What's the must-see thing in Seville?

The Real Alcázar is the building that makes Seville feel like Seville. The palace has been continuously occupied since Abd al-Rahman III ordered its construction in 913 AD, and the Spanish royal family still uses the upper floors when they visit the city. That continuity matters because you can feel it. The Patio de las Doncellas has the same cool, wet-stone smell it had when Pedro I rebuilt it in 1364. Tiled walls in cobalt and gold catch light from a pool so still it looks solid. In June, the Jardín de los Poetas runs about 36°C, but the shade of 400-year-old cypress trees and the constant sound of fountain water dropping into stone basins bring the felt temperature down noticeably. Tickets are €14.50 for the ground floor, €6 more for the Cuarto Real Alto. Book 3 days ahead minimum in summer. The 9:30am slot is the one to get. By 11am, tour groups from the cruise terminal at Muelle de las Delicias arrive and the courtyards lose their quiet.

Seville Cathedral sits on Avenida de la Constitución, a 2-minute walk south from the Alcázar's Puerta del León. It is the largest Gothic cathedral on earth by volume, 126 metres long, and the interior is dark enough that your eyes need a full minute to adjust after the Andalusian sun. Columbus's tomb hangs suspended above the nave floor, carried by four bronze kings, and the main altarpiece took 82 years to complete, from 1482 to 1564. Worth noting, the Cathedral alone might feel like a large, dim church if you skip the Giralda. The Giralda is the minaret that survived from the original 12th-century Almohad mosque. You climb 34 ramps, not steps, because the muezzin rode a horse up. At the top, 104 metres up, the whole city spreads flat and white below you, and on clear days you can see the Sierra Norte hills 50 kilometres north. Combined ticket with the Cathedral is €12. No separate booking needed.

Plaza de España is the third pick, and it is free. Aníbal González designed this semicircular complex for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, and the 48 tiled alcoves around the curved wall each represent a Spanish province. You'll find the Sevilla alcove about two-thirds of the way around. The ceramic work is some of the best azulejo tilework outside of Portugal. That said, come before 10am or after 6pm. Midday in June, the brick and tile radiate stored heat and the open plaza has zero shade. The moat that curves around the building has rowboat rentals for €6 per 35 minutes, which sounds touristy and sort of is, but the view from the water back at the north tower is one of the better photos you'll take in Spain. The plaza sits inside Parque de María Luisa, a 10-minute walk south of the Cathedral. The park itself has thick canopy, peacocks, and cool tiled benches. If you're fading from the heat, sit in the park first and walk to the plaza when you've cooled down.

The right sequence for a first visit is Alcázar at 9:30am, Cathedral and Giralda immediately after at around 11:30, then lunch in Barrio Santa Cruz. Walk to Plaza de España in the late afternoon when the light turns golden and the temperature drops below 30°C. Mind you, Seville in summer is hot. Not pleasantly warm. Hot. The 35°C-plus afternoons between 2pm and 5pm are not warm weather in the way Northern Europeans imagine. Locals disappear indoors for siesta, and you should too. A cerveza and some jamón ibérico in a tiled bar in Triana, across the Guadalquivir from the old centre, is the correct use of those hours. Triana has less foot traffic and lower prices than Santa Cruz. Try the carrillada, slow-braised pork cheek, at any bar along Calle San Jacinto. It tends to run €10-13 per ración and the meat falls apart at the touch of a fork.