Plaza de España

Nothing in Seville prepares you for the first sight of the Plaza de España. Built by the Sevillian architect Aníbal González as the centrepiece of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, it is a vast semicircle of brick and glazed tile, some fifty thousand square metres, wrapped around a central fountain and opening, symbolically, towards the river and the Americas. Two tall towers mark its ends, and a canal some five hundred metres long follows the curve of the building, crossed by four bridges that represent the ancient kingdoms of Spain, with balustrades of blue and yellow ceramic. Along the base of the building runs the feature everyone photographs: a series of tiled alcoves and benches, one for each Spanish province, each with a map and a painted scene from its history; Spanish visitors seek out their home province, and everyone else picks a favourite. The style is a mixture that González made his own, the Regionalist style, borrowing from Renaissance, Baroque and Mudéjar Seville and executed in the city's own materials — brick, wrought iron, carved stone and above all azulejos from the potteries of Triana. The building now houses government offices, so the interiors are mostly closed, but the arcades, galleries and staircases are open and make a cool refuge from the sun. The canal is the other attraction: rowing boats can be hired for a short turn along the water, a classic Seville experience for families and couples alike. Film-makers have used the square for decades, from Lawrence of Arabia to the Naboo scenes of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and it remains the city's favourite backdrop for photographs, weddings and flamenco busking.

The plaza stands on the edge of the Parque de María Luisa, the green heart of Seville, and the two belong together. The park was donated to the city by the Infanta María Luisa Fernanda in the late nineteenth century and redesigned for the exposition by the French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, with tiled fountains, pools, glorietas dedicated to Spanish writers, and shady avenues of palms, orange trees and pines. At its southern end, the Plaza de América is framed by more exposition pavilions, including the Mudéjar Pavilion, home to the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs, and is famous for its white doves. Both the plaza and the park are free to enter, and they are among the best places in the city to slow down for a few hours.

A note on fees: in 2024 Seville's mayor floated the idea of fencing the plaza and charging non-residents an entrance fee to pay for its upkeep, which drew international headlines. The square is co-owned by the Spanish state, the plan needed national approval, and no fee has been introduced; at the time of writing, the Plaza de España is free and open to everyone. Check locally in case anything changes, and treat the tiles with care — they are fragile and many have been damaged by visitors over the years.

Visiting well: come early in the morning, when the light is soft and the square nearly empty, or in the late afternoon and early evening, when the brick glows and the flamenco performers often gather in the arcades. Midday in summer is brutally hot, with little shade in the open square, so retreat to the galleries or the park. Hire a rowing boat for a short turn on the canal, climb to the upper galleries for the best overall view, and walk the line of provincial alcoves. Horse-drawn carriages wait nearby and make a gentle circuit of the park and the old town; agree the price before you set off. From the Alcázar or the Cathedral, the plaza is about a fifteen-minute walk south past the old Royal Tobacco Factory, now part of the university, and the Hotel Alfonso XIII.