Take a look at a map of the centre of Seville and you´ll see a maze of narrow, winding streets. It looks somewhat chaotic, but there is a reason for this: to block the sun from the streets and sidewalks, because what you´ve heard is true–Seville has a long, hot summer and keeping the streets as cool as possible is a must.
This typically Moorish planning is present in many Spanish cities, particularly in Andalusia, where the temperatures often reach 40ºC or more! In Seville, this architectural sunscreen is exemplified in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, home to many of the city’s historic monuments, including the Cathedral and the Real Alcázares. As you enter this quarter, you can literally feel the temperature drop a few degrees.
During the summer months, visitors to the city centre can also find relief from the heat under roof top awnings strung across wide pedestrian streets. And of course the use of fans is still popular, many of which are so finely crafted and exquisitely hand painted that they have become an accessory as well as a means to keep cool. Nevertheless, Seville is a city for walking, and while most locals avoid the outdoors during the hottest hours of the day (hence, the siesta), those who venture outdoors will avoid the sun at all costs. As in a car race, where drivers move along a thin line despite the width of the track, pedestrians move from one side of the street to the other, seeking the shade rather than the short-cut.
Hotel, Apartments and Suites Murillo are located in the heart of Barrio de Santa Cruz. Stay with us and keep it cool during your stay.
Seville has served as a backdrop for many movies, which make locals proud despite the collateral inconveniences of blocked streets, traffic jams, etc. It´s nice to see your city in a movie, especially if it´s a foreign movie. It´s flattering to see that an artist has chosen our monuments as the scenery for their work, even if it’s somehow hard to identify them, as was the case with the Plaza de España in StarWars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
Plaza de España in Star Wars
Among the latest releases shot partly in Seville you may remember Knight & Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Yet, a notable faux pas in the film depicts the two protagonists in a chase scene through the narrow streets of Seville during the famous Running of the Bulls, which is typical of Pamplona’s San Fermínes celebration!
Running bulls in Seville in the film Knight and Day.
We´ll forgive this “poetic license” for the sake of added action and drama. But now that the San Fermines festivities have begun – they take place from July 6th to 14th – we might as well clarify that Pamplona is in the region of Navarra, in the north of Spain. Seville has a long tradition of bullfighting, and La Real Maestranza is one of the most renowned Plaza de Toros in the world, but we simply don´t run in front of bulls here.
So, if you wish to visit the centuries old Alcázar, tour the 3rd largest cathedral in the world and the magnificent Plaza de España, or experience a corrida de toros, you´ve come to the right place. If you share Ernest Hemingway´s passion for the San Fermínes, I´m afraid you´ve got a train to catch!
