How to enjoy a trip to Seville in the summer 😎
If you’re planning on visiting Seville in the summer you need to keep in mind how hot it can get, especially if you aren’t used to the heat.
Many people will warn you against travelling to the southern Spain, Seville in particular, at this time of year but my opinion is that if you want to spend a few days in Seville during the summer months, it is perfectly possible. You just need to plan for intense heat and how to manage it.
What is Seville famous for?
Seville is famous for so many things including the UNESCO World Heritage Site trio of the Alcazar, the cathedral and the India Archives. It is also famous for fact that part of Columbus is buried (ok, ok, his finger) in the cathedral, its fabulous tapas scene, flamenco, its annual feria (April) and the Semana Santa processions (Holy Week / the week leading up to easter) and so, so much more.
➡️ Read more about why Seville is one of Europe’s most visited cities
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Average temperatures in Seville in the summer
Global warming is real and we’re feeling its impact here in Seville. We regularly have water shortages in summer thanks to lower rainfall than is needed and the heat can be intense. While the average temperatures shown below don’t look terrible, it’s not uncommon to experience days of 40℃+ days and nights where the temperature barely drops below 25℃. You need to come prepared for this if you do want to visit Seville in the summer.
Seville is the warmest city in Europe and it’s also one of the most beautiful cities in all of Europe. The climate is Mediterranean, meaning very hot, dry summers (and cool, pleasant winters).
🔆 June Average high 32℃ Average low 17℃
🔆 July Average high 36℃ Average low 19℃
🔆 August Average high 35℃ Average low 19℃
Important information when travelling to Seville
➡️ Getting to Seville from the airport
➡️ Find your ideal hotel / apartment in Seville
(⭐️ or here’s a ready-made list of options with pools and AC)
➡️ Check rental car options & train timetables/ticket options
➡️ Check our curated 1-day, 3-day or 5 day itineraries for Seville
➡️ Find all the Seville kid-friendly options and info here
➡️ Check tour options with Viator, Get Your Guide or Devour Tours
➡️ Pre-book tickets to the big name attractions
Managing high temperatures in Seville
Ok, so the truth is that Seville gets extremely quiet during the summer months as locals leave the city in droves for the beach. This does mean that some restaurants and shops might be closed but the main tourist attractions and enough restaurants remain open to make it worth your time.
I think visiting Seville in summer is a great idea because you can take advantage of the fact that there are fewer tourists than at other times of the year.
Exploring the city safely
😎 Walk in the shade – this isn’t difficult in the old city thanks to its narrow streets and tall buildings
💦 Carry a reusable water bottle – there are fountains around the city where you can refill and if you buy a drink in a bar or cafe you can generally ask (nicely) and they’ll fill up a bottle for you too – remember tap water is safe to drink in European cities and it’s actually against the law to not give tap water when requested.
🍦 Stop regularly for ice cream or drink breaks
🧢 Wear a hat and light, comfortable clothes
Live like a local
There’s a reason for the southern-Spanish lifestyle. It’s all about beating the heat. So if you’re in Seville in the summer, the best advice I can give you is to live like a local.
🥱 Use the early morning to explore before the heat gets wild
🍽 Eat your main meal (lunch) at 2 pm, consider joining the Spanish for a late night supper from 9pm, when it’s cooler
💤 Retire to your hotel / apartment for a siesta after lunch (book a place with a pool and air conditioning) during the hottest part of the day – swim, snooze or plan your next adventure
🌅 Don’t venture out again until the late afternoon, which means around 8 pm in Seville, when hopefully the temperature is dropping a little
Pay attention
Drinking alcoholic drinks
🍻 The best way to drink beer in Sevilla is like a local – order a caña (pronounced canya). This is a very small beer. The reason people drink such small beers is to prevent having to drink warm beer. When you finish one, order the next. And don’t forget to order some delicious tapas to accompany your beer.
You may see people drinking beer very early – while it could be real beer, it may also be non-alcoholic beer, which is often very good in Spain. Order “una caña de cerveza sin alcohol”
🍷 Instead of ordering a sangria, order a tinto de verano – this is cheaper, what the locals drink and very refreshing. It’s red wine mixed with a fizzy lemonade drink.
Drinking iced coffee
🧊 ☕️ Iced coffee in Spain is traditionally a strong “cafe solo” and a glass of ice. You pour the coffee over the ice. It’s delicious and a very refreshing drink.
