The appeal of Seville, Andalucía's sunny city, lies in its extravagant Moorish architecture and its exuberant street life. There is always plenty going on in Seville's picturesque cobbled streets, from religious processions to fiery flamenco.

ALCOBA DEL REY
Calle Becquer 9 (00 34 954 915800; www.alcobadelrey.com). The rooms and prices at this new hotel in the Macareña district are so fabulous that the 20-minute walk to the city centre (via the once seedy but now bohemian Alameda de Hercules) quickly becomes a pleasure. The likeable owner, Rafael Carrión Amate, imports Moroccan homeware; the idea behind the hotel was to take guests back eight centuries to the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus, when Seville looked like the medina in Marrakech. The patio is reminiscent of the Alcazar's Patio de las Munecas, and the seven rooms and eight suites, named after prominent figures from Al-Andalus culture, are all different, albeit with some recurring features, including cedar-wood beds and Moroccan rugs, bedcovers and lamps (most of which are for sale). Colours are bold; details (such as coloured tassels tied onto off-white drapes) are imaginative; and the bathrooms, with stand-alone tubs hidden behind half-walls, or semi-open showers integrated into the rooms, are original. Against all this decorative colour and atmospheric lighting the breakfast area is disappointingly gloomy, although in fine weather you can escape to the roof and its Bedouin-style tent. The breakfast is average, but the tapas served in the bar are tasty and the staff very friendly. Book any room, but Beatriz de Suabia is the most romantic, with its four-poster, thuya-wood bed. £

ALFONSO XIII
San Fernando 2, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4917 000; fax: 00 34 95 4917 099; www.hotel-alfonsoxiii.com). Grand and expensive, Alfonso XIII is housed in a neo-Moorish mansion commissioned by its namesake king. Built for the 1929 Great Ibero-American Exhibition, the Alfonso XIII is a great sevillana institution. The architectural splendour of the building is on par with Seville's finest museums and civic palaces. There are 147 rooms and suites, including a royal suite, and two restaurants. San Fernando offers hearty Andalucian fare, while Kaede serves Japanese food. £££

CASAS DEL REY DEL BAEZA
Calle Santiago, Plaza Jesús de la Redención 2, 41003 Seville (00 34 95 4561 496; fax: 00 34 95 4561 441; hospes.es; email: reydebaeza@hospes.es). Located in the heart of Seville's old historical city, this clay-walled building was originally Ferdinand II's gift to the king of Baeza in the 15th-century. The 41 rooms, sparsely decorated, are located round several courtyards, and the hotel offers serene views from its rooftop swimming pool. £

CASA NUMERO 7
Calle Virgenes 7, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4221 581; fax: 00 34 95 4214 527; www.casanumero7.com; email: info@casanumero7.com). Located in the historic Santa Cruz quarter, a mere bell-ring from the cathedral and the Giralda, quiet and elegant Casa Numero 7 is the former home of a Spanish sherry baron. Its six rooms, all individually decorated with original oil paintings and antiques, have an old-fashioned English country house atmosphere. Service is immaculate, with butlers in white jackets and waiters in white gloves. There is no restaurant on the hotel premises, but breakfast and drinks are served in the drawing room. ££

CASA ROMANA HOTEL BOUTIQUE
Calle Trajano 15 (00 34 954 915170; www.hotelcasaromana.com). The standardised rooms give it the feel of a business hotel rather than a private home, but its light, spacious and efficiently run, in a good location just north of the city centre, and has a chic rooftop terrace with wooden loungers and a Jacuzzi for eight. Previously a hostel with 50 rooms and just four bathrooms, the hotel now has 27 rooms in three categories, all of them, thankfully, en suite - set around an open patio and a covered gallery. The name refers both to the hotel's owners, a well-known Andalucian family of jewellers and its location on Calle Trajano, named after one of Seville's two Roman emperors. The most attractive feature is the fountain in the open courtyard, which is tiled with old azulejos from the nearby Triana district. Rooms are either classic or romantic in style and smart rather than stylish, as are the bathrooms. £

