Quirky, different places to visit in Sevilla

It’s taken me four years of living nearby and hanging out in Sevilla to feel equipped to write this article. My information comes from chatting with locals, taking tours, reading about Sevilla, and generally wandering around on my own. My recommendations are personal, focused on stories and places I’ve found interesting. Use my ideas, take a tour, and if you feel so inclined, help support my work by using my affiliate links when booking your own adventures.

We’re going to start gently with places you might hear others talking about but they’re not really on the tourist route, and then we’ll move into the odder ideas.

Different-ish in Sevilla

Archivo de Indias

It’s also a part of a trio of buildings with these two that makes up Sevilla’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The archives building is free to enter and you will often find interesting exhibitions about the Spanish Empire.

I’ve visited a number of times now; once or twice there was no exhibition and once there was a fascinatingly thoughtful exhibition that I think (hard to remember) was about life in South American/Central American countries pre invasion. I remember standing and examining a map of Yucatán next to a man from Ecuador who was similarly studying a very old map of his home. We chatted a little, and honestly, it was very emotional.

Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo

Located on the Isla de la Cartuja, this excellent art gallery located inside an 15th century monastery is well worth a visit. There are gardens, always fascinating exhibitions and the buildings are wonderful to explore.

Look out for ‘Alicia’ (photo above), the majestic chimneys (left over from when this was also a ceramic factory), the cool tiles, and, of course, the incredible art.

This is one of my favourite spots in the city, whether I’m showing guests around or simply enjoying some time in Sevilla on my own. The exhibitions here are almost always extremely thought provoking. I’d go so far as to say it’s the best gallery in the city.

Antiquarium

This is the reason Las Setas exists: Plaza de la Encarnación was an important, central market for Sevilla, so the authorities decided it needed an underground carpark. But when they started digging they found an entire Roman city under there.

Of course, they couldn’t continue with the car park so instead they created the world’s largest wooden structure on top (Las Setas) and took the next thirty years to fully excavate and open the Antiquarium to the public.

This small site is fascinating if you’re interested in Roman history – there are some good mosaics and it’s fun to walk through the ‘town’.

I didn’t know about the Antiquarium the first time I visited Las Setas, the second, one of my kids needed a pee so we were searching for a bathroom and stumbled upon this Roman city – almost as if we were the ones who discovered it 😆 (and yes, it has bathrooms for guests).

Expo Grounds

Nearby are the 1992 expo grounds, they’re good for a random explore too. Be sure to find the Hungarian Pavilion, and the rocket before you leave.

I love walking around then heading through the Jardines de Gaudalquivir and to the Jardín Americano and the Torre Sevilla, the area is a little run down and it does feel abandoned but it’s really interesting.

Torre Sevilla

This enormous tower has a cafe and 360° viewing station at the top, also with incredible views over the city. You can also ascend the smaller (centre of photo) Torre Schindler. On the right of the photo above you can just see the hot air balloon.

Locals like to refer to this building as the “pintalabios” (lipstick).

On a hot day, this is a great spot to hang out as it has AC, the cafe serves lovely drinks and the views are fabulous.

Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija

This 16th century building is covered in mosaics (apparently some of the best in Europe) and is full of archaeological findings and oddities that were the passions of the 16th century countess who owned the palace – some say this was her quiet act of feminist rebellion and I certainly like to think of it this way too.

Quirky, cool to know about Sevilla

Mostly, these are places to check out as you wander the streets, they’re not sites with entrance fees or anywhere you need to spend hours, they’re points to look out for as you explore.

⛪︎🕌 Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador/Mezquita Ibn Adabbas Mosque

Located on one of my favourite plazas in Sevilla, Plaza del Salvador, this big and imposing church is actually the oldest mosque in Sevilla. It was built in 830 during the period of Umayyad rule in al-Andalus, and it was then transformed into a church when Sevilla was conquered by the Catholics in 1248.

The church itself isn’t interesting (to me) or a quirky find, it’s very well known, but what is today called the Patio de los Naranjos del Salvador is the original entrance to the mosque and in this courtyard you’ll find a lovely little fountain and if you look closely at the arches you’ll find Roman columns reused, and even a Vizigoth column that was recycled too.

It’s interesting to stick your head inside, and remember that before it was a Catholic city, Sevilla already had a long history with Roman, Vizigoth and Muslim rulers.

💀 Cripta Arqueológica del Patio de Banderas del Real Alcázar

Only recently opened to local visitors, it remains almost impossible to get a ticket to this crypt (I haven’t yet managed).

