Getting Around Seville: A First-Timer’s Guide

Is Seville a walkable city?

Yes. Seville is one of the most walkable cities in Spain.

The historic centre is small, almost entirely flat, and most of the things you’ve come to see are clustered tightly together. 

From the Cathedral to the Alcázar is a 90-second walk. From Plaza Nueva to Setas is around ten minutes. From Santa Cruz to Triana, across the river, is around 25 minutes at a sensible pace.

The one thing that breaks the walkability rule is summer. 

Between roughly 2 pm and 6 pm in July and August, the heat makes walking unpleasant, sometimes dangerous. That’s siesta time for a reason. Plan your walking around the cool parts of the day.

How most visitors get around Seville

If you’re in Seville for two, three, or four days and staying anywhere central, here’s what you’ll actually use:

1. Walk for everything inside the historic centre. Cathedral, Alcázar, Santa Cruz, Plaza de España, Setas, Triana. All on foot.
2. Cabify or a taxi for late nights, heavy luggage, or getting home in the rain.
3. The airport bus or a taxi for the airport.
4. A bike if you want to explore María Luisa Park, the river path, or further-flung neighbourhoods.

That’s it. Four things.

What you almost certainly won’t use:

• The metro (one line, doesn’t really connect most places you’ll want to go)
• City buses (you’ll walk faster)
• A rental car (just don’t, we’ll tell you why below)
• The hop-on-hop-off bus (the city is too compact to make sense of it)

Best Way to Get Around Seville

This advice is mainly for first-time visitors staying in or near the historic centre. If you’re staying far out in Nervión, Los Remedios, Triana’s outer edges or the suburbs, you may use buses, taxis or the metro more often. 

Situation	Best option
Staying central	Walk
Airport to centre	EA line (Seville airport bus) or taxi
Late night	Cabify/taxi
Summer afternoons	Taxi/Cabify or rest
Exploring river/parks	Bike
Day trips	Train/bus

Walking around Seville

The honest truth: walking is the single best way to see Seville, full stop. 

The streets in Santa Cruz are too narrow for most cars, the views around the Cathedral happen on foot, and the city’s rhythm only makes sense when you slow down enough to walk it.

A few practical points.

Wear proper shoes. Much of the historic centre is paved in marble cobblestones. It makes the city incredibly photogenic, but they’re brutal on flip-flops and worse on heels. When wet, they’re dangerous. Trainers or sturdy sandals are non-negotiable.

Sevillanos walk everywhere. The evening paseo, where locals stroll the centre between roughly 8 pm and 10 pm before dinner, is one of the loveliest things about living here. Join in. The streets fill up, the bars spill out, and you’ll see the city as locals do.

Different routes for different seasons. In winter, walk the sunny sides of the streets and the wider boulevards. In summer, hug the narrow shaded lanes of Santa Cruz and the Jewish Quarter. The locals know which side of Calle Sierpes is shaded at 5 pm in August; the longer you stay, the more you’ll work this out yourself.

Cycling around Seville

Seville is a cyclist’s dream of a city. Over 180 kilometres of dedicated bike lanes, completely flat terrain, mild weather for most of the year. If you’re staying longer than a few days, a bike is worth considering.

The city’s public bike share is called Sevici. 

Pick up a bike from one of hundreds of docking stations across the city, ride it for free for the first half hour of each trip, then drop it at any other station. Short-term and longer-term subscriptions are both available. For current prices and station maps, see the Sevici website.

For a typical two to three-day visit, you probably won’t need a bike. 

Everything you’ll see is within a walking radius. But if you want to ride the river path to Triana, loop around María Luisa Park, or get out to Isla de la Cartuja, hire one for a few hours and enjoy it.

Taxis and ride apps in Seville

Seville taxis are easy to spot: white with a diagonal yellow stripe down the side. You can hail them on the street, find them at any taxi rank (there’s one near every major tourist site), or order one by phone.

Three things to know.

Fares run on the meter. Always. If a driver offers a “fixed price” off the meter for anything inside the city, refuse and find another taxi. The official rates are posted on the back-seat window.