ELBULLIHOTEL HACIENDA BENAZUZA
Calle Virgen de las Nieves, Sanlúcar La Mayor, 41800 Seville (00 34 95 5703 344; fax: 00 34 95 5703 410; www.elbullihotel.com; email: hbenazuza@elbullihotel.com). The Hacienda Benazuza is a sprawling 10th-century Moorish farmhouse-cum-fortress located in the olive groves of Sanlúcar la Mayor, 25km from the city centre. Decorated with original artworks and antiques, the hotel has 44 rooms (including 17 suites), a pool and heliport. Laid-back in comparison to the big city hotels, the Hacienda is still accustomed to demanding travellers. La Alquería, with its two Michelin stars, serves creative Mediterranean cuisine, La Alberca serves tapas by the poolside, and Gaudarnés mixes the cocktails. The serenely beautiful sunset over the orchards and the Guadiamar river valley and the Arab-Andalucian gardens with orange, fig and palm trees, fountains and peragolas are some of the highlights of the hotel. ££

HOSTAL GOYA
Calle Mateos Gago 31, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4211 170, fax: 00 34 95 4562 944; www.hostalgoyasevilla.com). A cheap and cheerful family-run pension. Comfortable and amusingly decorated in working-class Andalucian style, it is located in the heart of Santa Cruz. £

HOTEL DONA MARIA
Don Remondo 19, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 422 4990; fax: 00 34 95 4219 546; www.hdmaria.com). Right on the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, Doña Maria is a luxurious and chintzy hotel, located in a 14th-century mansion. The rooftop terrace, and its a small swimming pool, commands mesmerising views of the cathedral's Giralda, spectacularly illuminated by night. £

HOTEL HUSA LOS SEISES
Calle Segovias 6, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4229 495; fax: 00 34 95 4224 334; www.hotellosseises.com). Located in the labyrinthine streets behind the Giralda where bars and alfresco restaurants abound, Hotel Husa Los Seises is housed in a 16th-century palace that used to belong to an Archbishop. The hotel has 42 rooms, a good-sized garden, handsome meeting rooms and a rooftop pool and bar that offer breathtaking sunsets. Artefacts and desirable objects can found in every nook and niche, so it is a bit like staying in a private museum. £

HOTEL LAS CASAS DE LA JUDERIA
Callejón de Dos Hermanas 7, Plaza Santa Maria la Blanca, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4415 150; fax: 00 34 95 4422 170; www.casasypalacios.com; email: juderia@zoom.es). Part of the Hoteles Casas y Palacios de España chain, this hotel forms a welcome addition to the upper end of Seville's hotel market. Las Casas de la Juderia offers 105 individually styled rooms and encourages all kinds of activities, from flamenco to golf. £

HOTEL LAS CASAS DE LOS MERCADERES
Calle Alvarez Quintero 9-13, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 422 5858; fax: 00 34 95 4229 884; www.casasypalacios.com). A luxurious hotel, Las Casas de Los Mercaderes offers a colourful building, a neat garden and a pool. The building has a fascinating history and only became a hotel in the last few years of the 20th-century. £

HOTEL SIMON
García de Vinuesa 19, Seville (00 34 95 4226 660; fax: 00 34 95 4562 241; www.hotelsimonsevilla.com; email: hotel-simon@jet.es). An 18th-century mansion turned hotel, Hotel Simon is a charming budget option in Seville. Located right by the cathedral, the mansion is built around a patio with ferns and a fountain, and its public rooms are stuffed with period furniture. The quality of the rooms vary wildly - while some lack character, others have street-facing balconies and are decorated with old azulejo tiles and 19th-century paintings. £

