Flamenco, tapas... Seville’s a city to savour
AT THE evening show in Seville’s Flamenco Museum, I’m within touching distance of the stage. A woman squeezed into a red polka-dot dress begins to dance, accompanied by a guitarist and quavering singer. A man joins her in a tight suit, heeled boots and dashing curls. Not quite Poldark, but near enough.
T heir dance is confrontational but intimate, and ends with him throwing his jacket to the floor and stomping off. It’s everything you could want from flamenco.
It’s an entertaining spectacle, but then so is Seville itself.
Our hotel is close to the cathedral, the biggest Gothic church in the world, which houses Columbus’s tomb. But I prefer the lesser known but beautifully ornate Parroquia de San Pedro in the Macarena barrio. The painter Diego Velazquez was christened here, and on the façade there’s a tile showing Purgatory with a bird camouflaged within. According to legend, the person who finds the bird will marry.
Seville can deliver the occasional architectural surprise. The Metropol Parasol, known locally as ‘the mushroom’ and completed in 2011, looks like it’s made from balsa wood. It’s incongruous, plonked in what used to be a car park.
But nearly 30 metres up, its undulating walkway is the best place from which to admire the city, shining before you. Up there, it’s impossible to ignore the brandnew 180m Pelli Tower. It dwarfs the cathedral, the Alcázar royal palace and the Giralda Tower.
The regenerated streets nearby are full of intriguing vintage shops, girls with blue hair and cheap cocktail bars leading on to Alameda de Hércules. Built in the 16th century, these twin pillars carry statues of Caesar and Hercules, both of whom are said to have played a part in Seville’s early history.
It’s a great spot to watch Seville’s cafe culture in action. Every two paces are tiny tapas bars with hams hanging from the ceiling and busy al fresco dining. At the landmark El Rinconcillo Bar, where locals stand around small tables, I try olives the size of mini rugby balls, pork cheeks, hake fritters and cured Iberian ham.
At the brand-new Mercado Lonja del Barranco in the old fish market on the river, I try langoustines and octopus kebabs with micro-brewery beer and leave the bull’s tail croquettes to the locals. Tapas take practice, but that’s fine by me.
TRAVEL FACTS
British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) flies from London to Seville from £82 return. Double rooms at Fontecruz Sevilla (0034 9549 79009, marriott.co.uk) start at £100 room only. More information at spain.info.