Would appreciate help on these queries regarding Sevilla and Cordoba
 

Our visit to Sevilla and Cordoba coincides with Semana Santa next month, and we have some queries regarding our visit. We will be staying at a hotel on the Isla de Cartuja, arriving at about 7.00pm on Maundy Thursday.

1. How much should we budget for a taxi from the train station to our hotel ?

2. When should we target leaving the hotel to make our way to see the Madruga processions later that night ?

3. What would be a good vantage point to catch the processions ? I understand that seats will be long sold out but anyplace we can see things reasonably well that are comparatively less crowded, or is around the Cathedral the best bet ?

4. Given that we may be quite tired after a long flight, how easy would it be to extricate oneself from the crowds and make our way back to the hotel by cab should we feel the need to do so ?

5. We would like to experience at least one Turkish bath. Options are to do it in Sevilla, Cordoba, or Granada. Any particular preferences ?

6. We will be doing a daytrip tp Cordoba from Sevilla. Is it true that the Mezquita is free for entry in the morning before 10.00am ?

Any help/advice on the above will be most appreciated. Thank you.

I'll try to resume some answers :)

1. No idea, but I bet traffic is going to be bad given that all the city centre will be closed for it...

2. Do you want a very personal suggestion ? Have dinner at your hotel and go to bed...wake up at 4 or 5 AM and the procession will be at their best, it's not called "La Madrugá" for nothing...(that means in English "the dawn" ) ;)

3. For the previous answer to work out..ask your hotel at what time more or less the procession join and at what point..they should give you an answer :)

4. Difficult...very difficult, again ask your hotel before you go

5. Sorry, I don't know :) Never thought on going for a turkish bath here in Spain.

6. I've never heard of that. If you travel on Sunday, remember there are masses (catholic) at midday so the opening hours are different...

Hope you enjoy the madness of Seville in Holy Week , just don't think very much about it and just flow with the crowds... :)

I forgot one thing...listen to the singers, it will be probably the most felt flamenco you are going to hear :)

We are also going to be there then. Have you found a website (in English!) listing the schedule of what is going on? We will be there at the very beginning of the week.

I was in Seville a couple years ago at that time, although I left only a couple days into the week. For the taxi, that would normally be around 25 euro fare. I don't know if those activities will affect that, I suppose they might if it takes longer. Just be sure you have plenty of money on you, don't try to get by without hardly any.

I did a day trip to Cordoba from Seville, also, and it's a very nice city. I think you are confused about the entry and fee. Don't go Sunday morning because you think it's free, it's only free in one area because it's closed to tourists due to Sunday services -- so the cathedral area only is free to those going to them. The rest of it isn't open until 1 pm or later on Sunday, as I recall.

According to a website (in Spanish) dedicated to Seville's Semana Santa the schedules of the processions and their itineraries is going to be decided on March 18 :) Only processions are going on..

Cool thanks. They don't seem to plan too much in advance there, do they? :)

No, it's against the rules of the true Spaniard :))

Kend, Nothing wrong with that :)

Not wrong..but sometimes makes you worry too much, a tiny bit of organization wouldn't harm us, I think :)

Well, variety is a spice of life. Just being facetious :)

Actually, irrespective of the impressions typically given of mediterranean countries, at least from a business standpoint, they are at least as efficient as elsewhere (or they won't stay in business... someone would acquire'em).

Yes, efficiency is a completely different thing !! I don't know how, but we manage to do it fine at last.
But, for example...I don't know anyone here who plans their trips a year in advance...at the most, two months..but last minute offers are made for us, really. Travel agents are full of them because they know is what most people here search for :)

In other words, you are proud of your culture that apparently has time to enjoy it all, and yet have right priorities. As you should :)

Last post on the topic otherwise dyscover may get us banned for chatting on her thread.

Hey no problems guys, chat away all you like.

