Getting Your Bearings
Seville is the capital of Andalusia and its largest city, sitting on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir in the southwest of Spain. For a visitor, the single most useful thing to know is that the city's points of interest are concentrated in a compact old town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose centre is small enough to cross on foot. That shapes everything about how you'll move around: most of your days will be spent walking, and public transport is mainly there to connect the centre with the outskirts, the stations and the airport.
On Foot
Walking is the best option for sightseeing. Seville is a large city overall, but the sights are packed into the old centre, and strolling — coming across fine old churches, charming cafés and hidden plazas — is part of the experience of being here. Bear in mind that summers are punishing, with daily highs routinely above 35 °C in July and August, so plan your walking for the cooler hours.
Public Transport and the Green Travel Card
Seville's public transport is split between several operators and modes, but there is one card that ties them together. The rechargeable green travel card can be used across all means of public transport — metro, tram, regional trains (Cercanías), and city and regional buses — at a lower price. You buy it in tobacco shops for a small fee and must charge it with a minimum amount. Other travel cards exist, issued by the metro or the city bus operator, but each of those only works on certain modes, so the green card is the flexible choice if you plan to mix and match.
Metro and Tram
The metro is unlikely to feature much in a typical visit: it does not run near the old town, the main sights or most accommodation. Its single line follows an arch from the southwestern suburbs to the southern end of the city centre — stopping at Plaza de Cuba, Prado de San Sebastián and San Bernardo — before heading out to the southeastern suburbs. It runs from early morning until late evening Sunday to Thursday, and later on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are sold as single-zone or multi-zone unlimited-trip options.
The tram is a short, central hop rather than a way to tour the city. It runs from Prado de San Sebastián at the south end of the centre, up Avenida de la Constitución past the cathedral, and ends at Plaza Nueva. That is a very short stretch through an area you will probably prefer to walk anyway — but it can be a welcome rest for tired legs.
Buses
City buses run frequently and cover the majority of the city on their routes. A single fare without a travel card is modest, and the local operator also issues a rechargeable card called the bonobús, which requires a small deposit plus a minimum recharge and then gives you a much cheaper fare, including when you transfer. Bonobuses can be bought at most kiosks and tabacarias (tobacco shops). Regular service keeps running until around 23:30, after which night buses take over with different routes, running on the hour until around 02:00.
One quirk worth knowing: bus lines prefixed with the letter "C" are circular, and standard city fares apply. The airport bus, line EA, looks like a normal city bus and has many stops in the city — but every ride on it costs the airport fare, even if you only use it within Seville.
There is also a hop-on hop-off bus service, with stops on both sides of the river, which is a good multilingual overview for first-time visitors.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are easily accessible throughout the city and many offer decent rates, though some drivers are less than scrupulous — if in doubt, order one through an app instead. The local app is Cabify, and Uber, Bolt, FreeNow and PideTaxi are also widely available. Taxi fares are officially regulated, so a ride into the town centre should not cost an unreasonable amount; treat any claim that a special event or your luggage justifies a surcharge with suspicion.
Bicycles and Scooters
Seville is building many bike paths, and one pleasant route covers most of the east bank of the river. The city's automated bike-rental system, Sevici, has stations all over town; you need to install the smartphone app and buy a pass, with day and week options available. Once you have a pass, trips of 30 minutes or less are free, with charges applying if you go over that — so the trick is to drop the bike at the station nearest your destination and take a new one if you need more time.
Rented scooters are another option, available by the day or the week, and providers such as Voi also offer on-demand scooter rentals. No driver's licence is required for these.
Arriving by Train or Long-Distance Bus
Seville's main railway station, Santa Justa, sits just east of the city centre on Avenida de Kansas City. It is a modern, roomy building with luggage lockers, cafés and a tourist information centre, and the airport bus stops here. High-speed AVE trains connect the city with Madrid and other Spanish cities, and there are no trains across the nearby border with Portugal.
Long-distance buses mostly use the Plaza de Armas bus station, which runs by the riverside just west of the centre, and some services also call at Prado de San Sebastián near the University and Santa Cruz, or at the railway station. The airport bus calls at all three. City bus line 21 links the train station with Plaza de Armas. At busy times, buy intercity tickets in advance online or at the station, as buses can sell out. Operators include Alsa, Damas, Socibus, Flixbus, Royal Express and Rede Expressos.
Carpooling is also a common option locally — BlaBlaCar is widely used and in Andalusia often works out cheaper than the train or intercity bus.
Getting In From the Airport
Seville Airport (SVQ) is a single terminal located northeast of the city centre. Arrivals is downstairs, with car-hire desks and not much else; the groundside cafés and other facilities are upstairs in the Departures hall. If you are departing, note that gates are divided into areas A and B for Schengen destinations and C for non-Schengen destinations, with passport control between B and C. Non-Schengen passengers should not pass through to area C too early — there are only toilets and one café there — and should allow for queues, since manual passport control booths are limited and open only shortly before flight departure.
To get into the city, the Tussam bus line EA ("Especial Aeropuerto") is the main public option. It runs daily, roughly every 15 minutes, from early morning until after midnight. It leaves from outside Arrivals, runs down Avenida de Kansas City to the main railway station, then loops around the south edge of the city centre with several stops before ending at the main bus station at Plaza de Armas. The total journey takes around 35 minutes. You can buy tickets from the machines next to the bus stop or on the bus, and a same-day round trip is cheaper than two one-way tickets. For the return leg to the airport, catch the EA in front of the Plaza de Armas bus station where the city buses depart — not downstairs.
Ride-hailing is straightforward: use the local Cabify app, or Uber or Bolt. Their designated pick-up area is on the ground level of the parking garage, just outside Arrivals to the left. Taxis into the town centre are officially regulated and should cost a reasonable, predictable amount — don't be talked into more.
Other airports in the region include Jerez de la Frontera (XRY), south of Seville and reachable by road in about an hour, as well as Faro (FAO) and Málaga (AGP) further afield.
Arriving by Car
Driving is an option for long-distance travel in Spain, but it is not especially convenient or useful once you are in town: public transport works fine in the city, and most of the main tourist points are within walking distance. It is worth finding lodging with a garage, or researching parking before your trip. Driving in the old city is tricky but possible. If you park in an unguarded lot, be sure to leave absolutely nothing in the car — Seville is known for car break-ins — and be wary of people loitering outside lots pretending to be attendants; if they cannot give you a receipt, it is a scam.