This guide is for you if you have a day in Seville and want the Alcázar, the cathedral and the old quarter in it. The things that shape the day are decided before you arrive: the month, the day of the week, and two sets of tickets. Here is how to get them right.
Pick the month for the heat
Seville in July and August regularly goes past forty degrees. The tour starts early and moves you between quarters in the car, which helps, but the walking is still done in the heat. If your dates are flexible, spring and autumn are easier on everyone.
Spring has its own catch. Holy Week fills the city, and its dates move with Easter, so check them for your year. Processions close streets in the afternoon and evening, taxis and buses are diverted, and restaurants need booking ahead. Monument hours change that week too: the cathedral has limited hours and the Alcázar closes on Good Friday. If you are coming then, check both official sites for that week's hours before you plan the day.
The April Fair follows two clear weeks after Holy Week, at the fairground in Los Remedios, beside the river. Despite the name, it sometimes runs into May.
Pick the day of the week for the cathedral
This is the detail most people miss. The cathedral opens for visits at 11:00 from Monday to Saturday, but not until 14:30 on Sundays. Our stop is at about 11:30, so on a Sunday the cathedral does not fit where it normally sits.
If Sunday is your only day, you see the cathedral from outside, or tell us and we adjust the order with you. Any other day, the timing works as it stands.
The Alcázar opens every day at 09:30, which is when you arrive. It closes at 17:00 from October to March and at 19:00 from April to September. It shuts on 1 and 6 January and, now and then, for official events. Check the Alcázar's site before your date.
Book both tickets online, and only from the official sites
Neither entrance is included, and both work on time slots. Book them before you travel.
- The Alcázar: it says its own website is the only official, authorised seller, and tickets that have been altered are refused at the gate. Choose a slot at or soon after 09:30 so it matches your arrival. In season the queue without a ticket can be two hours.
- The cathedral and the Giralda: book on the cathedral's own site. A slot around 11:30 fits the day.
Allow time for the Giralda if you want it. You climb it on ramps, not stairs: more than thirty of them. One visitor guide puts the cathedral and the climb together at two to three hours. That is longer than the stop on the tour, so decide in advance whether the tower or a longer lunch in Santa Cruz matters more to you.
How the eight hours run
You are collected at 07:00 and start at Plaza de España and the María Luisa park at 07:30, while the air is still cool. At 09:30 you are at the Alcázar, at about 11:30 the cathedral, and at 13:00 you walk Santa Cruz with your guide and stop for lunch. At 15:00 you are dropped at your hotel, in Triana, or wherever you are heading.
The city is flat and compact, so most of this is on foot. The car carries you between the quarters and gives you somewhere cool to sit between stops. Lunch is not included.
Because the car is yours alone, the order can bend. If your Alcázar slot is later than planned, the cathedral can come first on a weekday. If the heat is too much, the walking can be cut back.
Doing it on your own
You can. The Alcázar, the cathedral and Santa Cruz sit close together, and the Plaza de España stands beside the María Luisa park. A fit adult with good shoes and booked tickets can walk the whole thing.
What you give up is the guide, the walk through Santa Cruz with someone who can tell you what you are looking at, and the car between stops when the afternoon is hot. With children or older travellers in summer, that last part counts for more than it sounds. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to wear and bring
- Shoulders and knees covered for the cathedral. In summer that means a light shirt or scarf in your bag, not a jacket.
- A hat, sun cream and water. Much of the Alcázar visit is in the gardens.
- Comfortable walking shoes. Most of the day is on foot, and the Santa Cruz lanes are narrow.
- Both tickets on your phone, with the times you booked.
- A card or some cash for lunch and drinks.
Anything you do not need can stay in the car.
The short version: avoid a Sunday if you want the cathedral at midday, book the Alcázar for 09:30 from its own site, cover shoulders and knees, and think twice about high summer.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits a first visit to Seville and anyone who wants the three big sights without working out the tickets and the heat on their own.
- Summer with small children or older travellers: it is a long, hot day. Tell us when you book; the walking can be cut back.
- Limited mobility: the Santa Cruz lanes and the Giralda ramps are the hard parts. Mention it when you book and your guide will adjust the walk.
- You want flamenco: we can end the day at a tablao in Triana and arrange the booking. Ask when you book.
- You would rather see Córdoba: it is forty minutes by train and makes a different day. Ask us and we will price it.
If you are also visiting Madrid or Barcelona, our guide to private tours in Spain compares the three days, and this article sums up each one.
Questions people ask
Is the cathedral open on a Sunday morning?
Not for visits. On Sundays it opens to visitors at 14:30. Plan for another day, or tell us and we will rework the order.
Can we skip the Giralda?
Yes. You can leave it out and spend the time in Santa Cruz.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. The details are on our cancellation page.
Booking the day
Choose a weekday outside the hottest weeks if you can, book the two sets of tickets, then book the car. Everything the day includes is on the Seville private day tour page, where you choose the size of your group.
