Basílica de la Macarena

To understand Seville you have to understand Holy Week, the Semana Santa, when dozens of brotherhoods carry their images through the streets in procession, and to understand Holy Week you have to visit La Macarena. The basilica, inaugurated in 1949 and built largely with donations from the faithful, stands just inside the old city gate of the same name in the north of the old town, and it is the home of the Esperanza Macarena, the image of the Virgin of Hope carved by an anonymous sculptor in the seventeenth century. Few images anywhere inspire such devotion. She stands above the high altar, her face streaked with crystal tears, dressed in rich embroidered robes and wearing on her breast five emerald-green brooches, the mariquillas, a gift from the great bullfighter Joselito el Gallo, who was devoted to her. In the small hours of Good Friday, during the night known as the Madrugá, her brotherhood carries her out of the basilica on a silver float, preceded by the image of Christ of the Sentence and by the armaos, the brotherhood's Roman soldiers, and thousands of people wait through the night to see her pass. The rest of the year, the basilica is a place of constant visits, with Sevillanos dropping in to pray and visitors coming to see the image. The brotherhood's museum shows the treasures of the procession: the floats, the processional robes with their dazzling gold embroidery, the crowns, candlesticks and liturgical objects, and the uniforms of the armaos, and it explains how a brotherhood works and what the procession means. Outside, beside the basilica, runs the best-preserved stretch of Seville's Almohad walls, more than a hundred metres of twelfth-century rammed earth with square towers and battlements, alongside the Arco de la Macarena, one of the ancient gates into the walled city.

Visiting: the basilica is open daily, morning and evening, with a closure in the middle of the day; entry to the church is free, and the museum charges a modest fee. Dress respectfully, keep voices low, and avoid visiting during Mass if you want to walk around. The image is visible from the nave throughout the day. Allow half an hour for the basilica and another half-hour for the museum. The walls can be seen from the street at any time; walk along the outside of them on the Ronda for the best view of the towers and battlements.

Holy Week and beyond: if you are in Seville during Holy Week, the Madrugá procession of the Macarena is one of the great experiences of the year, but it is also extremely crowded, so plan carefully and expect to stand for hours. Outside Holy Week, the basilica gives you a sense of that devotion in calm, and the museum's floats and robes help you imagine the procession. Many visitors find the experience surprisingly moving, whatever their own beliefs.

The neighbourhood: the Macarena district is one of the most authentic in the old town, a residential quarter of narrow streets, convents, local markets and neighbourhood bars where tourists are few. From the basilica, walk south along the Calle San Luis, with its fine churches, including the Baroque San Luis de los Franceses, to the Alameda de Hércules for lunch or a drink, or explore the Feria market for a taste of local life. The basilica is about twenty-five minutes on foot from the Cathedral, or a short bus ride. Combine it with the Alameda and the Setas de Sevilla for a day in the north of the old town, far from the crowds of Santa Cruz. In the weeks before Holy Week, the basilica is especially busy with brotherhood preparations and visitors, which adds to the atmosphere.