Orange Trees & Peacocks | Seville, Spain, Seville, Spain

The largest city and capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Seville sits in the southwest corner of Spain, just over 500km from Madrid.

There are multiple flights daily between Madrid, Barcelona and other major cities to the Seville airport, running from 50-100 euro round trip on average. A ticket on a high-speed Renfe train runs 30-50 euro one-way. My two friends and I went by train to spend three days in the beautiful Andalusian city.

From the airport to the city center is about a 30 minute bus ride, which drops off at several points in the city. To get to the airport when we left Seville, we caught it at the train station out front, and I believe it was about 4 euros for the ride.

The Alcazar in Seville is a beautiful palace, originally constructed by Moorish kings in the 10th century, originally as a fort. Over the centuries, different reigning monarchs have made additions to the palace, giving it architectural and artistic complexity.

The expanse of gardens are extremely beautiful, speckled with orange trees and fountains. We even saw a peacock roaming about the grounds!

Good to Know: Tickets can be booked in advance and this helps to avoid long lines, and there is a student discount with valid ID. If tickets are booked in advance under selected “student” option, one MUST bring their ID with once they arrive at the Alcazar for the tour. In the Rick Steve’s Guidebook, he has information to do a self-guided tour of the Alcazar, which we read and followed along from room to room. This was a really nice way to do a tour, because we gained information at our own pace, without being shuffled around by a guide. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).