Why We Skipped the Alcázar in Seville (And What We Did Instead)

Seville is a showstopper of a city with its sun-drenched courtyards, fragrant orange trees and eye-popping architecture. It was also, by the time we arrived, the point in our trip where the heat and the crowds finally caught up with us.

We had planned to visit the Alcázar, and we did walk around the exterior, marvel at the walls and soak up the grandeur from the outside. But when we saw the queues and the number of tour groups bottlenecking the entrance, we made a snap decision… not today.

After days of back-to-back sightseeing in Madrid, Córdoba and Granada, we were ready to slow the pace. Here’s how we made the most of our time in Seville without setting foot inside the Alcázar.

Alcázar in Seville on a hot summers day. The sky is blue and there are rowboats on the water in front of the Alcázar.

Where We Stayed

We checked into a two-bedroom apartment at Guadalupe 15 by Magno Apartments, right in the heart of Seville’s old town. It was modern, bright, palm filled and within easy reach of everywhere we wanted to be.

The foyer area at Guadalupe 15 by Magno Apartments in Seville. A clean, bright area with tall ceilings and bright green palms.

Shade, Snacks & Sanity

On the day we skipped the Alcázar, we found a shaded café instead, where we ordered icy drinks, crisp pizzas and ice cream for lunch.

Not the traditional Spanish fare you’d expect, but it was calm, cool, and exactly what we needed. Sometimes, making good travel memories is more about choosing what not to do.

Courtyard Dining, Andalusian Style

Seville is spoiled for choice when it comes to beautiful food, so we leaned into that. Two standouts for us included:

Outside Restaurante La Sal in Seville. Photo shows a narrow alleyway with a black and white tiled floor and stone buildings either side.

Enjoying pre dinner drinks at the dining tables outside Restaurante La Sal in Seville, Spain

Azahar Restaurante – We sat in the loveliest cobblestone patio framed by duck-egg-blue wooden balustrades, swaying palms and spilling bougainvillea. The blue-and-white ceramic tiles warmed by the late afternoon sun made the most beautiful backdrop. Inside, the menu focused on seasonal Andalusian ingredients; simple, elevated, and generous. We let the boys go off script by devouring bacon cheeseburgers, while we stuck to the traditional route and enjoyed yet more anchovies on toast and steak tartare. It felt like dining in a secret garden.
Taberna La Sal – Tucked on a side street near the cathedral, with the hum of nearby conversation bouncing off stone walls. We ordered paella that arrived piping hot in its wide, shallow pan loaded with juicy prawns and tender calamari. The salt-baked prawns were a revelation: robust and briny, served whole, heads on, eaten with fingers and a squeeze of lemon.

Dinner times were the highlight of our day in Seville. We waited until just before sunset, and chose seats outside, where we could soak up the remaining heat of the day, take things slow and enjoy the heady atmosphere, without the crowds.

Menu for Azahar Restaurante in Seville, Spain taken in the courtyard dining area.

Anchovies on toast at Azahar Restaurante, Seville, Spain.

Guadalpark: A Strategic Surrender

By our second full day in Seville, the 43°C heat had flattened us. Any thoughts of more sightseeing were quickly replaced by a unanimous family plea: we needed to get out of the sun and find water. So, we quickly jumped online and rerouted our plans, heading for Guadalpark, Seville’s largest water park, located about 15 minutes by car from the city centre.

From the outside, it doesn’t look like much, but it was clean, well-organised, and most importantly, full of shaded spots and water slides. Lockers, sun loungers and basic food options are all available inside the park too, so if your visit is completely unplanned and last minute (like ours), they have everything you need for the day on site, albeit, no frills!

The boys had a blast, spending the entire day rocketing down brightly coloured twisty tubes, racing each other on foam mats, and floating around the lazy river. There’s a decent variety of slides for all ages at Guadalpark, including a wave pool, multi-track racers, and family-friendly splash zones.

Meanwhile, I found a shady spot and stayed there. It might not have been the day I had imagined in Seville, but it turned out to be exactly the day we needed.

Final Thoughts

Travel doesn’t always go to plan. Sometimes having to ad-lib a bit is the best part. We didn’t see the inside of the Alcázar this time, but we got something else: a much-needed pause.

We left Seville sun-kissed, rested, and reminded that letting go of the plan isn’t necessarily the same as missing out.