Seville Cathedral
The church that dethroned Hagia Sophia — and holds Columbus's bones.
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Completed in the early 16th century, this Gothic cathedral took the title of world's largest from Hagia Sophia, which had held it for a thousand years. The royal chapel holds the tombs of Ferdinand III (the city's conqueror), Alfonso the Wise, and Peter the Cruel. Christopher Columbus and his son Diego are also buried here, inside a building raised on the footprint of a 12th-century Almohad mosque.
What to look for
- The Giralda tower, rising 104.5 metres to its weather vane
- Columbus's tomb inside the cathedral
- The central nave at 36 metres high, within a Gothic section stretching 126 metres end to end
UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987), registered alongside the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and General Archive of the Indies.
Seville Cathedral 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
- 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.
- Plaza de EspañaA vast semicircle of hand-painted province tiles where every Spaniard hunts for their hometown alcove.