Tips for traveling to Sevilla, Spain

If you’re planning a trip to Sevilla, I rounded up my top tips depending on whether you’re in town for a short trip, a longer stay, and some of the things I wish I’d known. 

Hi friends! I hope that you’re having a wonderful week so far! This is the last post in my travel series (we did a cruise to Spain, Italy and France + time in Barcelona and four weeks in Sevilla) and things will return to our regularly scheduled programming around here. You know, until I plan my next unhinged trip lol.

Today I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned about Sevilla: things to know, favorite restaurants/spots, and tips I had to learn the hard way. I’ve broken it up into two segments; the first is if you’re planning a shorter trip (a week or so) and for longer trips (3-4+ weeks).

Tips for traveling to Sevilla, Spain

Short trip:

Language:

If you’re traveling to Spain, I think it’s absolutely worth learning key phrases you’ll be using. This book is extremely helpful and I also recommend working with a tutor if possible. Josep is my current tutor and he is amazing! While I’ve found that quite a few people in Spain know English, many don’t. It’s worth knowing at least how to get where you want to go in a taxi, how to order food and drinks, ask for the bill, ask where the bathrooms are located, make polite conversation, etc.

Also worth noting that in Sevilla, they’ll use condensed versions of phrases, which is casual and fun:

– Por favor (please) = porfa (I didn’t personally use this one because it feels kind of cutesy but definitely heard it)

– Hasta luego (see you later) = a luego

– Buenos días (good morning) = buenas (but you can say buenas any time of day instead of hola for hello)

– Gracías (thank you) = gracía

Also expect to hear and use “Vale” a lot. It can be in agreement, OK, do you understand? (vale?), are you ready? (vale?), I’m ready (Sí, vale), let’s go (vale!), etc.

Wear comfortable shoes!

There is a lot of walking, which is one of my favorite things. I love to explore new places on foot The streets are cobblestone and sometimes uneven, so stay away from heels. Cute sneakers and sandals are always a good choice. You can swap to dressier sandals or an espadrille for dinner. I live in Vejas when we’re in Europe!

Air conditioning

AC is more rare, even in restaurants and shops. Get a cute fan and you’ll fit right in! Since we’re from AZ and I love hot yoga, the heat didn’t bother me much at all, but the kids were melting. We ended up going into Alehop to get P a face mister and a neck fan.

Reservations:

Book any dining reservations and tickets in advance.

Some of my favorite spots:

Royal Alcazar

Museo del Baile Flamenco

Las Setas

Plaza España

Triana Market

The Cathedral

Flamenco at Las Setas, Casa de la Memoria, or La Cabonería (a bar with impromptu flamenco performances)

Restaurants

Dining tips:

– If you want water, make sure to specify if you want agua con gas (sparkling) or natural (still).

– Coffee shops will often ask if it’s para aquí (to eat there) or para llevar (to go). While it’s no big deal for smaller spots, some restaurants do not offer takeout meals or will charge for the takeout supplies – just something to consider. To-go boxes after a meal are not as common, so you have to ask and expect to pay a little (.50-1 euro) for the takeout supplies.

– Tipping still is not expected here, but appreciated. My friend in Barcelona said to tip a euro or two if you feel like the service was excellent/above and beyond.

– Order the tinto de verano instead of sangria. It’s less sweet, and super good and refreshing. Also highly recommend getting a bottle of Albariño wine.

– Paella is a more commonly a lunch food, not a dinner food.

Our top restaurants in Sevilla:

– Mokambo for brunch

– Alfalfa 8 for cocktails and dinner

-Petra for cocktails and dinner

– El Rinconcillo for lunch or dinner

– Maria Trifulca for a romantic dinner

– Cañabota (an incredible Michelin star experience we enjoyed)

– Chok gluten-free bakery

– Almazen – cute little breakfast cafe

Longer trip:

Since we were in Sevilla for four weeks, we got to experience what it might be like to *live* there for a little while, with lots of downtime, grocery shopping, cooking in the Airbnb, laundry, and not feeling like we were in a rush to do everything.

