How to enjoy Seville with teens (and tweens)

Published by Cassie on

green text box: Seville with teens. 4 photos. 1 of Las Seas lit up at night, 1 of street art of a female flamenco dancer's face, 1 of ball from expo 92 and 1 of alcazar walls

Ahhhh teenagers. 

If you’re coming to Seville with teens (and/or tweens) you’ll no doubt be wondering what to do with them to keep them entertained and not too moody so that everyone can have a good time.

I’m here to tell you that there’s a surprisingly good amount to do for teens and older kids in the city: from regular tourist stuff that’s actually pretty excellent to classes & activities and general fun, you’re going to be just fine.

So let’s make your family vacation as stress-free as possible by planning activities everyone can enjoy.

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🛝 And, of course, if you’re looking for activities for smaller kids in Seville, there’s plenty for them too.

Family-friendly accommodation in Seville

Travelling with teens and tweens isn’t the same as travelling with smaller kids. These people are huge! They have bags that explode clothes & electronics all over the place and they need their space! And, of course, you need space too.

Travelling with our older kids means looking for hotels with adjoining rooms so everyone can have some space, or it means apartments downtown so the older teens can go off exploring on their own or stay in bed when you head out on those early morning adventures.

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended mid-range family hotel: Hotel Alcázar

Perfectly located on the edge of the Santa Cruz district, this family friendly hotel has a fabulous rooftop pool and terrace, good wifi and a selection of family rooms available.

Reserve now

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended splurge family hotel: Hotel Giralda

This truly gorgeous hotel is a great option if your teens need their gym fix while on vacation. It has both a gym and rooftop pool available for guests. There is a wide variety of family rooms available here.

Reserve now

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended teen friendly apartment: Apartamentos Abreu

Not only does this apartment have an outdoor pool and terrace, it also has good wifi and separate beds for the kids (very often apartments have 1 double bed & 1 sofa bed or 2 double beds). It also has a lift so your lazy teens won’t be able to annoy you by whining about all the stairs 😉.

Reserve now

🗺 If none of these options work for your family’s needs, use my interactive-accommodation finding map to find your perfect spot in Seville.

What to do in Seville with teens (and tweens)

This is split into 3 sections:  

⭐️ ‘Regular’ tourist stuff that the teens might actually quite enjoy (even if they won’t admit it)

🎨 Activities/classes in Seville that are fun for the whole family

🚗 Day trips from Seville

Tips for visiting Seville with teens

💳 Ensure your teen brings their student or school ID card with them as there are discounts on entry to monuments for students in Spain.

📲 Everyone has a mobile phone at this point so either buy your teens Spanish sim cards as soon as you get to Spain, or buy e-sims in advance so you can hit the ground running. This way they’ll have all the data they need and will be able to navigate their way around Seville if you split up to do different activities. And, of course, you don’t need to understand how e-sims work, because they’ll be just fine figuring it all out.

Pre-buy e-sims now

​⭐️ Teens as tourists in Seville

​I’m not going to go into too much detail about each tourist site here because you can find that in any of my other (excellent) articles about exploring Seville as a visitor.

To make your family trip to Seville interesting for everyone, you don’t need to ignore the main attractions, just acknowledge that you might have to visit some of them alone while the teens stay in bed or do something different. Or maybe they’ll be interested in one or two sites but not all of them. However you do it, it’ll all work out just fine.

Plaza de España & Parque de Maria Luisa

tiled railings over plaza de españa

They may, or may not care about this impressive plaza and gorgeous city park – take a quick walk around, maybe hire a rowing boat if your family enjoys that type of thing.

🎬 Plaza de España was featured in both Star Wars II and Lawrence of Arabia. It was also in the Netflix show, The Dictator

Seville’s UNESCO World Heritage site 

The Alcázar, the cathedral and the India archives, together make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Alcázar – the royal palace
Maidens' Patio in the Seville Alcazar. Reflection of the building in the rectangular pond.

