Photographing Seville: the Plaza, the Lanes and the Two Weeks to Avoid

The Plaza de España is a trap by mid-morning

It is the most photographed place in the city and deservedly so: a brick semicircle two hundred metres across, tiled bridges over a canal, and forty-eight alcoves each tiled with a Spanish province. It is also where the most sessions go wrong.

The reason is simple. It is an open space facing the sun, and the brickwork starts to glare by mid-morning. By eleven the stone is burnt out, faces are squinting, and the azulejos have lost the colour that justified coming.

The answer is to go early. First thing the plaza is nearly empty — the coach tours arrive later — and the light comes in low and sideways, which is exactly what the reliefs need. It is the highest-value hour of the day in the whole city.

If you can only come in the afternoon, stay under the arcades and beneath the bridges, where there is built shade.

More on the spot.

Santa Cruz holds up when nothing else does

The old Jewish quarter is a maze of whitewashed lanes, patios full of pots and orange trees. Its practical virtue is that high white walls bounce light rather than taking it head on, so it works at midday, when the plaza no longer does.

That makes it the natural second stop: Plaza de España at sunrise, Santa Cruz afterwards. The order matters.

Two warnings. It is a genuine maze and easy to get lost in, and some lanes are too narrow for a large group. With a pushchair it is uncomfortable.

More on the spot.

Las Setas, so the whole set is not arches

The Metropol Parasol is an enormous timber structure in the middle of the old town with a walkway across the top. Aesthetically it has nothing to do with the rest of the city, and that is its value: it stops the whole session being arches, tiles and whitewash.

Twenty minutes here changes the rhythm of the set completely. The walkway is ticketed and has opening hours; the square below is free and already gives you the shape.

More on the spot.

The river at the end of the day

The Guadalquivir gives the last light. From the Triana bridge you have the Torre del Oro on one side and the Triana facades on the other, and the water holds the sky's colour for several minutes after the sun has gone.

It is the logical close to a long session, and it needs no ticket, permit or timing beyond the sunset.

The Real Alcázar: check before building a day around it

The gardens and courtyards are probably the most beautiful thing in the city. It is also a ticketed monument with timed capacity and restrictions on professional photography sessions.

For personal photographs during a normal visit there is usually no issue. For an organised session with a hired photographer, check the current conditions before planning the day around the Alcázar rather than after.

When not to come

Two weeks a year when Seville is wonderful and a photo session is not viable:

• Semana Santa. The centre fills, many streets close for the processions, and moving between two points can take an hour.
• The Feria de Abril. The city decamps to the fairground and everything else runs at half speed.

If you are travelling then, assume the session will be in outer neighbourhoods or at first light.

And the heat: July and August routinely pass 40°C. In summer there are two usable hours, at dawn and at the end of the afternoon. April, May, October and November are the good months — and see the seasonal guide for how that compares with the rest of Spain.

A route that works

1. Sunrise — Plaza de España, empty and side-lit
2. Mid-morning — Santa Cruz, shade and whitewash
3. Midday — stop; it is the worst light and the worst heat
4. Afternoon — Las Setas or Triana
5. Sunset — the river from the Triana bridge

Four stops within walking distance, in the order the light opens them.

The photographers covering Seville work this city weekly and will fit the route to your date, the sunset time and how far you are willing to walk.