Eating salad and gazpacho
🍅 If you’re hoping for great salads in Seville, in my opinion you’re going to be disappointed. Salad here is very often iceberg lettuce, canned tuna and carrots (of course there are exceptions and I’m extremely grateful when I find them). Instead, order a gazpacho or the local equivalent, a glass of salmorejo. Both of these are delicious, cold tomato based soups.
🍅 Salmorejo has bread blended into it, gazpacho does not. Salmorejo is also often served with pieces of ham and/or boiled egg on top – if you’re vegetarian it’s worth confirming if this is the case when ordering.
What to do in Seville in the summer
We’ve talked about how to visit Seville in the summer so now let’s discuss what you’re going to see. Even if you’re coming to the Andalusian capital in the middle of a heatwave you’re probably going to want to see the main sites, right? Handily many of them are old, old buildings that were designed to remain cool during the long, hot summers.
Real Alcázar de Sevilla
⭐️ My recommendation is to pre-book an early morning tour to see this beautiful palace before both the crowds and the sun arrive. The tour begins at 8.30am and the Alcazar opens to the general public at 10am so you get 90 minutes in an almost entirely empty ancient palace.
It is one of the best tours I’ve ever taken and I highly recommend you do too, particularly because it will help with beating the heat of Seville in the summer while ensuring you see the very best site of Seville.
Top Tip: Take half an hour (or longer) before the tour to wander around the casco antiguo (old city) / Barrio Santa Cruz (the old Jewish quarter). At this early hour it’s both cool and there’s almost no one else around except locals going about their daily business. It’s really quite a unique atmosphere and you’ll get amazing photographs (like mine ahem) that are impossible once everyone gets up.
➡️ Read more about the Alcazar and the best ways to visit it here
Catedral de Sevilla
🔔 The cathedral is enormous and deliciously cool inside (aren’t most churches?) Even for the a-religious, churches are a great place to spend an hour or so cooling down! There are some incredible pieces of art in the cathedral and if you’re like me, the weird Columbus tomb will fascinate you.
The Giralda is the cathedral tower and most people choose to climb it – instead of steps it’s a continuous ramp around the tower. There are a few steps up at the very top and they’re pretty steep. The panoramic views over Seville are really pretty spectacular from the top.
➡️ Book general entry tickets or a skip the line tour of the cathedral & Giralda
Plaza de España
💃🏻 Best experienced early in the morning or late evening as this is an outdoor site. Always check whether there is a concert planned before you visit though as it would be sad to be denied access because you didn’t check.
There are shaded spots here under the arches but you’re still outside so it isn’t going to be too much cooler. After exploring around the plaza, people tend to head into Maria Luisa Park where you can stroll under the trees or find a shady area to rest a while.
Other main sites
Las Setas
A very popular spot for locals and tourists, at any time of year, I think the best time to visit is after dark. Not only is it a little cooler but the views over the city and the coloured lights on Las Setas is really something spectacular. There are plenty of bars around here to enjoy a drink or two, too.
→ Pre-book your skip the line entry & virtual reality experience here
Triana
If you wish to visit the traditional Triana market, you’ll need to get there in the morning because like most Spanish markets, it’s open in the morning only.
Also in this barrio you’ll find traditional tile shops (and classes), trendy restaurants and many, many bars.
Casa de Pilatos & Palacio de las Dueñas
These 2 palaces are both absolutely gorgeous to explore and of course, also a good way to cool down as these traditional buildings are, like the Alcazar, built to remain cool in the heat of summer.
Museums / art galleries
All also deliciously cool on a hot day, consider visiting any one of the following:
➡️ Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo – slightly off the regular tourist track, this gorgeous art gallery is my favourite art space in Sevilla
➡️ Museo de Bellas Artes – a more traditional gallery, located in the city centre
➡️ Casa de la Ciencia – a great museum for kids and adults
➡️ The Aquarium – my daughter’s favourite place in Seville
Flamenco
While it’s possible to see a free flamenco demonstration on the Plaza de España, the best way to experience flamenco is with a dedicated show.
I was invited by Devour Tours to check out their Seville tapas and flamenco tour. I opted to take it in the middle of August to see how it holds up in the extreme heat – that’s how dedicated I am to my blog and to ensuring your trip is as wonderful as possible.
