GUIDED TOUR OF THE ROYAL ALCÁZAR OF SEVILLE

ITINERARY OF THE ROYAL ALCÁZAR OF SEVILLE TOUR

1. 1

   The tour begins at the meeting point, next to Plaza del Triunfo, to place the Royal Alcázar within Seville's monumental complex and understand its relationship with the Cathedral and the Archive of the Indies.

2. 2

   The first part enters the Hall of Justice and the Courtyard of the Plaster, one of the spaces where the Almohad imprint of the site survives. Here you can appreciate the Muslim origin of the Alcázar and decorative elements such as the sebka panels, also present on the Giralda.

3. 3

   Next comes the Courtyard of the Hunt, the main entrance to the palace complex, and the route continues to the House of Trade, created in 1503 to regulate trade with the Americas. In this area you also visit the Chapel of the Navigators, linked to the memory of the discovery and to figures such as Columbus, the Pinzón brothers and the Catholic Monarchs. The painting of the Virgin of Buenos Aires is also kept here: the devotion of the sailors to this image gave the Argentine city its name.

4. 4

   The tour reaches the Palace of Pedro I, one of the central parts of the visit. In the Courtyard of the Maidens the guide explains Mudejar architecture, the role of light, water and vegetation, and the cut-tile (alicatado) technique.

5. 5

   The visit continues through the Royal Bedroom, with its division between summer and winter rooms, and the Courtyard of the Dolls, a private space whose name may come from a collection of dolls given to Isabella of Portugal on her marriage to Charles I in 1526. The two small faces that appear today on one of the arches were added in the 19th century to recall that story.

6. 6

   One of the highlights comes in the Hall of the Ambassadors, known for its golden dome. Before the gardens, the route reaches the Gothic Palace, the oldest Christian work in the Alcázar, commissioned by Alfonso X the Wise in the 13th century. Its Gothic vaults, the Virgin of La Antigua, one of the great devotions of the first navigators in the Americas, and the Hall of Festivities close the indoor part before heading out to the gardens. The route ends in the Alcázar Gardens, passing the Mercury Pond, the Grotto Gallery and the reference to the Baths of María de Padilla, which are reached by stairs and are not accessible.