The airport has a fixed flat rate. Whether you’re going to or from Seville Airport, the taxi runs on a posted fixed price rather than the meter. There’s a small extra charge per piece of luggage. 

For current prices of taxis in Seville, you can check the official airport rate here.

Night, weekend, and holiday surcharges apply. Expect to pay more between roughly 9 pm and 7 am, on weekends, and on public holidays.

Cabify, Uber and Bolt

All three ride apps operate in Seville.

Cabify is the most reliable in my experience, with the widest coverage across the city and consistent driver availability. I use Cabify most often for late nights, rainy days, airport runs when I don’t want to think, and the occasional summer afternoon when walking across the centre feels like a mistake. 

Uber works fine in the centre, but coverage thins out in residential areas. Pricing is usually competitive with Cabify.

Bolt is a newer addition and often the cheapest, but driver availability is more patchy, and waits are longer at busy times.

Buses in Seville

The honest version: as a visitor, you almost certainly won’t take a bus.

The city is built for walking, and most of the things to see in Seville are within a 20-minute walk of each other. 

The TUSSAM network is excellent. More than 50 lines, all clean, air-conditioned, accessible, reliable. As a tourist, you’ll find walking faster and more interesting most of the time.

When you might use a bus:

• Out to Isla Mágica (the theme park) in the north of the city
• To certain hotels in Nervión, away from the centre
• Late at night, if you’ve missed everything else

The C1, C2, C3 and C4 are circle lines that loop around the centre and connect most of the main neighbourhoods. They’re the most useful for occasional visitor trips.

Pay the driver in cash when you board, or use a contactless card if available. Current single-trip prices, travel pass options and the full Seville public transport map are on the TUSSAM website.

Getting Around Seville by Metro and Tram: Is it worth it?

Seville has one Metro line. It opened in 2009, and three further lines have been planned for years; at time of writing, only Line 1 is operational. 

Line 1 runs from Aljarafe in the south, through the eastern suburbs, out to Pablo de Olavide University. The closest Metro stop to the historic centre is Puerta Jerez.

If your hotel is in the centre (which it almost certainly is for a first-time visit), the metro is not going to help you.

The Metrocentro tram is the other rail option. 

A single 1.4-kilometre line that runs between Plaza Nueva and San Bernardo via the Cathedral. Three stops. Useful if you’re moving heavy bags between Plaza Nueva and the San Bernardo train and bus connection; otherwise, faster to walk.

For pricing, timetables and the Metro Sevilla map, see the Metro Sevilla site and the Metrocentro pages on Tussam.

One myth to kill. The metro does not go to the airport. I still see this in so many old articles. There is no direct metro line to Seville Airport. 

To get to the airport, use the EA airport bus or a taxi.

Do you need a Seville transport card?

For most visitors, no.

Seville has multi-day transport cards. The Tarjeta Turística comes as a 1-day or 3-day pass, valid on buses, the metro and the tram. They make financial sense if you’re going to take public transport four or more times a day, every day of your trip.

If you’re a typical two-to four-day visitor staying central and walking everywhere, you’ll spend less on the handful of taxi or bus rides you actually take than you would on the card itself.

Getting to and from Seville Airport

Seville Airport (SVQ) is about 10 kilometres from the city centre. 

Your options are:

• EA airport bus
• Taxi at the fixed flat rate
• Pre-booked private transfer
• Ride-share apps like Cabify

My advice: take the EA airport bus if you’re travelling light and arriving during the day. Take a taxi if you have heavy luggage, you’re travelling as a family or couple, or you’re arriving late. Book a private transfer only if you want everything arranged before you land. 

Three things we’d skip: driving, hop-on-hop-off, and horse carriages

1. Don’t drive in Seville

If you can avoid it, don’t. 

Large parts of the historic centre are pedestrianised or restricted to residents only. Parking inside the centre ranges from expensive to non-existent. Some areas in Seville, eg, Cartuja, are also part of a low-emission zone (ZBE) that restricts older vehicles from entering. 

