Seville

Learn Spanish in Seville, Spain!

Discover the rich history, traditional festivals, tasty tapas, and vibrant nightlife that make this southern city one of Spain’s most popular destinations for language study. Like every other city in Europe, Seville has its share of must-see attractions. However, Seville boasts a quixotic characteristic that is atmosphere. With a mix of Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Modern architecture, this Andalusian city creates a lust for life of the Sevillian people. Life here is so unique, you might not want to leave.

Seville has a long and fascinating history. It spans more than 3000 years and during this time Seville has crossed paths with dozens of civilisations. Such as the Roman governance of the whole of Spain for more than six centuries. Now Seville is the fourth largest city. The city’s golden era was in the 17^th century when it was a major trading centre of the Spanish Empire. Now divided by the Guadalquivir River and its harbour, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, it is the only river port in Spain.

Seville’s old town is among the largest in Europe

An enchanting network of narrow, winding, medieval lanes, and romantic, hidden plazas. Its heritage of art and architecture from Roman, Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque is breath-taking. Students can explore the three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Seville. Starting off with the Moorish style Alcazar Palace. Appreciate the architectural features, including delicate plaster work, arches, and mosaics. Next, the General Archive of the Indes, housed in Casa Lonja de Mercaderes, the ancient merchants’ exchange of Seville. Here you will find extremely valuable archival documents.

Finally, the Cathedral, the 15th century cathedral is the resting place of Christopher Columbus and the third largest in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. Its bell tower, La Giralda, is the minaret of the mosque that stood formerly on this site and has great views over the city. Among many other sites to explore and enjoy are the Barrio Santa Cruz Jewish quarter, the landscaped Parque Maria Luisa, 13th century Torre de Oro and Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija, which has an extensive collection of Roman mosaics and priceless artefacts from different centuries.

Getting around

Seville is easy to get around on foot and it is one of the best-served cities in Spain for cycle lanes with an excellent public bicycle rental scheme. But if you feel like venturing outside of Seville, Estación de Autobuses Plaza de Armas is Seville's main bus station and has services to Malaga, Granadam Cordoba and Almeria.

Moving Art

Take a river cruise or stroll along the Paseo de Colon and cross the Triana bridge into Triana, famous for its flamenco culture and ceramics. Modern Seville is a city of festivals, the well-known Holy Week and the Seville Fair in April are ones to look out for. It is also home to the great Andalusian traditions of flamenco and bullfighting as well as one of Spanish football’s great rivalries, between local teams Sevilla and Betis.

Secret colour of the city!

Enjoy nightlife in Seville like a true Sevillano, under the hidden light and secret colour of the city. The ambience of Seville during the night is truly different, enjoy many street performances and observe life in a different life in this beautiful city. The Alameda de Hercules area of Seville is considered one of the trendiest spots in the city. It has been an integral part of Seville’s nightlife since the 80’s.

A marriage between ingredients

The secret to the Seville cuisine is slow-cooking techniques and nuanced use of spices and seasonings. One of Seville’s most powerful flavours are found in the stewed rabo de toro (bulls’ tail). Slow cooked for hours in a red wine sauce resulting in meat so tender that it falls apart to the slightest touch. Fried pork loin in a whiskey sauce is a staple of Seville’s more traditional tapas bars. Espinacas con Garbanzos, or spinach with chickpeas, is yet another instance of how well the humblest ingredients is combined and cooked in the Andalusian cuisine. The wilted spinach is mixed with boiled chickpeas, generous amounts of seasoning and hints of turmeric and cumin, a perfect insight of southern Spain’s Arabic heritage. Other local specialities include fried and grilled seafood, grilled, jamon iberico and gazpacho, and sweet cakes like polvorones. The famous Seville oranges are rather bitter and mainly used to make marmalade and lotions!