Before we kicked off the holidays, we were thrilled to spend a weekend in the gorgeous city of Sevilla, Spain. In Andalucía in southern Spain, we spent a long weekend exploring the beautiful local sites and taking in the beauty of this charming city. Honestly, we didn’t know what to expect, but we were pretty impressed by the stunning architecture, the clean streets, the amazing Cathedral and Alcazar and the festiveness of the Christmas season. We have ranked it as one of our favorite cities in Spain and will continue to recommend it to American travelers to Spain!

How to Get There: We took the high-speed train from Madrid to Sevilla which continues to be our favorite mode of travel throughout Spain. In about 2.5 hours after leaving Madrid, we were in Sevilla’s Santa Justa train station, and this would have taken about 6 hours by car. Even immediately walking right out of the station, we were swooned by the beauty of Sevilla – you don’t have to look far to discover Sevilla’s beauty.

Where to Stay: Everything was walkable for us in Sevilla, from the train station and beyond. We never needed to take public transportation or rent a car. It’s important to choose a good, walkable rental or hotel in Sevilla and we really liked Zaragoza Suite Apartment which we found on booking.com. This rental was in a great location in the heart of Old Town but it did come with a caveat: a lot of street noise. Being this central to all of the action meant loud nights for us when sleeping, but it still is a great choice for a family traveling to Sevilla due to its location and cost.

Where to Eat: We had some great meals in Sevilla and were consistently impressed by the restaurants and bars we saw! In December, outside seating is available at most restaurants along with an open fire heater, making it super comfortable and cozy. We really enjoyed having tapas at both Agustin & Company as well as Universal People Bar de Tapas. We also enjoyed the higher-end @casalonja which offered great seafood choices as well as a fun area in Old Town to stop for a glass of local wine.

Our favorite foods in Sevilla were breakfast! We absolutely loved in Barrio de Santa Cruz @saltandsugarseville, where we had delicious coffees, great churros con chocolate and beautiful views of the neighborhood. We also loved our açaí bowls and smoothies from @milkawaysevilla, which was a favorite restaurant stop for our kids. An honorable mention of great food in Sevilla also goes to the dessert at @ratatouillecheesecake, which always has long lines but is worth the wait.

What to Do: When visiting Sevilla in December, it’s so fun to just take in the sites and enjoy all of the festive lights, trees and Belen (nativity) markets. It’s also a great place to visit Belens in chapels, many of which were free for viewing. Our boys really liked the Setas de Sevilla which had Christmas markets full of booths with snacks and attractions for children. Walking by both the Alcazar and Cathedral is a must – so beautiful!

Our favorite barrio in Sevilla was the Barrio de Santa Cruz, boasting alleys full of shoppes, restaurants and beautiful colors. It’s truly a spectacular site and was one of our favorite areas of any Spanish city that we’ve visited so far. Another must-do when in Sevilla is to attend a flamenco show! We were hosted by @tablaoflamencolassetas and it was a fantastic, short show great for the attention span of kids! Highly recommend!

Feliz Navidad y Felices Fiestas a todos!