Bisected by the Río
Guadalquivir, Sevilla is
fairly easy to find your
way about (though hell if
you're driving). The
old
city - where you'll
want to spend most of your
time - takes up the east
bank. At its heart, side
by side, stand the three
great monuments: the
Giralda
tower , the
Cathedral
and the
Alcázar ,
with the cramped alleyways
of the
Barrio Santa
Cruz , the medieval
Jewish quarter and now the
heart of tourist life,
extending east of them.
North of here is the main
shopping and commercial
district, its most obvious
landmarks the
Plaza
Nueva and
La
Campana , and the
smart pedestrianized
c/Sierpes
which runs between them.
From La Campana, c/Alfonso
XII runs down towards the
river by way of the
Museo
de Bellas Artes ,
second in importance in
Spain only to the Prado in
Madrid. Across the river
is the earthier,
traditionally
working-class district of
Triana
, flanked to the south by
the
Los Remedios
barrio , the city's
wealthier residential zone
where the great April
feria
takes place.
Points of arrival
, too, are
straightforward, though
the train station ,
Santa Justa, is a fair way
out on Avenida Kansas
City, the airport road.
Buses #27 and #32 will
take you from outside here
to the Plaza de la
Encarnación, from where
all sights are within easy
walking distance;
alternatively buses #70,
#C1 and #C2 will take you
to the main bus station.
The airport bus,
operated by Amarillos
(hourly; ?2.10),
terminates in the centre
at the Puerta de Jerez, at
the top of Avenida Roma
between the turismo and
the Fábrica de Tabacos.
To take the same trip by
taxi costs around ?15.
The main bus station
is at the Prado de San
Sebastián. Most companies
and destinations go from
here: exceptions include
buses for Badajoz,
Extremadura (the provinces
of Cáceres and Badajoz),
Huelva, Madrid and
international destinations
which arrive and depart
from the station at Plaza
de Armas by the Puente del
Cachorro on the river.
The main turismo
is at Avda. de la
Constitución 21 (Mon-Sat
9am-7pm, Sun 10am-2pm; tel
954 221 404); they have
good city maps,
accommodation lists and
you can get a copy of the
very useful free listings
magazine Giraldillo
, here too. There's also a
less chaotic municipal
tourist office at c/Arjona
28 just north of the
bullring (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm,
Sat & Sun
8.30am-2.30pm) by the
Puente de Triana, with a
sub-office at the Santa
Justa train station.
One way to get to grips
with the city is to take
an open-top bus tour
- especially good if
you're pressed for time.
This hop-on hop-off
service is operated by
Sevirama (tel 954 560 693)
and the buses leave
half-hourly from the
riverside Torre del Oro,
stopping at or near the
main sites (all-day
tickets cost around ?9).
