Plaza Alfalfa. And... we'll take her into Confitería Campana for a coffee break!

On Saturday, we may go to the Artisan Hippie Market on Pl. del Duque de la Victoria, and then walk over to Pl. de la Encarnacion for the market there, and of course, see the mushroom sculpture. It seems that the Palacio de las Dueñas is in this direction as well, so perhaps this will be our action-packed Saturday!

And on Sunday, we are thinking about the Fine Art Museum and the Art Market in Plaza del Museo. Maybe this would be good a day to go to the flagship La Azotea for lunch!