Seville

Seville is Andalucia’s capital and the cultural and commercial center of southern Spain. Seville, with a population of little over 700,000 (1.6 million in the metropolitan area, making it Spain’s fourth biggest city), is the top attraction in Andalucia, with lots to offer the tourist.

The city is divided into two parts by the Guadalquivir River, which flows smoothly and slowly. The Guadalquivir (known as Betis by the Romans and Betik Wahd-Al-Khabir by the Arabs) has had a significant influence on the city’s history. Seville’s position nearly coincides with the point at which the Guadalquivir River ceases to be navigable. The cereal-producing area of the Guadalquivir Valley begins here, and Seville has served as a seaport for agricultural commodities produced farther west. Intense commerce flourished in the region since Roman times, persisted under Muslim authority, and surged when Seville monopolized new trade with the Americas. As the monopoly was abolished and Cádiz mainly replaced Seville, the city fell into a period of relative decline.

Seville earned a reputation for its architecture and culture in the nineteenth century, and it was a stop on Europe’s Romantic “Grand Tour.” Since then, Seville has expanded its tourist business by hosting the International Exposition in 1992, which prompted the building of a new airport, a new railway station, a bullet train connection to Madrid, new bridges, and renovations to the principal boulevards. The tourist infrastructure is excellent, and the city is alive with festivals, color, and a booming nightlife scene.

SEVILLA CARD

Visitors to Seville might consider acquiring a Sevilla Card, which is meant to help in city discovery while also conserving valuable travel expenses. The card includes free admission to most Seville museums and monuments, unlimited public transportation (TUSSAM Buslines, NB: only for Cards with Public Transportation), a guided tour of Seville’s Real Alcazar, unlimited use of sightseeing buses, boat rides on the Guadalquivir River, and admission to the Isla Mágica Theme Park. The card also grants adults and children considerable discounts in stores, restaurants, entertainment, and recreation centers. The Sevilla card comes with a handbook and a city map. Please keep in mind that the Sevilla Card cannot be used on trams or buses.

The Sevilla card is available in three denominations of one, two, or three days in blocks of 24 hours from the moment of initial activation when inserted into the electronic validation terminals of the Sevilla Card Programme’s providers (be careful not to activate too soon).

Prices are as follows: €50 for one day (plus €53 for transportation), €60 for two days (plus €66 for transportation), and €65 for three days (plus €72 for transportation). When bought on the internet, the 2 and 3 day choices get a €3 discount per card.

The Sevilla Card is available for purchase in the following ways: Online; via phone +34 91 600 21 21 / 902 088 908; and in Seville, at tourist offices, airports, railway stations, travel agencies, and through national and international tour operators (check the website for addresses).

The Sevilla card Cultura, a less priced variant, is solely good for museums. (1 day is €28, 2 days are €32, and 3 days are €36). – 5% off if bought online.

If you only want to use the local buses, you may either pay the €1.40 single fee or buy a bonobus, a 10-trip travel card. Most kiosks and tabacarias have bonobuses (tobacco shops). Regular timings are maintained until roughly 11:30 p.m., after which night buses operate on the hour, with modified routes, until 2 a.m.

Seville has a Mediterranean subtropical climate. Seville, like other Mediterranean climates, has a dry summer and a rainy winter. The yearly average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. Summer is the major season, lasting from May to October, despite the declining daylight and inland location.

Seville, together with Córdoba (both in Andalusia), has the warmest summer in continental Europe among cities with a population of over 100,000 people, with average daily highs in July of 36.0 °C (97 °F). The average lowest temperature in July is 20.3 °C (69 °F), while the temperature often surpasses 40 °C (104 °F). On 12 February 1956, the weather station at Seville Airport recorded the lowest temperature extreme of 5.5 °C (22 °F). According to the NOAA Satellite and Information Service, a historical record high (disputed) of 50.0 °C (122 °F) was reported on 4 August 1881. [36] According to a weather station (83910 LEZL) situated in the southern section of Seville Airport, near the abandoned military zone, there is a non-accredited record by the National Institute of Meteorology of 47.2 °C (117 °F) on 1 August during the 2003 heat wave. After the European record of 48.0 °C (118 °F) set in Athens on 10 July 1977 and the 47.4 °C (117.4 °F) set in Amareleja, Portugal on 1 August 2003, this temperature would be one of the hottest ever recorded in Spain and Europe.

Seville is the most populous city in southern Spain, with the highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of any city in Andalusia, accounting for one-quarter of the region’s overall GDP. All communities in the metropolitan region rely on Seville’s economy, either directly or indirectly, while agriculture dominates the economies of the smaller towns, with minor industrial activity concentrated in industrial parks. The Diputacion de Sevilla, with provincial headquarters at the Antiguo Cuartel de Caballera (Old Cavalry Barracks) on Avenida Menendez Pelayo, offers governmental services to remote areas that they cannot supply for themselves. The University of Seville and the University Pablo de Olavide are prominent learning institutions in western Andalusia, offering a diverse variety of academic programmes; as a result, the city attracts a great number of students from Huelva and Cádiz.

Seville’s economic activity cannot be separated from the city’s physical and urban setting; the capital of Andalusia is the center of a rising metropolitan region. Aside from classic neighborhoods like Santa Cruz and Triana, areas farther distant from the center, such Nervión, Sevilla Este, and El Porvenir, have witnessed recent economic boom. This metropolitan region had tremendous population expansion and the building of new industrial and commercial parks prior to the 2007 economic crisis.

During this time, the city’s infrastructural availability helped to the establishment of an economy dominated by the service sector, but in which industry still plays a significant role.