What to see in Seville is a section that contains information about interesting places to visit in Seville, such as monuments or other places of interest.
What to see in Seville
1.- Cathedral de Sevilla
The Cathedral of Seville, also known as Saint Mary´s Cathedral, was declared by Unesco a World Heritage site in 1987.
It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world and the third largest Christian temple after Saint Peter´s in Rome and St. Paul´s in London.
Its building took place in the site remaining after the demolition of the old Aljama Mosque (13th century) whose only remains are the Minaret (Giralda), the Patio de los Naranjos (Courtyard of the Orange Trees) and the Puerta del Perdón (The Door of Forgiveness).
The works started in 1401 and lasted for nearly a century. Over time, this Gothic church, converted to Christianity in 1248 by King Ferdinand III, was influenced by different trends: Mudejar, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical.
2.- Giralda
The Giralda is the bell tower of Seville´s Cathedral, and was the Minaret of the Main Almohad Mosque of the city of Isbilya.
Two distinct parts stand out, the Muslim and the Christian sections, as well as its height of 104 metres (including the Giraldillo-weather vane), which offers spectacular views of the city.
The Muslim section is the oldest, started in 1184 following the order of Abu Yaqub Yusuf to become the Minaret of the Almohad Mosque of Seville.
The other segment, the Christian one, was added in the 16th century.
A peculiar feature of the Giralda is the absence of stairs; there are 35 ramps wide enough to allow the sultan to ride up on his horse to watch the views from above.
The name of the tower is due to the biggest bronze sculpture of the Renaissance in Europe, located in the upper part of the monument and which served as a weather vane. It started to be called Giralda (“something that turns” in Spanish) and its bronze sculpture, Giraldillo, which represented “the victory of faith”.
3.-Plaza de España
The Plaza de España was built as the main building of the Ibero-American Exhibition which took place in Seville in 1929, and its benches show representations with tiles of all Spanish provinces, as well as busts of distinguished Spaniards on its walls.
It was designed by the Sevillian architect Aníbal González. The works started in 1914 and the first stone was laid by the King Alfonso XIII.
With a diameter of more than 200 metres, it has a semi-elliptical shape which symbolises the embrace of Spain and its former colonies. It also faces the river Guadalquivir, which was the way to follow towards America.
4.- Reales Alcázares
The Real Alcázar of Seville is a complex of palaces surrounded by a wall, which were built at different times and following different trends, for this reason it is called the Reales Alcázares (Royal Palace).
Its building started at the end of the 11th century ordered by Abd al Rahman III. The palaces were located between the Santa Cruz quarter and the Patio de la Montería which grew to reach the Alcázar at the harbour where the Casa de la Moneda would later be located.
Its rooms are linked to rulers such as Al-Mutamid, Ferdinand III from Castile, Alphonso X, Peter I the Cruel and the Catholic Monarchs.
It has been the occasional residence of the Monarchs of Spain. It was declared a World Heritage Site along with the Cathedral and the Archivo de Indias (Archives of the Indies) in the year 1.987.
Gala Sevilla Hostel 