Parque de María Luisa
Half a mile of tiled fountains through former royal palace gardens — donated to Seville in 1893, still the city's main green lung.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Seville offline.
These were the private gardens of the Palace of San Telmo until the Duchess of Montpensier handed them to the city. Redesigned from 1911 by French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier in a "Moorish paradisical style," the park was then built out further for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. The grand semicircular Plaza de España — built as the fair's offices — was later used as a filming location for Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
What to look for
- Plaza de España's curved arcade and tile-work, used as a filming location for Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Fuente de los Leones and the Estanque de los Lotos (Water-lily Pool) among the park's scattered ponds
- Parakeets in the park's centre and the dove-filled section near Plaza de América, known as Parque de las Palomas
The park functions as a botanical garden with educational panels on its palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, and exotic species, situated along the Guadalquivir River.
Parque de María Luisa is one of 16 sights worth the detour in Seville, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Seville pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Seville
- Seville CathedralThe church that dethroned Hagia Sophia — and holds Columbus's bones.
- Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán StadiumTwo European finals and a World Cup semi-final on one pitch — more big-match history than almost any stadium in Spain.
- Royal Alcázar of SevilleA working royal palace — the Spanish royal family still occupies the upper floors when they visit Seville.
- GiraldaA 12th-century Almohad minaret wearing a Renaissance belfry — two faiths, one tower, centuries apart.
- ItalicaRome's first city in Spain — and the birthplace of two emperors — is sitting in a field outside Seville.
- Torre del OroOne anchor of a river chain that once sealed the Guadalquivir against an entire warfleet.