Thanks for all that info Kenderina, as usual, spot on. I love the suggestion of going to bed and getting up for the processions, only question is will things already be so crowded that we will not be able to get where we want and find a decent place to watch from. But I get the gist of what you are saying in terms of go with the flow, so I will hope that the hotel will be able to guide me properly.

I know I did manage to find a site in Spanish by the council of the brotherhoods that participate in the processions and what I was able to gather was that they would be finalising procession details mid to third week March, so thats bang on too. I guess we will start seeing other websites uploading this data in English after that, because as of now I have not found anything online for this year. I hope this helps kelliebellie.

Christina, thanks so much, we will be visiting Cordoba on Saturday, so no Sunday problems. I just caught something on some site that said that the Mesquita was free for entry in the morning before tourist visits began, so was curious about this. But will budget for the entry fees.

Regarding the Arabic baths, caught some good reviews for the Aire de Seville and the Banys Arabys in Granada too. Seemed interesting.

Thanks so much all for helping, any other tips/recos/advice most appreciated. Thanks again.

Oh yeah, about the baths. I think we are going to try to do this one in Cordoba. It looks really cool.

http://www.hammamspain.com/cordoba/index_i.html

Have a great trip!

I'm not sure, dyscover, but I don't think the Mezquita is open to tourists on Sunday morning - rather, as I understand it, the Cathedral inside it is open for services. You might want to check on that!

I'm sure you will be able to see at the very least, one procession..there are six that night and the itineraries are very long :) According to last year schedules the longest procession (and the first one to begin) began at 12:30 AM and finished at 2 PM and the others began at 1 or 2 AM and finished around 4 PM, so you will have plenty of opportunities to see one even quite near to your hotel, just don't worry and as I said before..go with the flow and have a good time !!

Hey kelliebellie, thats the site that I saw and got me thinking about doing this is the first place ! FYI the Sevilla one can be seen on www.airedesevilla.com (only Spanish).

Kenderina, I'm liking your advice more and more, I have a wishlist of being able to see at least the two biggies of El Silencio and La Macarena, but I'm sure that whatever we do get to see is going to be unforgettable. I hope we catch at least one of the impromptu "saetas".

Thank you so much.

Cool, thanks!

We had the absolute pleasure of being in Madrid and Seville for Semana Santa two years ago. The crowds in Madrid for the processions were huge - we stayed at the Westin and were able as guests to stand on their steps and watch. We left for Seville on the Saturday before Easter and spent Easter Sunday in Seville. There are no real church services, just the processions which seemed to be about 2 hours apart. We stood just across the street from the Alfonso XIII hotel and had a wonderful view. The processions also go right thru the cathedral but don't know if you can sit there. Folks do have reserved chairs on the streets and in a central area but those are bought and paid for well in advance. Our hotel had a complete booklet with all the Semana Santa info - times, locations, etc and I'm sure yours will as well. It is unforgettable!

Hey thanks for that cmeyer54, that sounds awesome ! We are going to do the same thing, ie, get info from the hotel on what to do, plus have had some useful info from all the friendly folk here as well.

Am getting itchy feet now, can't wait to go :)

We just got back from Sevilla and Cordoba and had a wonderful time. ( I think Sevilla is one of the prettiest cities in the world, especially around the Santa Cruz area).

We are wintering in Spain, so are really looking forward to being back there for Semana Santa too.

Great questions ,great thread...thanks!

We did the day trip to Cordoba via the train and it was great. It was the easiest train we have taken in Europe...good thing as we were traveling with two Octogenarians and a 6 year old.

We had lunch at Caballo Rojo and it was excellent for traditional fare ( like oxtail and gazpacho...Mmmmmm).

We enjoyed the garden areas best at both Alczar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada ( even tho they were not yet in full bloom).

I am putting our trip report up as we speak on our blog, and it may have info on there that is useful to you:
http://www.soultravelers3.com/

Holy Week should be quite the experience!

Hi There! I'm also just back from my Andalusian Sojourn having visited Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Murcia and up to Valencia.

