Euro Away Days: Tapas, Sherry and Columbus await City fans in Seville
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Manchester City fans heading to Seville for the Sky Blues’ Champions League clash with the La Liga outfit had better make sure they have a light lunch before departure.
Located in Spain’s Andalusia region, Seville proclaims to be the home of tapas. City fans making the trip should bring their wine pallet with them too, while history buffs will love the city’s picture-perfect historical architecture.
Ahead of the clash in Group D, we’ve put together a little guide for a city home to some 1.5m people…
Food
You can’t go to this part of the world and not indulge in a little tapas, especially in a city which self-proclaims to be the tapas capital of the world thanks to its 3,000 bars!
Overshadowed these days in the world of tourism by Madrid and Barcelona (a little like in football actually…) what you’ll find in Seville is one authentic, original restaurant after another.
El Rinconcillo is one of the city’s oldest tapas bars and claims to be one of the oldest in all of Spain, dating back to 1670.
Wonderfully atmospheric, it’s a great place for dinner and is just a short walk from Alameda de Hercules square, where you’ll find plenty of cafes and bars.
Wherever you end up, Seville’s ham and its fish are some of the best to be found, while Carrillada – slow cooked pork or beef cheek – is now a firm favourite having long been derided as a poor man’s dish.
The sweet toothed among you won’t be left out either, especially if you find a Torrijas. A sort of hybrid between bread and butter pudding and French toast, this dessert is usually served around Easter but can increasingly be found all year round.
If you come upon it, ask for it coated in honey.
Drink
Begin the evening at Bar Jota or El Tremendo. Both places serve ice cold, cheap and large beers, so head down, grab a cold one (or two) and plan the rest of the night.
Perez Galdos is the place to go if it’s cocktails, shots and everything else you’re after. Located in among the crooked, quirky alleys of the city centre, you’ll find a host of cool little bars down this way.
From there La Carboneria is only a short walk, and once inside this bar you’ll find what looks something like an English country pub at the front, and in the back you’ll discover one of Seville’s best haunts for flamenco dancing. Cool and unique in equal measure.
Sherry Wine is a must during your visit too. Local produce arrives from just down the road in Jerez. The region’s white grapes yield a generally dry wine, although some bottles exported abroad – particularly to America – are sweeter.
Produced in Andalusia for centuries, sherry here is often made with food in mind, and is great alongside some tapas. Manzanilla and Palo Cortado are excellent examples of how varied this type of wine can be.
Nightlife
Seville’s vibrant nightlife, coupled with warm evenings, means you’ll find many clubs and discos that will stay open long after your weary eyes have given up the ghost.
Over the river on Calle Betis is Boss, one of Seville’s biggest nightclubs. Sharpen up, avoid scrapping in the queue and you’ll find yourself inside an ever-buzzing club with a quartet of bars and a cultural melting post of local youths mixing with international tourists.
A more modern alternative is Santuario back in the centre of town. This nightclub plays a little less of your classic Euro-pop, and being a bit smaller than most places open through the night, you’ll find a more casual rather than raucous crowd.
Culture
The Alcazar is the place to start getting your culture fix.
The Royal Palace is a staggering structure of architecture, design, colour and symbolism and is real indication of the region’s Moorish heritage and influence. You won’t find anything else like it in Europe.
A structure has been on the site since the 10th century, while most of what you’ll see before you was built during the 1300s.
Similarly awe-inspiring is Seville’s Cathedral and its bell tower – the Giralda.
The tower dates back nearly 1000 years and quickly became one of the biggest and most loved symbols of the city, to which it remains today.
Some 400 years younger, but equally staggering, the cathedral is the largest gothic church in the world, and the third-biggest of any church on the planet.
Aside from the sheer size and stunning design, the cathedral is also home to a certain explorer named Christopher Columbus, and you might well overhear an American accent or two.
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