La Giralda Tower Seville

From Mérida, we drove south to Seville. Seville is one of the great cities of Spain and for that matter, one of the great cities of Europe. Seville sits primarily on the eastern bank of the Guadalquivir River which is drains into the Atlantic, just 80 km (50 miles) to the south. It has been a port city for centuries. It is a large city, with about 1.5 million people living in the greater metropolitan area. In spite of its size, the main tourist sites can be visited comfortably over a couple days. We will divide our tour of Seville into three posts. This first one will cover the marvelous cathedral.

*Map of our car tour route. Seville is 193 km (120 miles) south of Merida.*

*Another beautiful evening in Seville along the Guadalquivir River, with the cathedral tower (La Giralda) in the distance (on the left) and the Torre del Oro on the bank of the river (upper right).* *Our apartment was on the west bank of the river (to the right of this photo), just about a 10 minute walk from the river and the old quarter of Seville.*

Seville Cathedral

The Seville Cathedral is one of the great Gothic cathedrals in Europe, and in fact the largest in Europe. It was built on the site of a great mosque, of which the tower (La Giralda) and a courtyard (Patio de los Naranjos) are remnants. This is the where the tomb of Columbus is located. It is difficult to get a great exterior photo of this cathedral due to its size and somewhat cramped location in the old Jewish quarter (Santa Cruz) of Seville.

*La Giralda (Bell Tower) dates back to 1198 and was part of the original mosque located here.*

*View of the transept ceiling of the cathedral (left) and a close-up view of the Retablo Mayor at the high altar (1482-1564).*

*View of the organ pipes and choir in the Seville Cathedral.*

*Tomb of Columbus in the Seville Cathedral – his coffin is held by representatives of the kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragón and Navarra.*

*A view of the La Giralda and the northwestern entrance of the Seville Cathedral, from the shady and cool Patio de los Naranjos.*

Cathedral Rooftop Tour & La Giralda Tower

We took a tour of the Seville Cathedral rooftop (“Cubiertas”). We planned this tour in advance since tickets and tour times are limited and crowds can make for long lines. The tour was offered only in Spanish, but our tour guide was kind enough to give us a short summary in English after each stop. It was fun getting a more intimate experience with the cathedral than offered by just visiting the main hall. The rooftop tour was 20 Euro/person and the Cathedral & Tower entrance fees were 11 Euro/person as of March 2022. If I had to choose, I would just do the Cathedral & Tower, since the views are a bit better from the tower than the rooftop. The best European cathedral rooftops I have visited are Milan (Italy) and Chartres (France).

Markings like these were used to help stone cutters shape blocks consistently and at the right angles for construction.

Unique views of the cathedral and its construction are provided on the rooftop tour.

*The rooftop tour also included a short interior walk high above the main floor, for a view of the cathedral few people see.*

La Giralda Tower

We also climbed La Giralda tower, dating from the 12th century. Rather than steps, there is a sloping ramp all the way to the top of the tower, making the ascent a bit easier.