People don’t generally come to Seville and not visit the Alcázar, it’s pretty much the main tourist attraction in the whole city.

My 2 big tips for the Alcázar are: book in advance or you may not get tickets and if you can, get everyone up in time to do the excellent exclusive early morning tour of the Alcázar. Before the palace opens its gates to the public everyday, they let around 20 people in on a fabulous tour. I appreciate that it might be difficult to get teens out of bed but if you can, it’s entirely worth it (and if they won’t get out of bed, leave them behind and go yourself and meet them for breakfast afterwards).

🎬 Some Game of Thrones scenes were filmed in the Alcázar.

Book the MexicoCassie recommended exclusive Take Walks Alcázar tour

Cathedral
early morning shot of Seville's cathedral

This is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and while I don’t imagine most teens will care too much about the cathedral itself, they may be interested in seeing the brilliantly gaudy tomb of Christopher Columbus.

Climbing the Giralda is a fun thing to do for the family if the teens are even kinda interested in views over the city. 

It’s a good idea to book in advance as there are queues pretty much every day.

Book your tickets now

Archivo de Indias

The final building in the UNESCO Wold Heritage site receives far fewer visitors than the other two. It’s free to enter, and doesn’t take long to look around. It’s essentially a big building full of old documents and paintings.

Las Setas 

las setas by night - lit up blue with Seville skyline lit up against night sky behind

I recommend taking the teens to see this at night when it’s all lit up. Walking around the top of this structure after dark is more interesting than seeing it during the day. There are souvenir stores and bars all around this area (Metropol Parasol).

Book your tickets

Bario Santa Cruz /Casco Antiguo

It could be a good idea to let the older teens go explore the old Jewish quarter on their own. They’ve got mobile phones (right?), so send them off while you explore the narrow streets on your own and just agree a time and place to meet back up. 

Fun family itinerary

large ball shaped feature against blue sky

⭐️ Take your teens to the Torre Sevilla for shopping, followed by a drink/snack at Atalaya (the mirador at the very top of the tower). Parque Fernando Magallanes, across the road, is a cool park area along the river where there are often groups of teens hanging out. From here there’s also a nice walk along the river that takes in the excellent Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo & the Fundación 3 Culturas. If you keep walking you’ll find yourself surrounded by the dead/dying/abandoned Expo 92 site, which is another cool place to explore.

If they’re old enough to go out in the evening on their own

Well, first of all, tell them to do their own research (!) and then point them in the direction of these places:

🍹 Alameda de Hercules – this is where locals come for bars, cheaper restaurants, clubs and a queer-friendly atmosphere.

🍹 Triana neighbourhood – across the river, this is lively part of the city that likes to claim its ‘independence’ from the rest of Seville.

Activities & classes teens may enjoy

street art of a Spanish woman's face - holding a lace fan, big red earring and red finger nails

Seville, as a popular tourist destination, has a good number of interesting activities, classes and performances that teens and tweens can enjoy, with, or without their parents.

💃🏻 Flamenco show

Whether you book a flamenco tour or just want to see a show, you must, must, must see some flamenco while you’re in Seville. Personally I recommend taking a tour so that everyone knows what they’re experiencing and what it means – my first flamenco experience was a tour and it’s forever changed the way I experience this incredible art.

➡️ Read more about experiencing flamenco in Seville and where to see it

Book the MexicoCassie recommended flamenco and tapas tour

🥁 Beats of Flamenco class

For any musically inclined teens/tweens, this 1-hr workshop where you’ll learn how to use clap your hands flamenco style and how to play the flamenco box drum, will be a winner of an experience.

Book a flamenco beats class

🎨 Tile making

Mosaic tiles are something of a speciality in Sevilla. It’s possible to take a 2 hour class to learn the skill behind this art form.

Book a tile mosaic experience 

Tours of Sevilla

view over Sevilla from the Giralda on a grey day

While you might be content with a regular free walking tour, if you want to get your teenagers involved, maybe shake it up a little with these ideas:

👻 Take a haunted tour of Seville

Discover the haunted, ghostly side of Sevilla on this night tour around Barrio Santa Cruz.

