Seville Cathedral

What makes it special

The cathedral stands on the site of the city's Almohad mosque, and parts of the mosque survive. The Puerta del Perdón, once its entrance, keeps the original pointed horseshoe arch. Through it lies the Patio de los Naranjos, now an interior garden.

The Giralda follows the Almohad minaret plan: a square central core inside four outer walls, with the ramps running between them. At the top turns the Giraldillo, a bronze statue of a woman about four metres tall that represents victorious faith and serves as the weathervane. The tower influenced the building of many others in Spain and the Americas.

In the Capilla Mayor, the main altarpiece is considered the largest in Christendom. It is a wall of polychrome wood carved into 44 relief scenes and more than 200 figures of saints.

The choir holds 117 carved wooden stalls in two tiers, in the Gothic Mudéjar style.

Visiting

Every visit begins at the Giralda, which has its own access control. Online tickets enter by the Puerta del Lagarto, and box-office tickets by the Puerta de San Cristóbal, also called del Príncipe.

The platform at the top of the tower is small, so at busy times you wait your turn to look out from each side. From there you can pick out the Torre del Oro and the Plaza de España.

Back down, one order that works is the nave and the Capilla Mayor first, then the Columbus monument. Finish in the treasury rooms, where small plaques say where each gift of gold and silver came from.

Tips

As well as online, you can buy the ticket at the Iglesia del Divino Salvador in the Plaza del Salvador, which spares you the main queue at the cathedral.

Carry water in summer: the climb is hot.

With an evening rooftop slot, do the ordinary visit earlier the same day, because the cathedral has closed to the public by the time the roof tour starts.

To see the whole of Seville's World Heritage site, add the Alcázar of Seville and the Archive of the Indies: UNESCO listed the three together.