Real Alcazar Seville: a thousand-year-old palace and its gardens, explained

The Real Alcázar of Seville is Europe's oldest royal palace still in use, built and rebuilt over more than a thousand years, with Islamic, Mudéjar and Gothic rooms around courtyards and more than seven hectares of gardens. Buy tickets ahead through its official website, go first thing or later in the afternoon, and give the gardens a part of the visit to themselves.

Spice Escapes takes a small group to Seville on Surprising Seville, hosted by Jackie Whyte, and offers a guided tour of the Alcázar as an optional extra. This page covers its story, the rooms and gardens to find by name, and tickets.

A tenth-century seat of government that became a royal palace

Alcázar comes from the Arabic al-qasr, the palace. Its history here starts early in the tenth century, when the Caliph of Córdoba, Abderrahmán III, ordered a new seat of government on the site. The Almohads finished the Islamic building in the twelfth century, and its Palacio del Yeso still stands.

After the Castilian conquest in the thirteenth century, Alfonso X raised a Gothic palace over the main Almohad one. In the middle of the fourteenth century King Pedro I built the Mudéjar palace, Arab in form for a Christian king, that the official map leaflet calls the heart of today's Alcázar and its most prized jewel.

The Catholic Monarchs lived here, Christopher Columbus and the Emperor Charles V visited or stayed, and UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage Site.

The rooms to know, from the Patio de las Doncellas to the royal bedrooms upstairs

You go in by the Puerta del León on the Plaza del Triunfo and cross the Patio de la Montería to the front of King Pedro's palace. Inside, look for the Patio de las Doncellas, the Salón de los Embajadores and the Patio de las Muñecas. The Gothic palace holds the Salón de los Tapices and the Baños de Doña María de Padilla.

Upstairs, the Cuarto Real Alto is an organised visit with its own ticket. Its rooms include the bedroom and chapel of Isabel the Catholic, a gala dining room, a billiard room and Pedro I's bedroom.

More than seven hectares of gardens, in Italian, French and English styles

The official leaflet says the Alcázar cannot be understood without its gardens. Italian-style gardens run south from the palaces in order, sheltered by the Almohad wall, between the French-style gardens of the Marqués de la Vega Inclán and the English Garden, both in early twentieth-century taste.

On the map, find the Estanque de Mercurio, the Mercury pool the palace has restored, the Pavilion of Charles V and the maze of the Jardín del Laberinto. Its paths are lined with orange trees and myrtle.

Book tickets online, arrive early and check the season's hours

• Hours: from October to March, 9.30am to 5pm, and from April to September, 9.30am to 7pm, every day.
• Closed: New Year's Day, Epiphany, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
• Buying: online through alcazarsevilla.org, the official website, or at the Patio de Banderas desk from 9am, by card only.
• Tickets: general, reduced for over-65s and students aged 14 to 30 (now open to every nationality, with proof at the gate), free for children up to 13 with an adult, and an extra ticket for the Cuarto Real Alto.

Visit Sevilla, the city's tourist board, says the courtyards and gardens are quieter first thing or later in the afternoon. The official rules warn that a room or garden can occasionally close for maintenance or a weather alert, with no refund.

Prefer a host and company? See the dates and book online on the Surprising Seville page: 4 Mar 2027 – 8 Mar 2027.

On Surprising Seville, day three is kept for the Alcázar and the cathedral

Surprising Seville is 4 nights, from £549, hosted by Jackie Whyte. The group stays at the Hotel América, rated three star locally, a short distance from the cathedral, with tapas restaurants all around. A 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket is included.

Day three of the provisional itinerary is set aside for the optional guided tour of the cathedral, the Alcázar and the Giralda, with an official guide, tickets and priority access included. The holiday page says that if you only do one optional extra, this is the one to pick. Its price is on the holiday page, and it is best booked early, as places may be limited.

Most people book on their own. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty, so there is company for tapas afterwards. A room to yourself carries a supplement, set out on our single supplement page.

New to this? Read our guide for first-time solo travellers, or browse solo holidays for the over 50s, culture and discovery holidays and holidays in Spain.

Cannot make that week? Athens and Kraków have their own history to explain

Ancient Athens is 4 nights, 10 Mar 2027 – 14 Mar 2027, from £579, hosted by Jackie Whyte, with an optional licensed-guide tour of the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora.

Kraków Discovery is 4 nights, 26 May 2027 – 30 May 2027, from £589, hosted by Jackie Whyte. The hotel is about 500 metres from Wawel Castle, with an optional trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Questions people ask

Do you need to book Real Alcázar tickets in advance?

Book ahead if you can, as Visit Sevilla warns of long queues in high season. Buy online through alcazarsevilla.org, or by card at the Patio de Banderas desk.

Is the Real Alcázar still a royal palace?

Yes. The Spanish royal family still uses it on official visits to Seville, and its official website calls it the oldest royal palace in use in Europe.

Was Game of Thrones filmed at the Alcázar?

Yes. Visit Sevilla says the Alcázar was the setting for the kingdom of Dorne, and that a themed route follows the show's footsteps.

Can you see the Alcázar and the cathedral on the same day?

Yes. The guided tour offered on Surprising Seville covers the cathedral, the Alcázar and the Giralda in one tour, with priority access.

Book Surprising Seville online, and the Alcázar tour early

See the dates and book online on the Surprising Seville page, and book the guided tour early. Places now: 23 places left.

Jackie Whyte hosts the group and is the person to ask about the tour, the hotel or coming on your own. Reach her through our contact page, or ask Rosie, the chat on the holiday page.