Brenda Stuart

Seville

Seville is the the capital city of Andalusia, and Spain's 4th largest city. The city is a mix Islamic and European design, shown at it's best by the Christian Gothic and Baroque style 'Catedral de Santa María de la Sede', and its Islamic style bell tower 'La Giralda', a converted minaret. After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia (in Istanbul) as the largest cathedral in the world, (a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years.)

Complimenting the cathedral is the splendor of the Alcázar, a palace still in use by members of the Spanish royal family, Casa de Pilatos, 16th-century palace of the dukes of Medinaceli, Plaza de España located in the Parque de María Luisa and The Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla the oldest bullring in Spain.

As a major city Seville is fairly crowded but still maintains a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. April sees The Plaza de Toros become the site of of the most well-known bullfighting festival in the world, the annual Feria de Abril, and the Seville river, is the venue for Velá (night) of Santa Ana, held in the Triana neighbourhood from the 24th, to the 26th of July.