LA CASA DEL MAESTRO
Almudena 5 (00 34 954 500 007; www.lacasadelmaestro.com). Glimpsed through the elaborate swirls of the wrought-iron door at its entrance, this 11-room hotel looks more like a private house; and for nearly 60 years it was the home of flamenco guitarist Niño Ricardo, described by Paco de Lucía as 'el maestro'. Now run as a hotel by Ricardo's nephew, it has four floors and a central patio topped with a large, slightly crooked terrace where you can eat Continental breakfast. The rooms combine Moroccan rugs with traditional Spanish iron beds and fabrics. The simple, white bathrooms have a curious blue floral trim, but the 'rainforest' showers are good and strong and the towels big and fluffy. There's also a small salon/breakfast room where you can listen to flamenco guitar while browsing the Internet and sipping a glass of Rioja, whisky or gin selected from the hotel's honesty bar. £

LAS CASAS DEL REY DE BAEZA
Plaza Jesus de Redencion 2 (00 34 954 561 496; www.hospes.es). On a cobbled square not far from the Alcazar and the cathedral, Las Casas was built as a tenement block in the 18th century and is now owned by the Hospes hotel group.At its centre are three courtyards with galleried walkways and narrow staircases leading up to a discreet rooftop pool. The woodwork is painted a gentle blue-grey; sea-grass blinds add a sleepy colonial feel; and everywhere you look there are neat rows of terracotta pots sprouting cacti and scarlet geraniums. The 41 rooms have light walls, slate floors and iron beds, fresh flowers, white robes and wide-screen TV/DVD players; bathrooms have bronzed mosaic tiles and 'rainforest' showers. Breakfast includes daily specials as well as a buffet; there's also a full dinner menu plus snacks served on the terrace or in the public rooms, which are furnished with cinnamon-coloured leather sofas, oversized candles and Moorish wall hangings. There are five suites, but the standard and superior doubles overlooking the square are equally appealing and get more light. £

TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO
Calle Zaragoza 20, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4502 721; fax: 00 34 95 4563 666; www.tabernadelalabardero.com; email: hotel.alabardero@esh.es). Located on a narrow backstreet in barrio Arenal near the Maestranza bullring and the Guadalquivir River, Taberna del Alabardero is a romantic and salmon-hued 19th-century townhouse. Formerly the home of poet Juan Antonio Cavestany, the hotel has seven classic Andalucian rooms with fine linens, hydromassage tubs, parquet floors and heavy 19th-century furniture. The eponymous restaurant (see Where to Eat), one of the best in Seville, serves seasonal fare and specialises in game. Try the Huelva prawns, pigeon, Iranian caviar and vintage wines. £

VILLA DE LA PALMERA HOTEL
Avenida de la Palmera 57 (00 34 954 238 560; www.villadelapalmera.com). Built for the vast Ibero-American exhibition in 1929, the Villa de la Palmera Hotel is furnished in a grand, English country-house style. There's a large swimming pool and pretty gardens where guests spend much of their time in hot weather. On the downside, it's rather out of the way, on the far side of the Parque de María Luisa, opposite the stadium of Real Betis Balompié (one of the city's two rival football teams), a 30-minute walk from the city centre. Run by the charming Bibiana Domínguez de Porres, the villa was lovingly furnished with chandeliers, period furniture, antiques and oil paintings by her mother, Aurora Porres Solis. The two sitting rooms are painted deep red and deep blue, and the use of rich colour on the walls continues in the breakfast room and the 12 bedrooms set over three floors. This is a good choice if you are looking for a quiet stopover or retreat after a day's sightseeing. £

Seville is a city of eaters and drinkers - the day for a true Sevillano starts with a pre-breakfast snack at 7am, followed by a filling bar breakfast at 10am. A beer or a glass of fino, dry sherry, precedes the lunch break at 2pm, and at 8pm the Sevillanos head to a tapas bars. Tapas make a good dinner, washed down with more fino or the more fashionable Manzanilla sherry, but the scene gets very bustling around 10.30pm, and it can be more relaxing to eat in a restaurant.