Book a 2 hr walking tour of haunted Seville

🧆 Tapas tour

The very best tapas tours in Sevilla (in my opinion) are run by Devour Tours. Their tours are adaptable for vegetarians, which is important in a meat-loving city such as Sevilla. I took one recently and there were a couple of teens on the tour with their parents. They seemed happy enough gobbling down all the tasty food.

Book an evening tapas tour around Triana

🛶 Paddle boarding / kayaking on the Guadalquivir River

It’s possible to hire a kayak/paddle board and head off alone, or take a tour, whichever floats you boat (hahahahahaahahah sorry). This is a really fun way to see the city from a different angle. Many local schools take their students out to do this as a day trip. I’ve also done it once on this river and would definitely do it again.

Find your perfect paddle boarding/kayak experience

Other fun activities for teens in Seville

view of a yellow and blue hot airballoon with large basket as it lands

🎢 Isla Magica 

This Sevilla theme park is open every day in the summer and on the weekends & Friday afternoons during the rest of the year. It’s not huge so if your kids enjoy theme parks you could either go with them or even let them go on their own. There’s also a tethered hot air balloon here, which is fun for everyone.

Check times and buy tickets

🛝 Water parks in summer

Who doesn’t want to hang on waterslides? 

Seville has two water parks, Agua Magica, which is right next door to Isla Magica and Guadalparque, located in nearby Sevilla Este.

Both are open June – September

🏟 Visit the Sevilla football stadiums

For any football (soccer) mad visitors to Seville, take them to explore the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan Stadium (Sevilla FC) or the Benito Villamarin Stadium (Betis).

🏌🏾‍♀️ Minigolf Sevilla

indoor neon mini golf course - pink "Sevilla" on wall

Seville has a neon indoor miniature golf course that teens can enjoy with or without their parents. It’s a great place to spend an hour or two relaxing in a cool atmosphere with plenty of AC, which is always useful in Seville.

Check times and book tickets

👾 Arcade Planet

For any teens into arcade games, this will be an absolute winner. It’s a cab ride from the city centre but well worth it for anyone who enjoys retro video games (there are modern games too). We’ve not been here yet but will be visiting soon. We’ve been to a similar one in Málaga, where everyone had a fabulous time.

🪓 Axe throwing at El Hachodromo

For anyone who needs to let out some family-vacation induced stress, an axe throwing session could be just the ticket. (14-18 year olds must be accompanied by an adult).

Reserve now

​🛹 Skate park

If your kids are into skateboarding then the skatepark at Plaza de Armas is the place to send/leave them for an afternoon.

Shopping 

🛍 ​I’m not a super shopper so I have asked around for this info. Cool t-shirts come from Citees, a store you’ll find across the city. Humana and Solidarity Butterfly Skin (Piel de Mariposa) are two popular thrift stores to look out for and Calle Sierpes is the famous shopping street in Sevilla.

There are also a good number of malls in and around the city: Nervión Plaza & Centro Commerical Los Arcos in Sevilla city and Lagoh Shopping Centre further out.

Day trips even teens can enjoy

view of a bridge over a green lake between steep gorge walls on caminito del rey

Seville is an excellent base for families wanting to explore around Andalucía. Whether you rent a car or decide to book guided tours you can find some truly excellent adventures while you’re in Sevile.

I have a number of articles about day trips from Sevilla so if you’re wanting to learn more about these options, I recommend checking them out:

➡️ Day trips from Seville – this article includes 29 awesome day trip ideas listed by province

➡️ Planning your day trip to Córdoba – explore the Mezquita, the Jewish quarter and more

➡️ How to explore Granada – visit the Alhambra and explore the winding streets of old Granada

➡️ Spending 1 day in Cádiz – Cádiz is a gorgeous (and ancient) seaside town with plenty to entertain everyone

➡️ Making the most of 1 day in Gibraltar – it’s super fun to visit this weird part of the UK stuck on the edge of Spain

➡️ How to get to the beach from Sevilla – who doesn’t love a day at the beach?

