Seville Introduction Walking Tour (Self Guided), Seville

19th-century American writer Washington Irving noted that in Seville “the past lingers like perfume.”

Seville is the largest city and provincial capital of Andalusia, located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. Ancient tradition credits the city’s foundation to Hercules. Historically, early Phoenician settlers called the site Hisbaal, invoking the god Baal, a name later Latinised by the Romans as Hispalis. From this evolved the modern names Sevilla in Spanish and Seville in English.

Under Roman rule, Seville prospered as a river port exporting olive oil and agricultural goods across the empire. After Rome’s decline, the Visigoths made Seville an important religious and intellectual centre, closely associated with Isidore of Seville, whose writings helped transmit classical knowledge to medieval Europe.

A major turning point came in 711 AD, when Seville fell under Muslim rule and became known as Ishbiliyah. As part of Al-Andalus, the city expanded significantly, particularly during the Almohad period in the 12th century. Defensive walls, gates, and monumental buildings reshaped the urban fabric. The Gold Tower, a riverside watchtower, was expanded to three levels to control river traffic and defend the port.

In 1248, Seville was captured by Ferdinand III of Castile and incorporated into the Christian kingdom. The city’s development accelerated under Castilian rule. Mosques were converted into churches, and new public buildings rose in Gothic and Mudéjar styles, blending Christian and Islamic artistic traditions.

Seville’s greatest period of prosperity followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Granted monopoly control over trade with the Americas, the city entered its Golden Age, becoming one of Europe’s richest and most influential ports. Wealth from across the Atlantic transformed Seville’s architecture, art, and social life. This dominance faded in the 17th century, when plague, flooding, and shifting colonial realities brought economic decline.

Recovery came slowly, but by the late 20th century Seville experienced a construction boom greater than any before, reshaping the modern city. Today, Seville is defined by the accumulation of its layers—Phoenician, Roman, Islamic, Christian, and imperial.

Walking through Seville’s historic centre means moving between narrow Moorish streets, sunlit plazas, and monumental landmarks. You pass Seville Cathedral and the Giralda Tower, step into the intricate courtyards of the Royal Palace, and catch glimpses of the Gold Tower along the river. Orange trees line small squares, tile-covered façades catch the light, and church bells mingle with flamenco rhythms, as Roman, Islamic, Gothic, and Baroque layers unfold within a few steps.

And as Irving observed, that past never quite disappears—it lingers in the air, carried from one street to the next, waiting to be followed on foot.