RESTAURANTS

BECERRITA
Calle Recaredo 9, 41003 Seville (00 34 95 4412 057; fax: 00 34 95 4533 727; www.becerrita.com; email: restaurante@becerrita.com). A fairly inexpensive restaurant with a luxurious feel, Becerríta serves Andalucian styled food and plenty of local Seville specialities. The varying set menus are of very good value.

ENRIQUE BECERRA
Gamazo 2, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4213 049; www.enriquebecerra.com; email: restaurante@enriquebecerra.com). Owned by the Bercerra family, this restaurant has served elegant and pure Andalucian food since 1979. Located in a building from the 17th-century, the restaurant's marble columns have been taken from Italica, the 2nd-century Roman city not far away. Enrique Bercerra also has a large wine cellar filled with local wines.

RESTAURANTE EGANA-ORIZA
Calle San Fernando 41, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4227 211; fax: 00 34 95 4502 727; www.restauranteoriza.com; email: info@restaruanteoriza.com). In competition with the Taberna del Albardero for the title of Seville's best restaurant, the Egaña-Oriza offers upscale fusion of Basque-Andalucian cooking. The restaurant is known for sourcing excellent raw materials, and the ingredients fill the seasonal menu in the impressive dining room next to the Jardines de Murillo. Dishes sometimes include cerviche of monfish and grouper with clams and olive oil, partridge salad with sherry vinegar and spider crab in San Sebastián style.

RESTAURANTE LA MONEDA
Almirantazgo 4, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4223 642). La Moneda is a great and reasonably priced restaurant for local fish and seafood. Have the sea urchin eggs or langoustines for a starter, and move on to the monkfish casserole, swordfish in Manzanilla or sea bream in a salt crust.

RESTAURANTE MODESTO
Calle Cano y Cueto 5, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 441 6811; fax: 00 34 95 4922 502; www.modestorestaurantes.com). The ground floor houses a large bar, and the first floor a magnificent dining room with a rustic interior. The food in this bustling restaurant is unpretentiously Andalucian, and its specialities include seafood such as Marqués de Villalúa clams.

SALVADOR ROJO
Calle San Fernando 23, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4229 725). Salvador Rojo comes as a surprise in a city where tradition rules the kitchens - it is a small, chic restaurant without an azulejo tile in sight. Young Rojo offers superb Spanish cooking with a nicely restrained touch - eg Cantabrian anchovies on toast with roast peppers, fresh vegetable soup with cream of onion, ham and fried baby garlic, and roast salt cod with black olives. Try to get a table in the walled patio during the summer months.

TABERNA DEL ALABARDERO
Calle Zaragoza 20, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4502 721; fax: 00 34 95 4563 666; www.tabernadelalabardero.com; email: rest.alabardero@esh.es). The reputation of Alabardero, the restaurant at the Alabardero hotel (see Where to Stay), goes before it, thanks to branches in Madrid and Washington DC. At the upper end of the price scale, the restaurant offers a classic and somewhat aristocratic Spanish cuisine. Dishes include Cordobese soup with quail eggs and Jabugo ham, and sirloin of beef with red wine and truffle sauce. The Alabardero was founded by priest Fray Luis de Lezama as a training ground for young, unemployed people.

TAPAS BARS

BAR GIRALDA
Calle Mateos Gago 1, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4227 435). Owned by the team behind Bar Estrella on Calle Estrella 3, Giralda is a classic sevillana tapas bar. It can get too busy to comfort during the high season.

BAR RESTAURANTE CASA MANOLO
Calle San Jorge 16, 41010 Seville (00 34 95 4334 792; fax: 00 34 95 4334 792). An unassuming and busy Triana bar, largely unvisited by tourists. Casa Manolo serves good, cheap tapas such as cod with tomato, bulls tail and baby squid in its own ink. The restaurant also offers set meals.

