Santa Cruz is one of the most popular, easily recognizable by its narrow streets neighborhood of Seville, balconies adorned with flowers and intense fragrance of orange blossom. Getting lost in its corners is a must if you are visiting this city and therefore, during your stay at our hotel, be sure to include this area in your Seville route. Seville will catch you, no doubt. Close to our hotel in Seville, one of the jewels of Seville is the central district of Santa Cruz.

If you do not know where to start, we suggest that if you do not have time for more, visit at least these corners.

• Seville Cathedral: It is the quintessential monument of the Andalusia capital. Especially the Giralda, which rises about 100 feet above the ground. The bottom of the belfry was part of the minaret of the old mosque that stood in the ninth century on the spot where the cathedral is. Notice also the Giraldillo, la veleta que corona la Giralda and the Patio de los Naranjos, which can be accessed through the Door of Forgiveness. The interior still retains a Visigoth source.

Image courtesy of Leoplus www.flickr.com

• Palacio Arzobispal (Archbishop’s Palace). Just steps away from the Cathedral and the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, the Archbishop’s Palace, current residence of the Archbishop of Seville is located. Highlights its façade, reds and, once inside, the elegant central staircase built with colored marbles dating from the mid-seventeenth century.

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org

• Reales Alcázares: If you thought your eyes could not see more beauty, let us introduce Real Alcázar, a royal palace which claims to be the oldest of which are active, in Europe. Declared a World Heritage Site, contains architectural gems like the Patio of the Maidens, the Hall of Ambassadors or the Patio de la Monteria. And last but not least, the Alcazar enjoy majestic garden spaces where palm trees and orange trees. Likewise, make sure not to miss the Labyrinth.

Image courtesy of www.wikipedia.org

• Archivo General de Indias: The Archive was created in the late eighteenth century by order of Charles III in order to centralize all documentation related to the conquest and colonization of America in a single space. More than 40,000 files and about 8,000 maps are a treasure that houses in this building whose documentary value is incalculable. It is most likely to be history’s largest archive worldwide of the activity of Spain on American soil which runs over three centuries of history of this continent. Know also that the Archivo General de Indias was declared as World Heritage Site in 1987.

Image courtesy of Max Besser www.flickr.com

• Calle Pimienta (Pepper Street): To end your tour of the famous neighborhood of Santa Cruz, we suggest you to walk through Calle Pimienta. As you wander through the narrow streets you can experience the legend that hangs over it. They say that several centuries ago there was a Jewish merchant who set up a spice shop that started to fail a few months after. One day already desperate, the merchant began to throw around insults, many of them addressed to God, whom he blamed for his misfortune. A Christian who was passing by heard him and urged him not to continue blaspheming, prompting the Jewish repent and begin to mourn. The legend says that from his tears pepper plants started to sprout on the ground.

Image courtesy of www.panoramio.com

Kind Regards,

Amador Recio

General Manager @ Hotel Ribera de Triana Sevilla

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