Grocery shopping tips:

We ended up grocery shopping most days because it’s summer and the kids snack a ton, but also so that we could see what was fresh and good. When we’re out of town (especially for longer trips) we try to go out to eat max 1x a day (maybe a snack or ice cream, too) because it can get very expensive and we don’t feel our best with 100% restaurant meals.

Also, vegetables are kind of scarce here in restaurants. It’s not the norm to go to restaurants and see lots of vegetable sides or salads on the menu. I tried to just snack on them and cook them at the Airbnb when I could, just to get in some extra nutrients and fiber.

Produce shopping:

You need to wear gloves to touch any produce, and to put the produce into a produce bag. Once it’s bagged, take it to a nearby food scale to weigh it. You find the produce you’re weighing on the screen, press the button, a sticker bar code pops out to attach to the produce bag.

Bring your own bags.

They have bags available, but you have to pay for them, and it’s easier to just stash a couple of tote bags in your luggage to use as beach, pool, and grocery bags.

Some of our staples:

Fruits

Veggies and hummus or guacamole for dipping

Gluten-free picos and nutella

Refrigerated prepared Spanish tortilla (soooo good)

Yogurts

Eggs

Chips and bars

Peanut butter on toast with berries or banana

I also brought Daily Nutritional Support and Truvani from home so I could mix the two for a protein pudding topped with berries, bar, or peanut butter

Laundry:

We usually plan on doing laundry if possible when we travel because then we don’t have to pack so much! I bring our laundry pods from home. (I use the Rosey brand from Thrive Market.)

Worth mentioning here that dryers aren’t as common in Spain. You line dry your clothes outside. To be honest, I actually love this. The sun dries the clothes so quickly and they feel so fresh and clean! The only bummer is that towels get a little crunchy Our Airbnb had a washing machine and a drying rack that I would haul to the rooftop to dry our clothes.

The rooftop ended up being locked for a while, so I dried them in the living room on the drying rack:

Airbnb:

If you’re staying for a longer, I definitely recommend finding a spot with AC (worth it in the summer) and a patio or somewhere to chill outside. This was my only regret with our Airbnb. It was very cute, but very small because I’d figure we’d be out and about most of the time. We ended up spending a lot of time there and I would have loved to have a little patio or somwhere to chill outside while the girls were sleeping in or relaxing in the AC.

Trash + recycling:

It’s different than the states! Most spots have a neighborhood trash location where you’ll drop off your trash and sort recycling. I’m always impressed by the recycling out here with a bin for glass, pastic, paper/cartons, food scraps, and miscellaneous.

Bathrooms:

Worth noting here that you can’t flush any toilet paper down most of the toilets in Sevilla. There is usually a large trash can next to the toilets for toilet paper or anything else you need to toss. The pipes are very old and can clog easily. Sometimes public restrooms don’t have toilet paper, so it’s handy to have a pack of tissues and hand sanitizer in your purse.

Random:

– Eat the jamòn. I never eat pork in the states but you can bet your booty I have jamón pretty much every day we’re in Spain.

– Get flats at Flabelus!! (heads up they run small. I’m usually a 38 and sized up to a 39)

– Check out Mira Mira for super inepxnsive but very cute jewelry

– Get some of the chocolate bon bons and the turrón at the chocolate shops.

– Buy some of the best olive oil (that you can actually order on Amazon but still!)

-Order carrillada (pork cheek with a red wine reduction sauce… to dieeeee for)

– Walk over to Triana to browse all of the handmade ceramics!

Ok, I think that’s most of my tips… for now!!

If you go to Sevilla, have the best time. It’s truly a magical place with gorgeous culture, super friendly people, amazing food, and breathtaking sights. You will looooove it.

Ok, friends: what’s on your travel list right now? Any Sevilla recs to add?

xo

Gina