BODEGA MORALES
Calle Garcia de Vinuesa 11, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4221 242). This tapas bodega has been around since the middle of the 19th-century. The wine is served straight from the barrel.

CASA ROMAN
Plaza Venerables 1, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4228 483). A traditionally styled tapas bar, with superb hams. Specialities include jamón de jabugo and caña de lomo.

EL RINCONCILLO
Gerona 42, 41003 Seville (00 35 95 4223 183; email: elrinconcillo1670@elrinconcillo1670.es). This gloriously atmospheric bar is one of Seville's oldest, deservedly famous for superb tapas and raciones such as spinach with chickpeas and tortilla de jamón.

KIOSKO DE LAS FLORES
Calle Betis, 41010 Seville (00 34 95 4274 576). Established in 1930, the Kiosko now lives in a smart new building near Plaza de Cuba. The restaurant is still Trianas undisputed temple of pescaito frito - Seville's signature dish of crisply fried fish and seafood. Open Tue-Sat.

LA ISLA FREIDURIA
Calle Garcia de Vinuesa 13, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4228 355). A classic takeaway fried-fish place just a few steps from the cathedral. Plenty of atmosphere.

LAS TERESAS
Calle Santa Teresa 2, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4213 069). Las Teresas, a bar inspired by bullfighting, serves good, basic tapas in Barrio Santa Cruz.

BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS

ALCAZAR
Patio de Banderas, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4502 324; fax: 00 34 95 4502 068; www.patronato-alcazarsevilla.es; email: actividades@patronato-alcazarsevilla.es). The home of royal families since the Caliph of Andalucia decided to build it in the early 9th-century, the Alcázar is the oldest active royal palace in Europe. The site offer a collection of palaces built at different stages in Andalucia's history, and the entrance fee buys you access to their ground floors and gardens. Students from the Tourism School of Seville offer guided tours every morning. Enter trough the Puerta del León, the Lion's Gate.

ITALICA
Avenida Extremadura 2, 41970 Santiponce (00 34 95 5996 583). Located nine km north of Seville in the village of Santiponce, Italica was once a Roman city. Now in ruins, it offers a good opportunity to explore its mosaics and theatre. Stones were taken from here to build houses in Seville during the Middle Ages, but the distinct atmosphere has prevailed.

THE CATHEDRAL
Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4214 971). One of the last Gothic cathedrals to be built in Spain, the Seville cathedral is an impressive building slightly influenced by the Renaissance. It is the third biggest in the world - with a top height at the central nave of 42 metres it is beaten in size only by the Vatican's Saint Peter's and London's Saint Paul's. The peaceful orange tree courtyard is a good spot for some serious thinking, and inside the cathedral shows off its great wealth in gold. The Pardoner's Door used to be the entrance to the mosque that preceded the cathedral on the site, and the former Minaret, the Giralda, was fitted with a bell and transformed into a bell tower. It is one of the great landmarks in Seville.

THE TOBACCO FACTORY
Calle San Fernando, Seville (00 34 95 4551 000; www.us.es). Nowadays the main building of the University of Seville, the Real Fabrica de Tabacos was built in the 18th-century for the production of tobacco products arriving from the colonies in South America. At the time, it was the largest factory site in Europe and included a chapel and a jail. Still, it is best known as the setting of Georges Bizet's Carmen. A good stop for opera lovers and history fans. Don't miss the opportunity to stroll in the neighbouring María Luisa Park. Open Mon-Sat.

BULLFIGHTING

REAL MAESTRANZA PLAZA DE TOROS
Calle Adriano 37, 41001 Sevilla (00 34 95 4501 382; fax: 00 34 95 4213 141; www.realmaestranza.com). Despite arguments on whether or not it is cruel, bullfighting is still going strong in Seville. The bullfighting season is concentrated around national holidays - Easter, Corpus Christi, and Assumption to mention a few. Those interested in the history of bullfighting can visit the adjoining museum.

FLAMENCO DANCING
Although flamenco dance and music has spread across the world, its spiritual and actual home will always be in Andalucía.

