Day 4 - Arrival in the magnificent city of Seville, guided tour and dinner
This morning we travel by First Class rail into Andalucía,
arriving in the exhilarating city of Seville for a two-night stay.
We are transferred by coach to our superb hotel in the Old Town,
with facilities including a rooftop terrace and swimming pool and
views across the city. After some free time to find lunch
independently, this afternoon we enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of
the city, by coach and on foot.
We are taken through the city's historic Santa Cruz district, a
charming maze of narrow streets which, until the late 15th century,
was the thriving Jewish quarter of the city. This beautiful quarter
is now one of Seville's most popular tourist area and is packed
with gift shops, cafés, restaurants and pretty squares.
Our tour includes entrance into Seville's impressive Gothic
cathedral in the centre of the Old Town. The largest Gothic
building in Europe, the cathedral was built on the site of a
mosque. Lavishly decorated in gold, the cathedral's bell tower, La
Giralda, was the minaret of the original mosque and rises above
Seville's skyline. Look out for the cathedral's medieval stained
glass windows, and the Patio de los Naranjos, a peaceful area which
is part of the original mosque, containing a fountain and orange
trees. Another interesting fact about the cathedral is that the
remains of Christopher Columbus were interred here.
We complete our tour at the end of the afternoon, and you might
like to stroll along the river to see the Torre del Oro, which was
once a military watchtower and medieval prison. The golden tower is
next to the Guadalquivir River and late afternoon or early evening
is a special time to view it, as the tower glows as the sun's rays
stretch across the river.
We meet up with our group again this evening to dine at a
restaurant close to our hotel.
Includes