The sunny city of Seville is peppered with lovely river side cafes and tapas bars with Arab-style internal courtyards where a simple glass of wine and a few olives can feel like total luxury in such an exotic setting. In many tapas bars you are offered plenty of free nibbles with your drink and this can be a great way to recharge your battery for free if you can’t afford a meal out. The Santa Cruz area is your best bet for this kind of bar.

The lovely Maria Luisa Park is a great place to enjoy a picnic or a romantic stroll with its leafy gardens and ponds and the Guadalquivir River is equally attractive. Plaza España is another free highlight for most visitors to the city. The Giralda Tower, the Royal Alcazars and the Cathedral are not free to visit so, if you are strapped for cash, you can either just settle for gawping at them from the outside or invest in a Seville Card and visit them all at a reduced rate.

If you don’t have a senior or student discount card, the Sevilla Card is a great option for free entry to most of the city’s museums and attractions as well as the Isla Magica park. It also offers good discounts in many restaurants and shops. The card costs 50€ for 24 hours and 60€ for 48 hours. You can also enjoy unlimited free public transport for just a few more euros. Visit the tourist office for more information.

For a cheap stay in the city, look for a budget hostel in the city centre or consider staying at a self-catering apartment for a longer stay and save on eating out. Flying out of the high season and during the middle of the week at unsociable hours is guaranteed to bring the cost of your flight down too.

A trip to Seville is never going to be completely free but it certainly doesn’t have to break the bank either!

Naturally, there is a price to pay for a trip to such a cool city and the most expensive (but also most exciting) times to visit Seville are during Holy Week (Semana Santa) with its religious processions and the annual April fair (Feria de Abril) which takes place two weeks later and is a colourful and lively event with music and parties held in marquees on the city’s permanent fairground and women wearing flamenco dresses. Summer in Seville is for the brave only with temperatures topping 40 degrees! Spring and autumn and winter are the quietest and coolest times of year to visit Seville, although you will find plenty of nightlife and opportunities to socialise all year round here as the locals are famously friendly and fun loving; just head to one of the hundreds of tapas bars in the centre and move with the crowds from bar to bar.
During the day (when you have recovered from your night out) you should head to the beautiful, historical Santa Cruz district in the city centre as that is where you will find Seville’s most treasured monuments: the Cathedral of Seville – one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and one which was built on the site of the city’s former mosque, the Giralda bell tower, the University of Seville, housed in what was originally the first tobacco factory in Europe, the Moorish Palace known as the Alcazar, the Torre del Oro and Plaza España. Cheap accommodation in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood is readily available, although it is always a good idea to book in advance.

Andalusia’s interesting history is reflected in the patchwork of cultural monuments and architecture that you can find in Seville today. Its rich and varied past can be explored at the Traditional Arts and Customs Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, the Flamenco Art Museum and the Bullfight Museum as well as those located in the pretty Maria Luisa Park.

Nestled among orange growths, on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville awaits you!