A full day in Seville, on foot

Go to Calle Felipe II and park by Taberna La Auténtica — free parking on that road. Get there by 10.30–11am and order the typical Andalusian breakfast, jamón serrano con salmorejo, with a coffee (un café) or a fresh orange juice (un zumo de naranja, por favor).

Come out of La Auténtica, turn left, walk straight ahead and cross the road to enter through one of the gates. A great park to walk around and enjoy the orange trees, the palm trees, the palaces, the ponds and ducks, and the horse and carriage.

The most famous square in Seville, with the biggest colonnade in Europe, an internal canal with boats, a fountain, horse and carriage, live flamenco under the arches and great views. They filmed a scene of one of the Star Wars films on this square. You can't miss it.

Leave Plaza de España behind on your right, come to the roundabout, walk on Avenida el Cid to the next roundabout and you'll reach the Real Alcázar. Walk to Plaza del Patio de Banderas to buy tickets from the ticket office at the end on the right — it's worth paying. The Arab palace and gardens have fountains, palm trees, orange trees and peacocks, and it's great to spend two or three hours strolling there.

Right behind and around the Alcázar you have the Judería, the ancient Jewish quarter. It's worth getting “lost” in those alleys. Very atmospheric.

Right in front of you as you come out of the Real Alcázar. La Giralda is the massive tower the Christian kings built on top of the Arab mosque — the tallest tower in Seville and the most historical and iconic symbol of the city.

Some of the best tapas in the city at very cheap prices, in a very special place: during a refurbishment in the pandemic lockdown they discovered the bar sits on a 12th-century hammam, an Arab bath by the original mosque. It's literally opposite La Giralda tower, 50m up Calle Mateos Gago.

• chipirón con arroz negro — squid with ink rice
• salmorejo — cold tomato and garlic soup
• carrillera en salsa — beef cheeks in a sticky sauce
• bacalao al pil pil — cod in a Spanish sauce
• solomillo al whisky — pork tenderloin with chips
• alcachofas con crema de boletus y langostinos — artichokes, wild mushrooms, king prawns
• pulpo braseado con patatas y allioli — grilled octopus, potatoes, garlic mayonnaise
• huevos estrellados con jamón — eggs with Serrano ham
• cazón en adobo — marinated fried white fish
• chocos — fried cuttlefish
• tortillitas de camarón — shrimp fritters

To drink: un Fino, the dry white wine typical only of Sevilla and Cádiz, which marries very well with cheese and tapas · tinto de verano, red wine with lemonade, lemon and ice · una copa de vino tinto · una cerveza Cruzcampo, the beer brewed in Seville · una clara con limón, a shandy.

By the river: the most ancient and original bullfighting ring in Seville, and quite a symbol of the city if you can go in to have a peep.

A historical small tower by the river where the Spanish conquistadores stored all the gold — oro, hence the name — from their travels to Latin America in the 15th to 17th centuries.

Walk from Torre del Oro along the riverwalk with the river to your left and Triana, the flamenco quarter, on the other side. Along the walk to Puente de Isabel II you'll see a Nao, the ship used by Colón to “discover” America in 1492.

A beautiful bridge to cross the river from the Arab, Christian and Jewish quarter into Triana, with a great view of the city.

The cradle of flamenco. A very authentic Sevillian quarter where you can see luthiers at work in their workshops handcrafting Spanish guitars, catch flamenco shows, and eat good tapas.

Pop into this small place for an authentic Sevillian dinner standing at the bar, at a tiny table by the staircase, or sat upstairs.

• punta de solomillo — tenderloin
• champiñones — mushrooms
• chipirones — tender squid
• pez espada — grilled swordfish

End the day with a cocktail at sunset on the terraza beside Hotel Alfonso XIII. Walk through reception to see the indoor patio, then past the lifts, through the foyer and an old bar, out to the terrace under the stars beside the hotel garden.