| 57 things to do in and around Sevilla
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- hop on and take a short trip on the Tram! The tranvia will eventually be extended to make this a more practical option for city travel. For now you can go from the central shopping district (Plaza Nueva) out to the Prado (gardens next to Parque Maria Luisa). This is also convenient for catching the airport bus or a regional bus at the Prado station. The system is compatible with the bonobus pass, so you don’t have to mess with another type of ticket.
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 A recent tour of this Flamenco Museum had me impressed, with both the quality as well as the technology. A very large server room (the computer geek in me was very impressed) is needed for many of the interactive exhibits, including video and music. The Museum also has weekend flamenco shows, an instruction area and conference rooms upstairs. And you will always find changing art exhibits on all floors, including the basement area.
 Connect to the internet for free in many plazas in the center. Bring a laptop with WiFi? Try connecting in Plaza Alfalfa, Plaza de la Pescaderia, Plaza del Pan, Plaza de la Encarnacion or Plaza Salvador. There is a new free set of connections so you can surf until your battery runs out. Well, there is a 30 minute time limit for now, but when you run out the next plaza is less than a minute away. Spend your money on a drink - better than spending it to connect in a cyber cafe!
- It took me a while to figure out what the glass squares were for, I guess to get a quick glimpse of some Roman ruins in the Plaza de la Pescaderia. Just a block from the Alfalfa is the newly renovated Plaza de la Pescaderia, which was once practially a parking lot. Now it is a nice open plaza with outdoor dining and a few bars. You will notice a few windows looking into the ground. Below you can see the remains of some cisternas romanas, the system built by the romans to move water through the city center. From above it looks a lot like an underground street! Ok, so maybe it's not so exciting unless you know what it is...
- Just twenty minutes outside Seville you will find Venta del Alto. As you make your way towards the Sierra Norte natural park you will see plenty of signs for Aracena, Almaden and Portugal. Along with them you can’t miss the indications for Venta del Alto, a roadside restaurant and hotel on the edge of the Sierra Norte. This place has been around for almost 400 years, with plenty of history to go with it. It was the site of the capture of a famous Bandolero in the 1700’s, who stopped by hear to rest or even get a drink. Now it is wonderful place to eat, with two dining rooms, a nice bar and a large open patio, or corral just behind it. The food is excellent, from the typical Andalusian to wild game such as jabali (wild boar) and venao (venison). If you want to stay the night, a room overlooking the corral will only set you back 40 – 50 Euros. There’s even a swimming pool for the warmer months, plus a tiny Plaza de Toros just behind which they are restoring.
- One of my favorite gardens aside from the Parque Maria Luisa, the Jardines de la Buhaira can be found by leaving the Puerta de la Carne (Santa Cruz) and crossing the “Puente de Bomberos”. The gardens were formerly an ochard and there is plenty of space to move around. If you walk around enough you will find a permanent map hidden behind some walls. The map indicates many former sites from Islamic rule, including baths, cemetaries, mosques and more.
 Casa de Pineda Pinelo o algo – on a tour with Conocer Sevilla, we learned this was the house that El Corte Ingles saved. Before you give them too much credit, the department store chain offered to save it so they could tear down another one in Plaza del Duque many years ago. A trade off that at least left the city with one casa-palacio in better shape. It has been recently opened to the public (guided tours only), and is only a 2 minute walk from the Cathedral.- La Calle Parras – This street is probably the best place to see the Macarena porcession in Semana Santa. And when you walk the street you’ll have little doubt as to the devotion to this procession and church. Just count the houses with tile paintings related to the Virgin or the Señor. I think at least 75% of them feature something. You can also see the house of the brotherhood (cofrade) which has a nice display window.
- Seville Cemetary – Being further out from the city center and of course being a cemetery means this place gets overlooked. But it really is something to see, and many of Seville’s most famous people are buried here – including bullfighters, flamenco singers and dancers, doctors, politicians and more. Impressive are some of the statues and tombs which were constructed. And it is a peaceful area, with trees and flowers.
- Especially nice on a hot day, play in one of the many fountains in the renovated Alameda de Hercules. Your options will range from a light mist to an all out soaking depending on which one you choose. Then relax and dry off on one of the nearby benches as you sip a beer or a nice tinto de verano.
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