Seville or Barcelona? Where to Go + What to Do
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Spain is a large European country filled with history, art, culture, and beautiful sights. Two of the most visited cities in Spain are Seville and Barcelona.
I visited both in May of 2019 and while I enjoyed my time in both, there is a city I prefer more than the other.
Read on for more travel tips to Seville and Barcelona, what to do, where to stay, and which city I would pick if I had to!
Barcelona
Where to stay
We stayed at an Airbnb near Las Ramblas. It was cheap (for Barcelona) at 78$ a night, a private room in someone’s apartment. It was difficult to find a place to stay that was less than 100$ a night, even some hostels were extremely expensive!
How to get there
We took a short one hour flight from Seville early in the morning to Barcelona. A one way ticket was just about 100$ with Vueling Airlines.
What to do
When we here in May, we did the typical tourist things in Barcelona like eating churros with chocolate, drinking sangria, and visiting Parc Guell.
We did not go into La Sagrada Familia, the famous basilica by Gaudi as the lines were extremely long. However, if you are spending a few days in Barcelona I would suggest buying tickets in advance and going. I’ve seen pictures of the inside and it looks out of this world! Buy them here.
Parc Guell was a fun place to visit, but MAN does it crowded. We went at 9 in the morning on a week day in early May and it was still very crowded. I honestly can’t imagine being here in the summer mid day. It’s really a pretty small park, and while I thought it was a cool place to visit, I didn’t find it.. groundbreaking? But I think if you are in Barcelona, you should make the hike up here to check out this colorful, tiled park out for yourself! You must book in advance and pick a time slot. Book your tickets here.
I found the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona to be the coolest part of the city. It’s filled with narrow, medieval streets and alleyways. This is also where the Cathedral of Barcelona is. This is the part of the city where I truly felt like I was in an old European city. A lot of Barcelona was very modern, and I honestly found some parts to be pretty underwhelming, but I did enjoy the Gothic Quarter.
Walk down Las Ramblas and dine open air and drink sangria! However, do be mindful of your belongings! My friend almost got her phone stolen out of her front pocket, in broad daylight, with plenty of people around! Honestly, these pickpocketers don’t care, so I would keep your bag secure at all times in the front of your body and keep your phone in between your skin and pants tucked away and not seen.
Seville
Where to stay
We stayed at an Airbnb a little bit away from the center of town in the La Roselda neighborhood. It was a bit of a walk, about a mile, to the main tourist attractions, or you could take a short bus ride. The neighborhood was quiet and we felt safe as two young women traveling.
How to get there
We came to Seville from Lagos, Portugal by bus. It was about 20$ each one way for us and took about 4 1/2 hours to get here!
What to do
Visit The Royal Alcazar! This is a stunning royal palace that features beautiful green gardens and intricate architecture. We spent about two hours here, which I think is a good amount of time. It’s a pretty big place, so even if it gets crowded you could pretty easily separate from the crowds. It is best to reserve tickets in advance, since standing in line in the heat of Spain is not fun. Purchase tickets here.
Stop by to see the Catedral de Sevilla across from the Alcazar, a beautiful gothic style church.
Next, visit the iconic Plaza de Espana. I loved this plaza! It was so picturesque and dramatic. It’s nice to walk around here and admire all the ceramic tiles. You can also ride in a little boat around the plaza in the canals.
On your way to Plaza de Espana, stop at the gorgeous Parque de Maria Luisa. In the middle of the city of Seville, there is this treasure of a park with fountains, manicured gardens, palm trees, and monuments. It’s so relaxing and pretty.
Which one would I pick?
Walking around Seville, I felt like I was really in Spain. There was so much culture and warm, colorful architecture around every corner. Seville seemed very authentic to me, especially after visiting Barcelona.
We also happened to come here during their annual Festival de Abril, Seville Feria. Everyone was dressed to the nines and dancing everywhere!
I also found Barcelona to be extremely expensive. Finding cheap accommodation here was nearly impossible, and you couldn’t go to a sit down dinner without dropping at least 15-20 euro per person on just one meal. I’m also just a very frugal traveler, so they may be why I found it to be so expensive.
When we walked around Barcelona, I felt like I was in a sea of tourists. There were more Americans speaking English surrounding us in Barcelona than our whole trip through Spain and Portugal.
So, if you only have a few days to spend in Spain and you want a more authentic Spanish vibe, I would wholeheartedly recommend going to Seville!
Also, check out my post on the perfect day trip to Cordoba from Seville.
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