Our second stop in the culturally rich region of Andalusia was Sevilla which is often referred to as the cultural capital of Spain. There is no direct train between the Sevilla and Granada, so we opted for the ALSA direct bus which was cheaper and quicker than the train (approximately 3 hour bus ride).
When I researched Sevilla, I read that Semana Santa is a large celebration. Two years ago, we visited Portugal during Holy Week, and last Easter, we visited Mexico City. Both celebrate Semana Santa with large processions, business and school closures, etc. However, on both of those trips, we experienced very minimal disruption. There were larger crowds at a few places, a few businesses were closed, and we ran into an orderly stations of the cross or other procession. Also, the Easter events did not really start up until Holy Thursday in these locations. When I planned to arrive in Sevilla on Palm Sunday, I thought their version of Holy Week would be similar to Portugal or Mexico.
Wrong. So wrong. I should have researched more. What we learned after the fact is that Sevilla goes overboard on Semana Santa celebrations.
From Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday, there are multiple processions through the city. There are over 100 churches in Sevilla, and each is able to hold its own procession from its church to the cathedral in the center of the city if it wants. This year, there were approximately 60 processions. Each church has a brotherhood that organizes social activities, including the Semana Santa procession. Depending on where your church is located, processions can take up to 12 hours! Each church has a paso which is a giant ornate float that can weigh up to 1 ton and be hundreds of years old. Unlike a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans, these floats are not motorized. 20-40 men called costaleros carry the float. They alternate in and out so men can have a break, but it is common to see a costalero lying down by an ambulance or being carried out on a stretcher. The costaleros are carrying the float as a penance. I am very happy my priest always just tells me to say a couple of Hail Mary’s as my penance.
Semana Santa Paso
Accompanying the float is a large band. I don’t know how each church has so many musically inclined parishioners because the bands are huge and the music is great! Additionally, there are hundreds of people wearing white robes and cone shaped hats and carrying candles. These are the Nazarenos. Their cone shaped hats, especially the white ones, resemble the infamous Ku Klux Klan hoods but have absolutely nothing to do with the KKK. There are a few theories about the symbolism and origin of the hats. One is the hats represent their desire to repent for their sins without revealing their identity, as the hood only leaves space for their eyes. The Nazarenos carry around candy and a church trinket to hand out to kids to assure them that they are not scary.
Semana Santa Nazarenos
Yes, the processions are a beautiful tradition and interesting to see. However, for a tourist, they can cause a logistical nightmare. The processions are not a solemn, holy experience for all attendees. The crowds were mostly well dressed church goers who were drunk and urinating on the streets. The police were on patrol, but they did not do a good job of helping people cross parade routes or directing you around the parade route. Thus, a lot of tourists end up spending hours running into roadblocks trying to navigate around the processions. The times of the processions are published, but the routes are not. Locals obviously know where the parades run, but tourists don’t. Also, since each parade goes to the cathedral, the historic center is basically inaccessible for tourists during processions.
In summary, if you go to Sevilla during Semana Santa, do all of your sightseeing in the morning and early afternoon before processions begin. Plan your afternoon and evening activities around your hotel. Of course, you should also see a procession.
Any way, we arrived in Sevilla around noon and checked into our Gravinia 51 Hotel which was our favorite hotel of the trip. It was a quiet, clean, beautifully decorated boutique hotel near the river and the Triana neighborhood. We grabbed lunch and radlers at the Mercado Lonja del Barranco. This is a trendy food hall by the river, on the opposite side of Triana. We walked around Triana before heading to the Setas de Sevilla. This structure looks similar to a mushroom, thus the name. It is the largest wooden structure in the world. The viewpoint costs €3 to access.
Gravinia 51
Setas de Sevilla
Unaware that we would inevitably cross paths with many processions, we rushed toward the hotel to see the first of the Semana Santa processions. We watched twenty minutes of it and decided that was plenty. They move so slowly and stop multiple times so people can see the float.
After a siesta, we decided to head to dinner. Google didn’t show any traffic along the route we decided to take to avoid the processions. We were one block away when we encountered a line of spectators. We crossed the parade route, just to find the route curves back around. The police had barricaded the other streets off, effectively trapping us in the middle of the spectators.