EL ARENAL
Calle Rondo 7, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4216 492; www.tablaoelarenal.com). A popular flamenco venue in Seville, El Arenal has served supper with a 'flamenco spectacle' every day for more than 25 years.

PALACIO ANDALUZ
Avenida Maria Auxiliadora 18, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4534 720; fax: 00 34 95 4536 380; www.elpalacioandaluz.com). An elegant and traditional flamenco venue in the heart of Seville, popular with both locals and tourists. The audience is greeted with all the different kinds of flamenco known to man, and some Spanish ballet. Reservations are recommended.

MUSEUMS

MUSEO DE BELLAS ARTES
Plaza Museo 9, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4220 790; fax: 00 34 95 4224 324; www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/museos/MBASE). The second most important Spanish art museum after the Prado Museum in Madrid, Seville's Fine Arts Museum has been housed in the convent of Merced Calzada since 1839. It has a great collection, including works by Francisco de Zurbarán and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Open Tue-Sun.

CENTRO ANDALUZ DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEO
Monasterio de la Cartuja de Santa María de Las Cuevas, Avenida Américo Vespucio 2, 41092 Seville (00 34 95 5037 070; fax: 00 34 95 5037 052; www.caac.es; email: prensa.caac@juntadeandalucia.es). Situated an extraordinarily beautiful and serene former monastery, the Andalucian centre for contemporary art is a monument in itself. It is the home of some very interesting exhibitions and although a great deal of them feature Spanish or South American artists, the museum also shows the works of many international artists. Open Tue-Sun.

WALKING TOURS

BARRIO SANTA CRUZ
Framed by the walls of Alcázar is the Barrio Santa Cruz, an enchanting district of Seville with a collection of alleys twisting between whitewashed houses and flower-filled patios. Santa Cruz was the main Jewish quarter in Seville under the rule of the Moors, but the many Synagogues were turned into churches after the reconquest. Get yourself a good map and walk through the historic and narrow streets, from the Judería walk, along the Callejón del Agua until you reach Los Venerables and its cafés.

NORTH OF LA GIRALDA
The commercial and shopping centre of Seville lies north of La Giralda and there is plenty to explore on foot here. Don't miss the mighty Renaissance Ayuntamiento (the City Hall), the pedestrianised Sierpes (Seville's best-known shopping street), and the Plaza del Salvador with its broad pink brick and marble church of the same name.

DEPARTMENT STORES

EL CORTE INGLES
Plaza Duque de la Victoria 8, 41002 Seville (00 34 95 4597 000; fax: 00 34 95 4229 989; www.elcorteingles.es; email: clients@elcorteingles.es). Just one of several El Corte Ingles houses in Seville, this is where you find fashion, fashion and even more fashion. International brands, fashion houses and cheaper labels are all on offer.

FASHION

BERSHKA
Calle Velazquez 1, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4564 304; fax: 00 34 95 4564 187; www.bershka.com). Street fashion, Spanish style - this is where the Sevillano youth come to pick up their cool and slightly preppy-inspired clothes.

CAMPER
Tetuan 24, 41001 Seville (00 34 90 2364 598; www.camper.com). Originally Spanish, Camper has now spread its wings across the world. The shoes are still simple, delicate and original, always with an amusing or beautifying detail. Sold in many other shoe shops across the city, this is the brand's flagship shop in Seville.

FARRUTX
Rioja 13, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4222 209; fax: 00 34 95 4560 019; www.farrutx.com). Another Spanish shoe empire, this time classy and smart. Farrutx specialises in elegant shoes for both men and women, most of them in good quality leather.

LA CASA DEL COFRADE
Calle Rodrigo de Triana 67, 41010 Seville (00 34 95 4284 854). Nazareno outfits, made, cleaned and mended.

