Seville has spent centuries learning to live with the sun, and its gardens are the best evidence of that: spaces designed to provide shade, offer a refreshing splash of water and give visitors a chance to take a breather just a few metres from the monuments. Exploring them is part of understanding what life is like in this city. Here is our guide to Seville’s green spaces, with a practical tip for each one: when to go and what to look out for.

María Luisa Park: the city’s grand garden

María Luisa Park is Seville’s main park and also its most elegant. It was the private garden of the Palace of San Telmo until the Infanta María Luisa Fernanda of Orléans donated it to the city, and to mark the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, the French landscape architect Forestier redesigned it, combining the European Romantic garden style with distinctly Sevillian elements: gazebos, tiles and fountains.

Today, visitors can stroll amongst palm trees, orange trees and magnolias, with ponds, shaded spots and the Plaza de España as the grand, monumental finale. Within the park there are also two museums that often go unnoticed: the Archaeological Museum, which houses the Tartessian treasure of El Carambolo, and the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs.

Our recommendation: go first thing in the morning or in the late afternoon, when it’s less crowded and the weather is pleasant. And don’t leave without stopping by the Bécquer roundabout, one of the spots most cherished by the people of Seville.

The gardens of the Real Alcázar: the most important in Europe

The gardens of the Real Alcázar share the palace’s World Heritage status and are regarded as some of the most important historic gardens in Europe. They bring together a thousand years of tradition: the pools and irrigation channels inherited from the Al-Andalus period, the Renaissance hedges and fountains, the tiled gazebos and the centuries-old orange trees.

The most striking thing is the contrast: just a few metres from the crowds at the Cathedral, here you can stroll in silence and in cooler temperatures, as the whole garden is designed to keep the air cool with water and shade.

Access is via the Alcázar’s general entrance, for which it’s advisable to book in advance. A tip from us: in summer, the Alcázar organises evening tours of the gardens, and this is one of the experiences we most highly recommend to our guests.

The Guadalquivir promenade: the best way to spend the evening

Seville’s third green space is not a park, but the riverbank. The Guadalquivir promenade runs from the Torre del Oro to the Alamillo Bridge, and its most interesting section begins at the Puerta de Jerez: within a few minutes, you pass the Torre del Oro and the Maestranza bullring, with Triana on the other side of the river.

Our recommendation is clear: explore it in the late afternoon, when the sun is setting and the Triana façade takes on its most beautiful colour. This is the perfect time to cross the Isabel II Bridge: few views of Seville can rival that of the river at this time of day.

The Jardín Americano and the Alamillo: the green spaces of La Cartuja

On the island of La Cartuja, there are two places that almost no visitors know about, but which the people of Seville use every day.

The Jardín Americano is a botanical garden created for Expo ’92, featuring palm trees, ceiba trees and species from the Americas, as well as a peaceful walkway alongside the river. The fact that it’s barely mentioned in guidebooks is, in fact, a good reason to visit.

In the north of the island, Alamillo Park is the largest in Seville: a vast park filled with holm oaks and olive trees where the city’s residents go for a run, cycle and have their Sunday picnics. It’s the best choice for anyone travelling with children or fancying a morning spent enjoying nature right in the heart of the city.

Los Remedios and the Parque de los Príncipes: the neighbourhood’s green spaces

On the other side of the river, in the Los Remedios neighbourhood, the Parque de los Príncipes is a spacious garden with rose beds and lawns that doesn’t feature on tourist itineraries. That’s precisely why we’ve included it: it’s the local residents’ go-to park, and a stroll through it on a Saturday morning reveals a great deal about everyday life in Seville.

A good starting point

From the Puerta de Jerez, where Tayko Sevilla is located, the Alcázar gardens and the start of the riverside promenade are just a few steps away, and María Luisa Park is less than a ten-minute walk away. All the walks in this guide can be started, without the need for transport, right outside the hotel.

Tayko Seville. The start of your story in the city.