Seville Cathedral

Seville Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

One ticket covers the cathedral, the Giralda tower and the Church of the Saviour a few streets away, which is a better deal than it first looks. Buying online avoids a queue that regularly wraps around the building by mid-morning. A guided tour costs two to three times the basic ticket and is worth it mainly for the rooftop version, a separate product that takes small groups up onto the vaults and buttresses on a route you cannot walk alone; it sells out well ahead.

Night visits with lighting run in summer and are atmospheric rather than informative. The Alcazar next door is a different ticket and a different queue, and combined tours that cover both usually save time rather than money; if you buy one, check that it includes entry to both and not just a walking commentary outside. Free entry is offered on Monday afternoons if you book a slot online in advance, and those slots go within days. The Giralda has no separate ticket and no lift.

Visiting Seville Cathedral: what to see

The cathedral was built on the site of the Almohad mosque from 1401, when the chapter reportedly resolved to raise a church so great that those who saw it would think them mad. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, 126 metres long, with five naves and a central vault 40 metres up. The retable behind the high altar is the largest altarpiece in Christendom, a cliff of gilded oak with more than a thousand carved figures that took one man most of his life.

Near the south door, four bronze pallbearers representing the kingdoms of Spain carry the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The royal chapel holds Ferdinand III, who took the city in 1248. The Giralda is the mosque's minaret with a Renaissance belfry added on top, and instead of stairs it has 35 ramps, built wide enough for a man on horseback to ride up; the climb is gentle and ends level with the bells. Below, the Patio de los Naranjos is the mosque's old ablutions courtyard, still planted with orange trees.

Seville Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

Opening is late morning on most days and early afternoon on Sundays, with closing in the early evening and last admission an hour before. The building shuts to visitors during services and on major religious days, and Holy Week rearranges everything in this city. Andalusian summer heat is the real scheduling factor: the interior stays cool, but the Giralda ramps and the roof tour are punishing after midday in July and August, so take the first slot of the day.

Light through the south windows is best in the early afternoon. Dress code is enforced at the door, shoulders and knees covered for everyone. Large bags are not allowed and there is no cloakroom. Allow ninety minutes for the cathedral and the tower together, more if you stop at the chapels. The Church of the Saviour, included in your ticket, is a ten-minute walk north and holds one of the finest baroque altarpieces in Spain, and almost nobody goes.