La Casa de la Ciencia (the House of Science) in Seville is both a museum and a centre for scientific study and research. The Peruvian Pavilion for the 1929 Expo now houses the Andalucian regional headquarters of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, or Spanish National Research Council), the third-largest public research institution in Europe.
Many of these casa palacios, or mansions, look quite ordinary from the outside - perhaps as impressive entrance arch, but nothing else to make them out. Inside, you find beautiful arcaded patios with grand stone columns and potted plants.
When visitors see the magnificent baroque entrance to this vast stone building, most assume they're looking at yet another of Seville's palaces or grand residences. In fact, its origins are more prosaic: a tobacco factory, albeit one of Spain's largest buildings.
Located in Barrio Santa Cruz, in a pretty square with orange trees, the 17th-century baroque hospital was built to care for elderly, impoverished and infirm priests. It is now used as an art gallery, notably about Velazquez, and is a peaceful place in this area which receives many visitors.
Andalucia is justifiably famous for its excellent gastronomic scene. Using first-class ingredients grown throughout the region and caught along its extensive coastline, such as jamon iberico, tomatoes and prawns, cutting-edge dishes are prepared and presented with typically Spanish flair and innovation. Seville is home of the tapas, where this world-renowned sociable small dish for sharing was invented.
There are several hotels located almost within touching distance of the famous Seville Alcazar Palace (Reales Alcázares de Sevilla). A lot of them feature spectacular roof terraces offering unrivalled views over the cathedral that dominates this area.
Casa Rosa is a pretty, candy-pink French-style villa with magnificent gardens at the far end of Parque Maria Luisa. The house was part of the vast estate of Palacio San Telmo, which was occupied in the second half of the 19th century by the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier.
This tree-lined square is the heart of Seville - located at the top of Avenida de la Constitucion, it sits centrally between the shopping area, Arenal and the river, Alfalfa, and the monumental zone and is home to the Ayuntamiento, the Town Hall.
With UNESCO classing a complex of three buildings in Seville as a World Heritage Site - namely the Cathedral, Alcazar Palace, and Archive of the Indies - it's no wonder that international and Spanish tourists alike flock to the city to see the magnificent monuments left behind by the many cultures which have inhabited the city.
As a city where most people live in small apartments, and which enjoys mild to hot temperatures all year round, people spend plenty of time out and about in the street at night. In the summer, temperatures don't start to fall until the early hours, so life is lived outdoors even more.
There is no shortage of fun to be had in this exciting city, from theme and water parks offering a great family day out, to an evening of local food and flamenco shows. With its beautiful surroundings, Andalucia attracts thousands every year keen to tee off from the green of one of the many golf courses this region offers.
Despite not being located on the coastline, Seville does have a working port for industrial and commercial cruise liners which is the only river port in Spain. This unique opportunity to experience more inland Spain either before, after or during your blue water cruise can offer a pleasant break from the more common coastal destinations.
The Alcázar of Seville was used as a location for the hugely successful HBO TV series, Game of Thrones. The palace stood in for the Water Gardens of Dorne in various scenes in four episodes of Season Five and one of Season Six. The private estate is owned by Prince Dorian Martell, the wheelchair-bound head of House Martell and ruler of Dorne.
Eating out is a way of life in Seville, whether in a smart contemporary restaurant serving innovative modern dishes, or a more traditional tiled establishment offering carillada and fried fishj. Restaurants are more formal, with smarter decor, and full-size portions, although even the smartest places will still offer tapas.
The aquarium is themed around the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, 1519-1522, which was the first ever circumnavigation of the globe. Your journey will take you from the Guadalquivir river, across the Atlantic Ocean, up the Amazon and over to the Pacific.
Right in the historic centre of Seville, yet on a quiet street, this superb, luxurious boutique hotel spread across several traditional Sevillano mansions offers faultless service and sumptuous décor, from monogrammed linens to Lutron lighting, and all-round high-tech wizardry.
The city of Seville is known to dedicate February to carnival celebrations with all the usual song and dance performances. A well known savings bank always brings in the top performing Carnival singing group from the Cádiz festival for a special performance. There is also a children's carnival that can be scheduled on the weekends for up to a whole month.
Andalucia is not alone in its quest for the convenience of large out-of-town shopping centres or commercial centres ( centros comerciales) . Over the past five years shopping centres in Andalucia have become increasingly prevalent and in Andalucia today they form an integral part of most peoples’ shopping experience.
Strictly speaking this is a religious festival, but for most of the week, solemnity isn't the keynote - there's a lot of carousing and frivolity, and bars are full day and night with entire families, from grandparents to babes in arms staying up until three or four in the morning.
Seville’s April fair has a long and varied history. Here are a few facts and figures associated with its past, and its present traditions. The first thing you'll see when you arrive at the Seville Fair from the city centre is the portada - the gateway, where you traditionally enter the fairground. Everyone gets their photo taken in front of the portada.
