You know I love a good ol’ castle or palace so it seemed only right to visit the Alcazar of Seville on our recent city break to the city. The Alcazar is a royal palace and a UNESCO site so if you’re keen to tick off a few of these sites then a visit to Seville is a must as there are three UNESCO sites in the city!
The Alcazar of Seville is often described as one of the most beautiful palaces in Spain…(note to self to google the other palaces of Spain).
Very rarely am I organised when I travel these days but I made an exception and booked our tickets a week or so before our trip as I heard the queues could be horrendous…you think going in February would make the queues smaller…nope…there’s nothing better than skipping past a long queue! Book the tickets online especially during the summer months – this is the website to use.
If you’re a keen photographer then I suggest you choose your times wisely for your visit as the glare at 3pm was pretty dreadful and I didn’t get the photo that I really wanted…first world problems I know.
The Alcazar is just one of those wonderful spots where you can wander around at your own pace…there’s no guided forced tour that weaves you in and out quickly so you can pop into hidden little courtyards…
…admire the big beautiful plants (sometimes big is better!)…
…smells the oranges…
…check out the most amazing ceilings (just a tad bit better than the polystyrene tiles that we had when we moved into our house in Bedford…just a tad)…
…and the most impressive artwork that makes you wonder if the frame is more expensive than the artwork??!
Now let’s talk about tile porn…Seville will tickle your tail feather like you wouldn’t believe especially inside the Alcazar…I wrote a whole shoefie post about it…
…let’s just say that G was happy to walk around at a normal persons pace while I walked around at the pace of someone having kittens every time I saw more bright and beautiful tiles…
…and then having to photograph them…
…it’s amazing that we actually made our flight back to England to be honest!
^^This is what happens when tile and door porn combine!
Just look at how exquisite the detailing is…
…where’s a chisel when you need one!
Once you’ve soaked in a million and one tiles…it’s time to step outside…
…into the gardens of the Alcazar; it’s such a gorgeous place to sit and soak in the comings and goings of the royal palace…
…there’s plenty of little places to hide…
…or to have a conversation or two with some oranges if you’re feeling a bit lonesome…
…or you could just sniff the pretty flowers until you realise that they give you hay fever…doh!
In the main courtyard…there’s a tiled staircase to heaven…
…which will give you great views over the House of Trade…
…and a perfect place to take that famous back traveller aka Dame Traveller pose for instagram…I had to wait a few minutes while two ladies tried to perfect this pose…and I’m not the most patient of people…EVER!
Obviously all maidens should have their photo taken in the Courtyard of the Maidens…this was the photo that I couldn’t get right as the sun was blinding me….grrr!
But just as we were leaving I got my favourite photo from our whole trip to Seville…for me it sums up everything that I loved about Seville…a bright, colourful and arty city…one that I would happily return to in a heart beat.
So have you visited the Alcazar of Seville – what did you think? What other palaces do your recommend in Spain? You can read more about my trip to Seville here and my Seville gluten free recommendations.
xx
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