LOEWE
Plaza Nueva 12, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4225 253; fax: 00 34 95 4560 972; www.loewe.com). This Spanish fashion house has offered leather goods since the middle of the 19th-century. Its ready-to-wear collection is definitely wearable, clever and luxurious. Loewe also has a shop in the Hotel Alfonso XIII on San Fernando 2.

MANGO
Avenida Andalucía, 41007 Seville (00 34 95 4254 613; fax: 00 34 95 4676 283; www.mango.com). In fierce competition with rival Zara, Mango offers fashionable high street clothes at a low price. Following the trends, it is one of Spain's proudest exports.

ZARA
Avenida Luis de Morales 12, 41018 Seville (00 34 95 4534 460; fax: 00 34 95 5852 155; www.zara.com). A large shop with a collection of Zara's lines for women, men and children. The clothes, some of the best and high street wear in Spain and the world, are continuously updated to serve customer demands and follow fashion trends. Very good for designer-styled bargains.

FOOD

CONFITERIA LA CAMPANA
Calle Sierpes 1-3, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4223 570; fax: 00 34 95 4563 433; www.confiterialacampana.com; email: info@confiterialacampana.com). Established in 1885, this shop sells magnificent pasteles (pastries), confites (sweets) and helados (ice creams). Situated in the heart of Seville, close to Plaza Duque de la Victoria, La Campana is great pit stop on a day of walking.

HOME

CERAMICA SANTA ANA
San Jorge 31, 41010 Seville (00 34 95 4338 176; fax: 00 34 95 4333 990; email: arbsantaana@eresmas.com). A good source for multi-coloured pottery, a speciality of the Triana neighbourhood.

SEVILLARTE
Calle Sierpes 66, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4212 836; fax: 00 34 95 4220 307; www.sevillarte.com; email: sevillarte@sevillarte.com). Local artisans have produced Arab and Renaissance inspired ceramics for Sevillarte's shops in Seville since 1952.

MARKETS

EL JUEVES
Calla Feria, Seville. The oldest antiques' market in Seville, El Jueves offers everything from tatty bric-a-brac to first class goods and a few bargains. Laid out like a flea market, it can be difficult to get an overview so you might need to be patient. Only open Thu.

SPECIALIST SHOPS

CASA RUBIO
Calle Sierpes 56, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4226 872). Casa Rubio is the place to go if you want to take castanets or sevillana fans home - good for those who have been bitten by the flamenco bug while staying in Seville.

JUAN FORONDA
Calle Tetuan 28, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4226 060; fax: 00 34 95 4218 588; www.juanforonda.com; email: juanforonda@arrakis.es). For all things flamenca - Juan Foronda has sold shawls, mantones and mantillas since 1926.

LA CASA DE LOS ENCAJES
Calle Garcia de Vinuesa 35 (00 34 95 4211 609). Seville's fabric heaven - you can find polka-dot fabric in every conceivable colour here.

MAQUEDANO
Calle Sierpes 40, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4564 771; fax: 00 34 95 4915 997; www.maquedano.com). The place to buy traditional sevillana styled hats. Maquedano has made sombreros since 1896 and is a trusted authority on the subject.

QUEJIO
Calle Huelva 34, 41004 Seville (00 34 95 4562 491). Stocks a good selection of books art and music, all based around flamenco.

AIRP0RT
Seville San Pablo Airport is located 4km outside the city.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com)
Iberia (0870 609 0500; www.iberiaairlines.co.uk)
Ryanair (0906 270 5656; www.ryanair.com)

The best times to visit Seville are during the spring and autumn months. The winter is very mild, but the summer is so intensely hot in the city that the only activity you will want to participate in is the siesta.

TURISMO DE SEVILLA
Calle Arjona 28, 41001 Seville (00 34 95 4221 714; fax: 00 34 95 4229 566; www.turismo.sevilla.org; email: barranco.turismo@sevilla.org). The Consorcio de Turismo de Sevilla has a number of local offices around the city - including branches on Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza de Triunfo and Avenida de la Constutición.