Where to stay in Seville

The Casco Antiguo holds three of the areas. Santa Cruz is the maze of lanes and small squares beside the cathedral and the Real Alcázar, the pick for a first visit on foot. Alfalfa and Encarnación, around the Metropol Parasol, are the shopping and tapas streets of the centre. The Alameda de Hércules, in the north of the old town, is a long square of bars and terraces that stays busy late.

Across the Guadalquivir, Triana has its market, its riverside Calle Betis and a bridge into the centre. Los Remedios, south of Triana, is residential and sits next to the Feria ground. Nervión, east of the centre, is the modern district around Santa Justa station and the shopping centres.

Seville's low-emission zone covers only the Isla de la Cartuja, Monday to Friday except holidays from 07:00 to 19:00, and it keeps out the most polluting cars, which the city describes as mainly petrol cars registered before 2000 and diesels before 2006. Cameras have fined unauthorised entries since July 2024.

The old town is a separate matter. Parts of the Casco Antiguo are restricted-access zones, and vehicle permits go through the district office at Calle Crédito 11 or the city's electronic office. The official page on how hotel guests are admitted could not be read, so ask the hotel before driving to it, or choose a base outside the ring. Blue-zone street parking hours and tariffs were not verified on an official page.

From the airport, ten kilometres north-west of the city, the EA bus runs to Santa Justa and Plaza de Armas for EUR 6. For the motorways, the Cartuja rules and the car parks, GetCar's guide Driving in Seville covers the road side in full.

No tourist tax is in force in Andalusia. The regional government judged one premature in May 2024, and the regional tourism minister, Manuel Gavira, said again on 14 September 2026 that he opposes it. On 18 September 2026 Seville's mayor, José Luis Sanz, asked him once more for a tourist tax or a similar source of funding. All of this comes from press reports; no official statement was read.

Holiday flats follow Andalusian Decreto 28/2016, amended in 2024. Each is entered in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, and on arrival every guest must receive a document, as a contract, with the operator's name, the flat's RTA code, the number of guests, the dates, the total price and a contact phone. Guests show an identity document, and every lodging records guest ID data under Real Decreto 933/2021.

Seville capped tourist flats at 10% of the homes in each of its 108 barrios from 29 October 2024. Eleven barrios of the Casco Antiguo, Santa Cruz, Arenal and Alfalfa among them, and the traditional part of Triana were already above the cap, so they admit no new tourist flats. At national level, the national registration procedure was largely annulled in May 2026, regional registers still apply, and whether a national number must still appear on a listing is unsettled as of September 2026.

In 2027 Semana Santa runs from 21 to 28 March and the Feria de Abril from 13 to 18 April, according to the Jerez tourism board, which fixed its own fair around them. Those are the weeks to book first.

With the old barrios closed to new tourist flats, supply there rests on flats already registered. The city's agreement provides for a review a year after it took effect and then every four years; no review document was found. A stay of up to two months can still be a registered tourist stay; the monthly guide below covers longer lets.

A first visit on foot: Santa Cruz.

Shops, tapas and the whole centre on foot: Alfalfa and Encarnación.

Nightlife: the Alameda de Hércules.

The old town a bridge away: Triana.

A car that has to come and go, or a train connection: Nervión.

A quiet, longer stay: Los Remedios.