Teen recommended day trips

⭐️ Hike the Caminito del Rey – once billed as the most dangerous hike in Spain it’s actually very safe now that its paths have been entirely redesigned. It’s possible to do this alone if you rent a car and prebook your tickets. It’s also possible as part of a tour from Seville. Whatever you do, do not show up without pre-booking as you’ll miss out.

Book a Caminito del Rey tour from Seville

⭐️ Zipline over the border into Portugal – this is apparently the only cross-border zipine in the whole world and it’s an easy day trip from Seville!

Book your Spain-Portugal zipline adventure

⭐️ Hot air balloon ride over the Doñana National Park – no one can remain impassive or grumpy while flying in a hot air balloon. It’s just impossible.

Book your hot air balloon ride

⭐️ Go horse riding just outside Seville – for anyone interested in nature, the opportunity to ride horses through gorgeous pine forests will tick the boxes.

Book a horse riding adventure

⭐️ Game of Thrones trip to Italica – there are plenty of Game of Thrones filming locations in Andalucía including the Roman ruins just outside Seville.

Book a day trip to Italica

I hope you’ve found enough information in this article to help you plan a trip to Seville that works for everyone in your family but in case you haven’t found everything you needed, here are some more useful articles:

Sevilla

⭐️ What is Sevilla famous for? | ⭐️ How many days do you need in Seville? | ⭐️ Everything about the Seville airport bus

⭐️ 1 day in Seville | ⭐️ 3 days in Seville | ⭐️ 5 days in Seville | ⭐️ How to visit Seville in the summer | ⭐️ How to visit the Alcazar

⭐️ Best beaches from Seville | ⭐️ Day trips from Seville | ⭐️ Seville with kids | ⭐️ Seville with teenagers | ⭐️ How to see flamenco in Seville

Malaga

⭐️ 3 days in Malaga | ⭐️ 1 day in Malaga | ⭐️ Day trips from Malaga | ⭐️ 1 day in Ronda | ⭐️ 1 day in Ronda with kids | ⭐️ What to do in Antequera

Córdoba

⭐️ What to do in Córdoba | ⭐️ Planning your Córdoba day trip from Seville | ⭐️ Exploring Córdoba with kids | ⭐️ 1 day in Córdoba | ⭐️ Zuheros, the most beautiful village in Córdoba

Cádiz

⭐️ What to do in Cádiz province | ⭐️ How to spend 1 day in Cádiz city | ⭐️ What to do in Cádiz with kids | ⭐️ Exploring Tarifa | ⭐️ How to get to Tangier from Tarifa | ⭐️ Exploring Gibraltar

Huelva

⭐️ Is Huelva worth visiting? (YES) | ⭐️ What to see in the gorgeous Aracena

Granada

⭐️ Planning your Granada city break | ⭐️ Granada with kids | ⭐️ 2 days in Granada | ⭐️ How to explore Guadix and its cave houses

Almería

⭐️ Things to do in Almería City | ⭐️ What to do in Almería with kids | ⭐️ Is Almería worth visiting? | ⭐️ Figuring out the Almería beaches

➕ Valencia

⭐️ 1 day in Valencia | ⭐️ 2 days in Valencia | ⭐️ Museums in Valencia

⭐️ Day trips from Valencia | ⭐️ Valencia with kids

➕ Madrid

⭐️ Why should you visit Madrid | ⭐️ Segovia, a perfect day trip from Madrid


Cassie

Cassie is a British-born travel writer who lives in southern Spain. Prior to moving to Spain, Cassie and her family lived in Yucatán, Mexico for many years. Something of a self-confessed-all-round travel-nerd, Cassie has a deep love of adventure, and of learning as much as possible about every place visited. This blog is testament to that.

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