Castles · Tour

Private Alcázar and Cathedral, with the Columbus Tomb Controversy

About three hours with a private guide across the two monuments that matter most in Seville. The Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in the world, and it holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus, which has been argued over for longer than most people realise: whether the remains inside it are his, and which of the several cities claiming him is right. A private guide has time to lay out that argument properly rather than pointing at the monument and moving on. The Giralda is climbed. Nearly 100 metres, a minaret before it was a bell tower, and until recently the highest point in Seville. Then the Alcázar. It was begun under Islamic rule and finished by Christian kings who kept building in the same language, which is why its courtyards, rooms and gardens read as two cultures working together rather than one replacing the other. The Spanish monarchy still stays here when they come to the city. The Santa Cruz quarter can be added: the old Jewish district, now a knot of narrow lanes where the Andalusian city is still legible at street level. The group forms on the steps beside the column of the Virgen Inmaculada.