The Great Escape – A dose of winter sunshine in Seville

It was the oranges that gave me itchy feet; the unmistakable aroma of Andalusia. They had been imported to England only a few weeks earlier. The seductive smells of marmalade-in-the-making quickly overtook our kitchen. The tart delights are now secured in sealed jars, ready to be eaten over breakfast in the months ahead.

It is not only the oranges but the city which gives them their name, which has a distinctive tang. Seville is best visited soon after the oranges have landed in England; the perfect late winter or early spring destination. There is nowhere else quite like it. It is both Moorish and moreish. After an indifferent English winter, I am ready to set off.

The earnest translator of the Bible into Spanish, George Borrow, made his way to the city a number of times in the early decades of the 19th century. “On a glorious sunshiny morning of the Andalusian Winter”, Borrow inquired of an old acquaintance from Ireland what had brought him to the city. 

Looking out from the streets of Seville where they were standing his reply was emphatic: “Is not Andalusia of all Spain that portion which has produced the noblest monuments of artistic excellence and inspiration? … Oh come with me for you too have a soul capable of appreciating what is lovely and exalted.”

Borrow’s friend — Lord Taylor — was right, and nothing fundamental has changed since. As you walk in the heart of Seville you savour an inheritance generated over fourteen centuries. Conquests and reconquests have left a hybrid beauty alongside a tragic melancholy. 

More than almost anywhere else on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, Andalusia has the searing heat, cultural influences, and architectural resonances found a short distance away in north Africa.

In Seville, the Moorish influences can be seen most clearly in the arches which shape the royal palaces of Alcazar. From the 8th to the 13th centuries, Islam and the “Moors” reigned in Andalusia (in Arabic, Al-Andalus). Even after the “reconquest” when Seville fell to Christian forces in 1248, the king, “Pedro the Cruel”, made his new palaces echo the two cultures. 

A distinctive and very Spanish mix of Islamic and Gothic has left a glorious architectural meld at the heart of the city. Striking buildings are met by cooling fountains set among lush plantings in the adjoining gardens.

For a piece of truly assertive but also mongrel architecture, the massive cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede and its adjoining tower, La Giralda, cannot be bettered. 

Just as at the other end of the Mediterranean, the Byzantine cathedral of St Sofia in Constantinople was changed by conquest into a celebrated mosque, so in Seville, the reconquest by Christian armies saw a mosque largely replaced by a magisterial Christian cathedral with only its elegant tower still reflecting an Islamic past. Visitors will be stunned by the sheer audaciousness of the translation from one mode of worship to the other.

The centres of the most attractive cities in Europe are compact and walkable. Though Seville has expanded over the last two centuries and modern buildings continually push its outer edges into the surrounding landscape, the historic centre still has its own integrity and ease of access. 

It is, without doubt, the only place to stay; but visitors should know that this particular Barrio or neighbourhood carries a melancholy echo from its own peculiar past. For the Barrio Santa Cruz is the old ghetto set apart by the new Christian rulers of Seville for the Jewish community (then the largest in Spain).

Though initially a relatively benign area of the city, in later centuries it became a place of confinement and persecution. That bears thinking about as you sup and sleep among the old buildings and narrow streets now made chic in our own time.

Looking to make reservations for our prospective visit I was in for a mild shock and a real disappointment. The plainly named “Casa Numero Siete” (house number seven) situated in the Barrio Santa Cruz was perhaps the most exquisite boutique hotel I had ever visited and now it has closed, apparently permanently. 

The Casa had no outside signage other than its street number, but within was a private residence ordered around a balconied courtyard. Sharply white linen bed coverings in a handful of well-furnished rooms with marbled bathrooms awaited arriving guests. 

Lined with 18th and 19th-century portraits a warmly configured drawing-room had an elegant table set with drinks to be sampled on an honesty basis.

After a surprisingly quiet sleep (the narrow streets of the Barrio can be noisy at night), breakfast was provided in a small dining room with a single dining table. But it was served in a style like no other in Spain; a white-gloved English-speaking butler equipped with silver coffee and teapots offered bacon with eggs as well as the usual spread of Spanish pastries and jams and honey. 

All of this exquisiteness was fostered by certain members of the Gonzales Byass sherry family who then owned the house; but alas it is all gone now.

So I looked for alternatives; all doubtless falling short of the elegance of Casa Numero Siete, but needs must. There are other attractive hotels in the neighbourhood and their galleried buildings promise well. 

The Corral Del Rey is another boutique hotel, in this case, run by two Englishmen and set within a 17th century palazzo and looks as if it would do. Another option that caught my eye in the Barrio Santa Cruz is the Casa del Poeta. Formed from another 17th century building, this time a private mansion, it has a galleried interior and a patio with a small fountain at its centre. That too would do nicely.

Whichever option my wife and I take it will be in the Barrio near the palaces and the cathedral, but it will also have the neighbouring tapas bars and quality restaurants for which the Barrio is also well-known. We have sampled them before and we can hardly wait to do so again. 

Starting mid-evening at a tapas bar, we will take our standing places at or near the serving area and order little dishes of local delights, especially fresh squid and cuttlefish and Iberico hams. All will be washed down with incomparable Fino and Manzanilla sherries from nearby Jerez and served in cool fluted glasses. There may be no need for dinner afterwards but if there is it will be taken very late in the evening. 

Seville is perfect for a weekend away from England. We are never disappointed. The combination of a sun set perfectly in the sky, colourful and fascinating architecture and excellent local cuisine and wines is a kind of perfection. If there is time we will likely stray beyond the city walls, but there is no real need. As we have found before, Seville is enough in itself.