Seville in April: What to expect during Holy Week

My family and I headed to Seville for a week in April 2026. This post aims to document our trip. This is my first time writing a travel piece, and it was our first time in Seville. Let’s dig in.

We were there during Holy Week (covered later), which is a very busy time to visit but we had a great experience. We opted for a city break with a pool for our Easter trip this year. Seville hit all the marks, and was easy to get to via Birmingham airport. We enjoyed highs of 27℃, with blue skies each day.

Travel

We flew with Ryanair, and it was just seamless. We had morning flights there and back, and flew from Birmingham.

We were straight off the plane and essentially breezed through security as we were classed as a family. The baggage came straight away, almost too good to be true. The taxi from the airport to the hotel was about €30 which seemed reasonable. We used the taxis a bunch whilst we were there, and felt the cost was acceptable (Cheaper than the Uber prices we were seeing for the same journey). Most places from our hotel was about €10.

Holy Week

Some of you might not know what Holy Week is, in this context. So this is what Wikipedia says about it:

Holy Week in Seville is one of two biggest annual festivals in Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain. It is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter (Holy Week among Christians), and features the procession of pasos, floats of lifelike wooden sculptures of individual scenes of sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, or images of the grieving Virgin Mary.

We didn’t come to Seville for Holy Week. However I’m really pleased we got to experience this time of year. The atmosphere won’t be forgotten any time soon. The swelling of crowds, the incense smell, the moving music, and the religious floats. It was a unique experience. We had a great time, and would come again during Holy Week. At night you get heavily mixed up in the events, and it was really nice to be part of the atmosphere. The locals were dressed up to the nines, and it was lovely to see a mix of all generations engaging in their traditions.

The city

The city is vibrant, and just smells incredible this time of year. It was a mix of Jasmine that you could smell everywhere, and then the incense from the processions.

We have some picky eaters in our family, but we still managed to find meals that pleased everyone. Generally, the restaurants were really busy, but we never had to book. We did, however, plan around the timings of the Holy Week processions.

Setas de Sevilla

Setas de Sevilla or “The mushrooms” is a wooden structure in the middle of the city. We went up about 9pm when the sun was setting (April). So we were up there when the city became dark, all the landmarks lit up, and the structure itself lights up. There is some lovely “Minecraft” music playing, as my kids called it (Ambient music to the rest of us). We stayed up the structure for about 40 minutes, and would certainly go back and do the whole thing again. In fact, something tells me I’d enjoy it more the second time. As you walk around you’re seeing new views of the city. So you’re enticed to keep walking round. Next time, I would just slow down, and take it all in.

We had some fantastic pizzas next to the Setas, called “Il restaurantino Dell’Avvocato”. They managed to squeeze us in, even though all tables were reserved (again very busy due to Holy Week). Pizzas came in about 5 minutes, straight from the oven. The Spanish beer was ice cold. The menus are all online, and reception was a little patchy for us. Maybe check the menu out before you go.

Real Alcázar

Real Alcázar is a palace in the city, and is a UNESCO world heritage site. To some of us, it’s also Dorne from Game of Thrones. We had a great time exploring the palace, and the gardens. The gardens are really lovely, and we spent a good amount of time there. If anything, we wished we had spent more time exploring the gardens, and even just sitting peacefully letting the world pass us by. The kids went and got themselves “lost” in the Maze, whilst we took pictures.

We were there for 10am, so it was fairly cool, and not that busy. We’d pre-booked tickets, so just joined the queue for our time slot.

Once you’re done, go and grab some Gelato from Mito round the corner. There is nothing better than Pistachio Gelato with the sun shining on your face. Magnificent.

Plaza de España

A must, Plaza de España. If you’re a Star Wars fan, it’s Naboo. We went about 5pm, and honestly, it was a little hot for me, as there isn’t much shade, until you’re in the gardens opposite. I’d opt for a little later in the day next time so it’s a little cooler. But honestly, it’s so stunning you just suck it up. We managed to see a Flamenco dancer “performance” with someone playing the Gypsy Kings. What more could you want?

We had a checklist of all the scenes from Attack of the Clones we needed to capture before we could leave. Yes - angles, locations, we got them all.

Straight to El29 for drinks. We sat under some massive trees to cool down.

Triana

We headed over to Triana for a morning stroll and drinks. It’s a historic neighbourhood known for Ceramics. It doesn’t disappoint, there are many ceramic shops with loads of stuff you can buy. We managed to control ourselves and get an oil dispenser, but there was much more we wanted. We should have asked if they ship the plant pots to the UK - next time perhaps?

Just take the time to meander the streets, and take in the atmosphere.

Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento

We stayed at the Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento. Mainly, because we always stay at Barcelo hotels, and we get a discount now.

It’s a little further out the city, but hit the goal of a pool for the kids. It’s nice and modern, but isn’t the best Barcelo we’ve stayed in. It’s acceptable as this was a city break, rather than caring too much about the hotel.

Summary

Seville is on the list of places to go back to again. We literally came straight off the plane and talked about going back. I think next time, I’d like to see what Autumn would be like. I’ve heard that Seville can get into the 40s in the summer, which is just far too hot. So Autumn might be nice.

I would highly recommend Seville for families, and couples a like. I imagine as a couple, bar hopping for tapas would be a lot of fun.