---
node: spot_seville_alcazar_of_seville
type: spot
slug: alcazar_of_seville
destination: dest_seville
title: "Alcázar of Seville"
lead: "The Alcázar is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe — the Spanish royal family occupies the upper floor when in Seville. Its core was built for Peter I in the 1360s by Muslim craftsmen working for a Christian king."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_seville_alcazar_of_seville.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alcazar_de_S%C3%A9ville_-_Patio_de_la_Doncellas.JPG"
image_author: "EmDee"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

That is what makes it unusual: this is Mudéjar work, Islamic technique and ornament made for a Catholic court, two centuries after Seville was taken. The Patio de las Doncellas carries Arabic inscriptions praising a Christian sovereign. Later kings added a Gothic palace, Renaissance rooms and the Casa de Contratación, from which the Americas trade was administered. The gardens run to seven hectares of terraces, pools and orange trees.

## Highlights

Book online and take an early slot; the courtyards are small and the queue outside is an hour by mid-morning. Pay the supplement for the upper royal apartments if they are open — they are visited in small guided groups and are never crowded. Give the gardens as long as the palace; the Grotto Gallery along the wall is the coolest place in Seville in July.