We spent two days in Sevilla, and to be honest, I was disappointed. It has a lot of great things, but I just didn’t connect with it and would definitely not go back.

Part of the problem was that in our initial bus tour, we were taken through the brand new Discovery Park and Magic Island areas. This, along with the palm trees, made it feel very Disney world-like and artificial. Even the Plaza de Espana and its surrounding area was made as part of the 1927 exhibition. After seeing this, it made it hard to appreciate the old and natural beauty of the rest of the city.
There were a lot of great things in Sevilla though. The Alcazar is incredible. We thought we were done with it after half an hour, but ended up spending another hour and a half there as we discovered courtyard after courtyard in the gardens. The cathedral is beautiful, especially the exterior, and Girolda tower offers a great 360 degree view of the city. The Barrio de Santa Cruz, the maze-like old Jewish quarter, is really pretty and nice to walk around. We also saw some great flamenco dancing at Los Gallos in the barrio. Really fun and not to be missed. Some of the other sights, especially the Toro de Oro, weren’t that great.
Getting to Sevilla from Madrid was easy. We took the fast train which took about 2.5 hours and was really comfortable.
Overall, the city has some great sights and areas. However, there appeared to be a growing poverty problem there, which was especially upsetting when placed alongside all the new glitziness across the river. Although I spent a very short time there, I just felt that the city was at a crossroads between pursuing a glitzy, modern, entertainment-oriented place or just being satisfied with all its natural beauty and incredible old sites. It looks as if it is choosing the former, unfortunately.
Sevilla is definitely worth seeing, but I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to spend another day there. That may just be me though.

Anyway, let me know if you want more information about anything I did, or if you just want to agree/disagree with my comments about Sevilla.
Adam