I can confirm that an early evening tapas & flamenco show tour is an excellent experience even in the summer. The tour I recommend includes pre-dinner tapas and sherry, a gorgeous, intimate flamenco show and a meal after the show. The guide, as with all Devour guides, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and we learned so much about the history of flamenco, the region and its cuisine on this 4 hr tour. And in case you’re worrying, it was never too hot. There is very little walking and it’s all in the shady narrow streets of Seville’s old city. A perfect summer activity.
➡️ You can read about my experience and the other great flamenco options in Seville here
Cool summer fun in Sevilla
If you need to cool down or cool the kids down, you have options
💦🛝 Water fun
⭐️ Agua Magica a water park, is attached to Seville’s theme park (Isla Magica). It’s in the north of the city and easy to get on foot or by car. The best value ticket is a combo-ticket for the theme-park & water park and the kids will love you forever for this
⭐️ Guadalpark is the second water park is located in Sevilla Este, a suburb of Seville. You’ll need to drive or take a cab to get here. I haven’t taken my kids yet (despite their begging) but it looks really great.
⭐️ Sunset paddle board tour on the Guadalquivir River (1.5 hr evening tour) – see the city from the refreshing vantage point of a gentle paddle down the river
⭐️ Head to the beach – you may assume that it isn’t possible to go to the beach for a day while you’re in Seville but if you have a rental car it’s entirely possible (public transport is possible too but it’s harder and therefore more stressful). There are incredible beaches within day trip distance of Seville. I do it all the time throughout the year.
➡️ Read more about taking a day trip to the beach from Seville
➕ every small pueblo around Seville has community pools that are open in the summer months. Anyone can swim in these pools (for a small fee and as long as they aren’t already full).
❄️ Indoor Activities
🎦 Movies
Cinemas are always a good option if you need to relax in AC for a little while. While there are sometimes movies in English at the regular cinemas, the best option for anyone looking for English movies is to head to Avenida 5 Cines (C. Marqués de Paradas, 15) where they play VOS (version original) movies.
Good to know: VO or VOS mean original language with subtitles
Summer Cinema
Many of the smaller towns around Sevilla offer free movie nights in outdoor pubic places with movies starting around 10 pm. You’ll need to hunt around for this information though.
⛳️ Indoor Mini Golf
For something a little different, why not head to Seville’s brand new and deliciously cool (in all the ways) indoor mini golf course to beat the heat?
Open 11 am – 11 pm daily (so you’ll even have something to do when the rest of Seville is taking some 💤 between 4 pm – 8 pm!). Bookings are recommended but you can always try turning up on a whim as they’re very accommodating.
Calle Orfila 8, Casco Antiguo (Old town)
Day trips from Seville in the summer
If you’re in Seville for a few days then you’ll definitely want to take a day trip or two. Renting a car of course makes this easier than trying to rely on public transport, although it’s still possible to explore thanks to great bus and train options.
⭐️ Amazing beaches you can visit for the day from Seville – including Playa del Faro de Trafalgar
⭐️ Córdoba – check out the incredible & world famous Mezquita
⭐️ Granada – everyone needs to see the Alhambra at least once in their life
⭐️ Ronda – people visit here to gawp at the magnificent Tajo Gorge that splits the city in 2, and its 3 ancient bridges (picture above)
⭐️ Malaga – Malaga is full of amazing museums, great beaches, and fun shopping opportunities
⭐️ Alcalá de Guadaíra – a town barely any tourists visit. It has a gorgeous park with a river, forest and numerous ancient water mills. There’s also a castle and and a delightful town centre to explore
⭐️ Huelva – the province of Huelva offers great adventures all within easy reach of Sevilla – from ancient dolmens & Roman mines to castles, alcazabas, incredible natur and great food, Huelva is a wonderful province to explore
⭐️ Cádiz – home to many of the famous ‘pueblos blancos’, the ancient city of Cádiz, wonderful walks and stunning beaches
⭐️ Gibraltar – try the anomaly that is a little slice of the UK on the edge of Spain
⭐️ Andalucía with kids – read more to figure out what there is specifically for the kids in Andalucía
➡️ Read more about excellent day trip options from Seville
See, it really is possible to enjoy a trip to Sevilla in the summer. Have fun and stay hydrated.
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