In Sevilla we stayed in the Santa Cruz area but since I didn't book any hotels earlier, was at the mercy of availablility.

We stayed at Casa Imperial the first night. Charming place, wonderful breakfast, great service. A bit too much for our budget at 200E. (how do you get a euro sign on a mac?). Walked around and got lost a lot. FUN! The next day, aside from scouting out the sites, we vistied many hotels asking to see rooms. We ended up transferring to Hotel Puerta de Sevilla the next night. A very comfortable stay at 88E, very friendly girl in front (Jessica was her name). But we lucked out on our last night and was able to stay at Hotel Amadeus where they finally had one room for us! Everything they say about this little hotel is true. The people bend over backwards for their guests.

WTnow, I remember you posting that you would be here too, so I was half expecting to bump into you (I know what you look like from your website).

Also took that full-day drive tour by Australian Paul McGrath, recommended by Rick Steve's book. Paul drove us through 4 pretty white hill towns, including Grazalema and Zahara. Nice experience, and we were also with a cool group of young Irish couples.

In Sevilla we also a 2-hour walking tour (also suggested by Rick Steve's book)--and our guide Alfonso was very informative and personable.

We took the AVE to Cordoba. And YES, the Mesquita is FREE in the mornings from 8 to 10 am. Since we were jetlagging and getting up at 6 am everyday, we lucked out. One part of it was cordoned off because there was a mass I think, but while we were inside, it ended and they removed the barriers. Just get your audioguide outside across the entrance for 3 euros. You save 8 euros each by going early. We were there on a Tuesday. it was nice to be leaving as the crowd was thickening up.

Got a rental car from the Cordoba train station to start our drivetour to Granada (Roads are GREAT! and it's easy to drive around this area) But I shouldn't get into that in this post. When I get my act together, I should post a trip report. Thanks to all of you who answered all my earlier posts when I was planning this sudden trip.

For Sevilla--have tapas any chance you can--listen to guitarists on the streets (buy the CD for 10 euro--I only bought one, rats!), watch a flamenco, buy pottery! While Valencia is wonderful and another story in itself, I really felt we "left" Andalucia as we drove out of Granada towards Murcia.

In Cordoba, try the Salmorejo--it's their version of the gazpacho. delicious! We also ate at Bodega Cardenas--yummy tapas again.

It was a most wonderful trip I've always wanted to do! :)

Hey Vicki,
Sounds like you had a great trip and yes we were at the Armadeus and everyone of us just looooved it.

We are a picky group..so making everyone so happy was really great.We loved the breakfasts on the terrace with fabulous views and it had the added bonus of allowing my child to continue her piano practice and giving a show or two to Abuelo ( grandpa) and auntie.

It really is a wonderful place with great service and charm,charm,charm.

I HIGHLY recommend taking in some Flamenco while there. We had awesome experiences at Casa Carmen in Triana and Casa Memoria ( sp) that is very close to Armadeus the second night. They were both first class,but the singer we saw the second night was the best singer I have heard in my life.

We had yummy tapas, but also ended up having a great late lunch in a beautiful place directly across from the Cathedral with tables facing it outside...killer views.

They were tired from walking and famished so we just landed there and I did not expect it to be so delicious & with great service. We had the place almost to ourselves as it was very late for lunch.

We did the horse drawn carriage ride which was fun ( and good for our elders feet) but the highlight for me was the flamenco and the beauty of the city.

I fell in love with Seville and can not wait to go back!

I visited Cordoba in November, and yes, on Saturday, November 4, it was free until 10am. There was a service going on in the chapel area, so that area was roped off until about 9:30 or so, then you could go in. Also, if you are in there at 10am, they don't throw you out and make you pay - you can stay as long as you like.

I got there at about 9am, and it was very quiet, only a handful of people there. Right around 10am was when the tour groups started to arrive and it became much less peaceful.

There are so many day-trippers visiting Cordoba, it changes into quite a different place in the evening and early in the morning. I was really glad I spent the night there and had the time to experience that.