There's some stiff competition among Seville's tapas bars, and Cerveceria Giralda is one of the best. Take a pavement table, order a glass of sherry and a tapa (we recommend skate with seafood sauce, and pork sirloin in whisky), and watch the Giralda take on an orange glow as the sun dips. This is a great spot to witness the parade of people on a tapas-bar crawl along Mateas Gago. If there are no tables outside, the interior—an old Arab bathhouse with a vaulted stone ceiling—is almost as atmospheric.

Open daily from 9 am to midnight.

Bizet's Carmen met her fate in the red-and-yellow Real Maestranza bullring, where a statue of her now stands. This elegant ring, flanked by stables and a chapel, is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Spain—building began in 1730. You can also visit a museum containing paintings, cloaks, and tributes to bullfighting celebrities. (If you hanker to see an actual bullfight, note that few are held in summer.)

Open daily 9:30–2 and 3–7 (9:30–3 on bullfight days).

This museum houses one of the world's best collections of Spanish art, particularly from the medieval and Renaissance eras. Highlights include stunning works by El Greco, as well as tender Murillo Virgins and macabre biblical scenes by 17th-century artist Juan de Valdés Leal. The collection is housed in a charming 17th-century convent.

Open Tues 2:30–8:30, Wed–Sat 9–8:30, Sun 9–2:30; closed Mon.

Its 15th-century builders said, "Let us create such a building that future generations will take us for lunatics." Today, Seville's cathedral is Europe's third-largest church, a Gothic pile topped by spires, towers, and a delicate network of buttresses. Inside, you'll find Columbus's tomb; works by Goya, Murillo, and Zurbarán; and a display of skulls. La Giralda is the single remaining minaret of the 12th-century mosque on which the cathedral was built. Climb the 300-foot tower's ramp for a superb city view.

Open Mon–Sat 11–2:30 and 3–4, Sun 2:30–6; Jul–Aug 9:30–3:30.