We saw a few people walking through the crowd to hopefully exit at the next block, so we joined their caravan. A few seconds later, we had a line of 10 people following us hoping to escape Semana Santa hell. Our escape route was blocked by a hoard of Spaniards who refused to move out of the way because the paso was rounding the corner and they didn’t want to miss seeing it. Unfortunately for the stubborn spectators, Marshall is 6’4” and naturally blocked their views. Trying to avoid having a mob of angry Spaniards, he squatted for 20 minutes until the paso passed, and the caravan could continue.
After an hour of trying to navigate the parade route, we ended back at the hotel and asked for a recommendation near the hotel that was accessible. The hotel receptionist was well-intentioned; however, she kept telling us we should eat at 8 or 8:30 in Sevilla to ensure we get a table. It was already 9:30, and we had already informed her how we missed our 8:30 reservation because of Semana Santa. Eventually, she did provide good recommendations, and we ended up at Cotidiano.
The next day started with pastries at La Canasta, visiting the cathedral and the Alcazar de Sevilla. I recommend buying your Alcazar tickets in advance. We saw a very long line when we walked up the entrance and realized no one else bought a ticket online like we did. The website would not accept our American Visa credit cards which seemed to be a common problem discussed on TripAdvisor. Luckily our hotel was able to purchase the tickets for us and charge to our bill.
Alcazar de Sevilla
Alcazar de Sevilla
Alcazar de Sevilla
For Game of Throne fans, the Alcazar is where the Sunspear was filmed. It is a prime example of mudéjar architecture which is the Moorish inspired style used in Spain after the Moors were overthrown. The gardens are really large and spectacular, and the buildings are decorated with colorful tiles.
Alcazar de Sevilla
Alcazar de Sevilla
Azulejos at the Alcazar
Azulejos at the Alcazar
After strolling around the Maria Luisa park and viewing the Plaza de España that was built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition and has colorful tiles depicting the 50 provinces of Spain, we knew we were running out of time in the historic center before the processions started. We finally made it to the restaurant that we tried to eat dinner at the night before, 17 hours late. Perro Viejo is located near the cathedral and offers a variety of Spanish and some fusion dishes, such as chicken gyozas and a hamburger. It had a good well-rounded menu. I finally tried salmorejo which is like gazpacho’s sister but thicker. It is made of tomatoes and olive oil, thickened with breadcrumbs, and topped with chorizo and eggs. Like gazpacho, it is served cold.
Plaza de España
Plaza de España
Plaza de España
Sevilla gets very hot in the summer which is probably why every ice cream shop also sells lemon slushies. This was a perfect afternoon treat to cool off.
Sevilla Cathedral
After our siesta, we set out to try the craft cocktail scene in Sevilla. Note, craft cocktails are newer to Spain in general, so there are only a handful of options in each major city. We mapped out our route to avoid the processions (for the most part — it is impossible to avoid all of them) and ventured to Le Xix after watching part of a parade. We were the only ones drinking off their cocktail menu, as all the Spaniards were drinking beer, wine and gin tonics (they don’t call them gin and tonics here, simply gin tonics). In Barcelona, we discovered Tanqueray has a citrus flavor gin named Tanqueray Sevilla. In Sevilla, we discovered distribution had yet to reach them, and we were disappointed we couldn’t drink Tanqueray Sevilla in Sevilla.
Our second stop was Bar Americano in Hotel Afonso XIII. This hotel was gorgeous inside and out which is why it was also quadruple the price of our hotel. Even if you can’t afford to stay here, you should stop by for a drink, coffee or snack to see the hotel.
Last stop for the Sevilla portion of our trip was Maria Trifulca for dinner. I recommend making a reservation here, as it is popular. They have a terrace overlooking the river that is first come, first serve. The price point was a little higher here, but the food and service were worth it. Plus, the had a great playlist of American covers.
We were happy that we did not get trapped in another procession on our second day in Sevilla. We thought we were done with Semana Santa since we had an early train the next morning. At 2 am, we were awoken by a band marching right down our street. It turns out this was the one of the 12 hour processions. We came, we saw, we will never visit Sevilla during Semana Santa again.
Laura's Passport 