Remains from 900 BCE up to 1100CE have been found here including Tartessian kilns, Roman columns, a possible temple to Isis, as well as evidence of the 3rd century CE tsunami that destroyed Sevilla, Vizigothic remains and even the first wall of the Alcázar – basically you can travel through 2000 years of Sevilla’s history in one small place. Incredible!

🤦🏻‍♀️ The myth of Susona

As you explore around these roads, look out for Calle Susona and the plaque in memory of Susona Ben Súson, a girl who screwed up massively during the 15th century.

She is said to have been from a converso (forced Jewish converts to Catholicism) family. According to legend she had a Christian boyfriend to whom she spilled the beans of a converso plan led by her father, to resist the Inquisition. The lover, predictably, informed the authorities, the group was arrested and executed and according to legend, Susona entered a convent for a while before leaving to live out her life in poverty.

They claim that she requested that after her death, her skull be mounted above the door of her house in Barrio Santa Cruz to remind people of her fuck up. Once her skull decomposed it was replaced by a lamp and eventually, by a tile, which is still visible today.

➕ There’s also a tile with her likeness on it in Parque Maria Luisa.

🌴 Also note in the corner of the plaza where you’ll find the tile, there’s a really cool tree pairing – an orange tree and a palm tree have fused together.

There are various morals to this story, obviously, but the one I choose to take from it is either “don’t trust a boy”, or “don’t share your plans to overthrow dictators with people you really can’t trust”.

🍆 Calle San Fernando

It is said that underneath this small road there is a passageway between the Alcázar and the Royal Tobacco Factory (today the University) that was built so that Pedro I (the Cruel), could visit his girlfriends without being seen in the street.

💀 Calle Cabeza del Rey de Don Pedro

Another story about Pedro I (the Cruel). This time the story goes that he was out and about after dark, probs on his way to meet a lover when he got into an altercation with another man and killed him. He fled the scene.

The citizens of the city demanded justice and the king agreed that the killer would have his head (because yes, it was always going to be a man) displayed above the site of the murder. Once the king realised it was he who had killed this person, he apparently put a statue of himself in a box and said it should be hung because it contained the head of the murderer but that it could only be opened after his death. I imagine that if this is true, literally no one was surprised, given that his nickname was Pedro the Cruel. The road was renamed and today you’ll see a statue of him on one corner (1st floor) of the road.

➕ This road is near my favourite restaurant in Sevilla so take advantage if you’re over here and head into Bar Sal Gorda for lunch

⛵️ Reales Atarazanas – medieval shipyard TEMPORARILY CLOSED

This 13th century royal shipyard was built under the reign of Alfonso X. It is currently undergoing refurbishment after being abandoned for years and should be reopening in 2026 as a cultural centre focusing on the history of Sevilla and the Americas

🪎 Casa Real de la Moneda

It’s just worth taking a walk through here and knowing that ‘campus’ that was built in 1532 during the rule of Felipe II, is where all the looted precious metals from the Americas (Indias) was taken to be turned into Spanish currency that could then be used to fund more violence and pillaging in the Americas.

In 1868 they stopped turning raw materials into coins here it was turned into a residential area although today, very few people actually live here as properties so in central Sevilla are extremely valuable.

See if you spot the random Roman column in the wall as you walk through.

☕️ El Comerico – churros

Not particularly wild to decide to have churros while in Sevilla but El Comerico is the oldest churros bar in Sevilla, having been established in 1904. And not only has the business remained in the same family all this time, their recipe also hasn’t changed in 120 years!

Yes, this place has reached instagram/tiktok fame but it’s actually genuinely worth a visit. The churros are amazing (they’re traditional style so not sugary) and the tiles in the back room are beautiful. Grab a coffee, order some churros and enjoy!

→ And use the MexicoCassie guide to Spanish breakfasts to help you order (because while, yes, you can technically eat churros whenever you like, really they’re a breakfast food).

Callejón de la Inquisición

This is a tiny little street by the Puente de Triana and the Castillo de San Jorge – which was the epicentre of the Inquisition and the hundreds of years of terror it caused. People would be walked along this alleyway to the Castillo to hear their charges, and then to be brutally murdered by the state if they were deemed to be ‘guilty’ of heresy.

🐖 Did you know that during the Inquisition, Jews and Muslims in Sevilla would hang a leg of ham in their house to ‘prove’ they had converted to Catholicism?

Edge of cathedral – by the entrance

You can see Roman gravestones used in the building of this mosque that became a cathedral if you look carefully while you queue to enter the cathedral.

OK, your turn, what wild, wonderful and quirky thing have you found in Sevilla? Let me know!