Cathedral and Giralda

What to see in the Cathedral and the Giralda

Seville Cathedral was built over the Almohad mosque, and two living pieces of it remain: the Patio de los Naranjos, where the faithful performed ablutions, and the minaret turned bell tower — the Giralda. Inside, the central nave rises almost forty metres and the main altarpiece is the largest Gothic retable in the world, with more than a thousand carved figures.

The usual route takes in the Capilla Mayor, the Sacristy of the Chalices with works by Zurbarán and Goya, the oval Chapter House and the tomb of Christopher Columbus, carried by four heralds representing the kingdoms of Spain.

• Main altarpiece: 28 years of work, over a thousand figures.
• Columbus's tomb, in the south transept.
• Patio de los Naranjos: a direct inheritance from the mosque.
• Giralda: 34 ramps instead of stairs, built to be ridden up on horseback.

Climbing the Giralda: what to know

There are no steps until the very top: you walk up wide ramps, because the muezzin rode up on horseback. That is around 35 stretches and ten to fifteen unhurried minutes. There is no lift and the shaft gets narrow at peak times.

At the top, the best views are not over the river but straight down onto the rooftops of Santa Cruz and the gardens of the Royal Alcázar. Avoid being up there on the hour if you can — the bells are extremely loud in the clock chamber.

How long the visit takes and when to go

Allow 90 minutes for the whole thing: an hour inside the church and half an hour for the Giralda including the queue. The first opening slot and the late afternoon are the calmest; mid-morning is when coach groups overlap.

In summer the cathedral is one of the few cool interiors in the old town, which makes it an excellent refuge between 2 and 5 PM, when the streets are unbearable.

What to combine nearby

You are at the corner of the monumental triangle: the Royal Alcázar faces you and the Archive of the Indies sits between the two. All three are World Heritage and fit into one morning.

Afterwards, walking down to the Torre del Oro and crossing to Triana for lunch is the natural continuation. The 48-hour guide uses exactly that sequence, and must-see Seville has the rest of the list.