Seville, Spain

Heading to Seville

We left from the awkward little bus station in Torrevieja on the way to Alicante so we could catch the train to Madrid. The bus was not included with our Eurail pass; the train was covered though. The trip from Alicante to Madrid takes you through the Spanish countryside and takes a little over 2 hours. Once in Madrid, we boarded another train heading south to Seville. This train ride was a little longer at about 3 hours and passed by Toledo and Córdoba along the way.

By the time we made it to Seville, we had been traveling for about 6 – 7 hours and needed to stretch our legs a little. Therefore, we decided to walk to the apartment as it was less than 3km from the station. Our apartment was near Catedral de Sevilla and the walk from the station was quite relaxing through the small streets that were lined with homes and small shops.

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We arrived at the apartment, dropped off our gear, and then headed out to see the town. Our apartment was very close to everything we needed to see in our short time in Seville. The apartment was a two-story with a loft and had a balcony on each floor. The street we were on was one of the main shopping streets with high-end retailers and restaurants. (Not that we are high-end shoppers or diners!)

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What The Duck?

A few feet from the apartment was an interesting store called the Sevilla Duck Store. This little store caters to all of your rubber ducky needs, wants, and desires. Apparently, there are several Duck Stores in Europe. Who knew those little rubber ducks could warrant a dedicated store, and in multiple cities?

As we rounded the corner from the shopping district, we entered a square as the bells on the cathedral began to toll a couple of blocks away. Due to the bells ringing loudly, we were able to find the cathedral easily a few blocks away. We really had no plans for what to do or see in Seville, as it was a stopover on the way to the Algarve in Portugal and Gibraltar.

Seville is Budget Friendly

We walked around for a few hours before hunger started to set in. Luckily, we found a restaurant tucked away on a side street that was very cheap and had great food. The menu consisted of tapas and entrees; the tapa portions were not small like you would see in the US though. It was a good thing we were walking as parking was limited and the spaces were tight. After eating some great food, we continued our walking tour of the city along the canal.

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Seville is a beautiful city and much less crowded than I had expected. Due to it being a warm summer day, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant to have something cool to drink, use the facilities, and relax for a few minutes. After the break, we spent another hour or so walking around and enjoying the scenery. It had been a long day, so we started to head back to the apartment which was about 45 minutes away at this point.

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Gibraltar

Unfortunately, we had to skip visiting Gibraltar on this trip. When you look at the map it looks fairly close to Seville, but getting there and back would have been 6 hours each way. We would have to burn at least two days to see everything we wanted to there. Also, the few hotels that were available anywhere convenient to Gibraltar were quite expensive. Although we didn’t plan that very well, we could get to Portugal a day earlier than we had planned. It was a good thing that we had a Eurail pass, as it allowed for a change in our plans without train ticket issues.

Portugal Here We Come!

After brunch at a café in the square near the apartment, we grabbed an Uber to the train station. It was a short walk, but we had full stomachs and it was too early for exercise. Unfortunately, there are no trains from Spain to Portugal in this area; we had to take the train to Huelva in Spain and then a bus into Portugal. We arrived in Huelva on time and grabbed a taxi to the bus station.

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However, there were two bus stations and it took a few minutes to figure out which one was correct. The bus station we needed was about 10-15 minutes away. It had a café and several bus operators had ticket windows and machines to purchase your tickets. The bus we wanted to take to Portugal did not have an open window, only a ticket machine. Not a big deal, it was in English and other languages.

Huelva Mess

Unfortunately, the ticket machine did not accept our US credit or debit cards, but there was an ATM in the station. However, we had the same issue with the ATM: nothing worked. A quick google search found several ATMs in the area; we sent the kids to find an ATM while we waited for the window to open. We needed cash to be 100% sure we didn’t miss our bus.

Luckily, the kids found an ATM a block away that worked. Cash in hand we purchased our tickets and waited about 30 minutes for the bus. The payment issue sounds like a short delay; it was well over 2 hours from the time we arrived at the station. Also, it is frustrating if you can’t purchase the tickets you need to get to the next place. Bus tickets in hand, bus under our butts, we were on the road to Portugal. Our first stop was Faro on the southern coast. The bus from Huelva to Faro took about 2 hours and we left the bus at the train station in Faro.

Seville is Worth a Visit

Overall, I would say visit Seville if you are in southern Spain. It is a walking-friendly city to explore without the need for additional transportation. The high-speed train from Madrid to Seville only takes 3 hours.  Therefore, Seville would make for a great day trip, an overnight escape from the hustle and bustle of a larger city like Madrid, or just a vacation destination. I could spend a few days in the area enjoying the food, sights and just relaxing at cafés.