If you’re hiring a car for day trips out of Seville, pick it up on the morning you’re leaving the city. Not on day one. 

Andalucía is fantastic by car; the centre of Seville isn’t.

2. Skip the hop-on-hop-off bus

You’ll see the open-top tourist buses circulating the centre. In most cities, they make sense. In Seville, they don’t.

The historic centre is too compact and too car-restricted for the route to do much more than loop the outer ring road and a few of the bigger boulevards. You’ll miss most of what you’ve come for, because most of what you’ve come for is in narrow streets the bus can’t reach.

If you want a guided overview, book a small-group walking tour instead. You’ll see more, learn more, and walk through the actual streets you’re here to see.

You’ll also see river cruises along the Guadalquivir River. Unlike places like London, where the river provides a legit way of getting about, here, the boats are purely for sightseeing along the river.

3. Why we don’t recommend horse-drawn carriages

You’ll see them lined up in two places: outside the Cathedral around Plaza del Triunfo, and at the north gate entrance to Plaza de España.

Don’t take one.

There has been sustained local protest in Seville over the welfare of the horses used for tourist carriages. 

The reports are serious. Horses left standing in 40°C summer heat with no access to water. No shade. No space to rest. Horses collapsing in the heat. Many residents now refuse to use the carriages for that reason, and we don’t recommend them either.

If you want a slow tour of the centre, walk it. Or book a small-group walking tour, and you’ll get more context, more access, and you won’t be supporting an industry the locals are actively campaigning against.

Getting beyond Seville: trains, buses, day trips

Seville is brilliantly placed for day trips. 

Most of the famous Andalucían cities (Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez, Ronda) are within easy reach by train or bus.

Trains leave from Santa Justa station, a 25-minute walk or short taxi ride from the historic centre. The AVE high-speed line connects Seville to Cordoba in around 45 minutes, and to Madrid in around two and a half hours. For schedules and tickets, see the Renfe website.

Long-distance buses leave from Plaza de Armas bus station in the centre. Buses are often the practical option for Cadiz, Jerez, Ronda, and the white villages. Sometimes cheaper than the train, sometimes faster door to door. Try ALSA and Damas Autobuses for routes.

Apps to download before you arrive

A short list of what’s actually useful.

• Google Maps: works well in Seville, including walking routes and public transport directions
• Cabify: the most reliable ride app in the city
• Bolt: for price-checking against Cabify in Seville; often cheaper off-peak
• Tussam: the official Seville bus app, with live arrival times at every stop
• Sevici: if you plan to cycle, the official bike-share app

I also recommend a translation app for transport. Despite bus drivers, taxi drivers and metro staff in central Seville interacting with English-speaking visitors every day, often the level of English is limited, especially for more complex questions.

Common mistakes visitors make getting around Seville

A handful of the patterns I see again and again.

Buying a transport card for a short trip. For a long weekend in Seville, you won’t break even on a Tarjeta Turística. Save the money.

Looking for Seville’s metro from the airport. There isn’t one. The EA bus or a taxi are the options.

Driving into the historic centre. The streets are narrow, one-way, and partly residents-only. Even if your hotel says it has parking, that doesn’t mean you can drive to the front door. Confirm before you arrive.

Booking a horse carriage in 40°C heat. Don’t. For reasons covered above.

Wearing the wrong shoes. Marble cobblestones plus four hours of walking equals blistered feet by lunch. Trainers or proper sandals.

Getting around Seville FAQs

Keep Planning Your Trip to Seville

Getting around Seville is simpler than the eight-mode-of-transport articles elsewhere make it sound.

Walk for almost everything. Save the taxi or Cabify for late nights and the airport. Add a bike if you fancy riding the river. Ignore most of the rest.

If you’re now wondering what to actually do with the city you’ve planned to navigate, that’s where the next stage of planning starts.

Now, start to plan the rest of your trip

• One day in Seville itinerary
• Where to stay in Seville
• Best day trips from Seville