Two Very Different Cities
Barcelona gives you range in one walkable area. Gaudí's work alone fills two days, from the forest of columns inside the Sagrada Família to the rippling façade of Casa Batlló. Add the medieval core around the cathedral, a long beach with a promenade and Montjuïc's gardens above the port. Gràcia's squares fill with locals sharing wine on café terraces. El Born's cocktail bars are dim and inventive.
Seville looks the way many people picture Spain before they have been. The Real Alcázar is still a working royal palace, its rooms covered in carved plaster and glazed tile, with gardens of fountains and palms. The cathedral holds Columbus's tomb. The Giralda bell tower climbs by ramps rather than stairs. The city is compact and flat. Late at night the old town hums rather than roars, with families out in the squares after midnight.
Barcelona feels modern and energetic. Seville feels timeless and intimate.
Sea or River
Barcelona's beach is a real advantage. The sea is swimmable from about June to early October. You can mix morning sights with an afternoon on the sand. A private sail from Port Vell at golden hour is the classic splurge. Wear something over swimwear away from the beach, since the city fines people walking the streets in bathing suits.
Seville has no beach, but it has the Guadalquivir. Couples walk the riverbank to the Torre del Oro at dusk or cross to Triana for dinner on Calle Betis with views back to the old town. Rent a rowboat on the canal in the Plaza de España, beneath tiled alcoves for each Spanish province. For water in summer, rooftop plunge pools are worth paying for. Cádiz on the Atlantic is under two hours by train for a beach day.
If swimming matters, Barcelona wins. If your idea of a perfect evening is a riverside stroll and a glass of manzanilla, Seville does.
Hotels for Two
In Barcelona, the Eixample is the most practical base, with wide boulevards and Gaudí's houses on Passeig de Gràcia. Cotton House Hotel occupies the 19th-century headquarters of the cotton guild on the Gran Via, with a rooftop pool, from roughly $400 a night. El Born and the Gothic Quarter put you among medieval lanes and bars, though rooms can be smaller and streets louder, so ask for an inner courtyard room. Seafront towers by the Port Olímpic offer sea views. Gràcia has small hotels with a village feel.
Seville's best hotels are converted mansions built around patios. Hotel Alfonso XIII, built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition beside the Alcázar gardens, is the classic splurge from roughly $650. Corral del Rey has just 17 rooms in a 17th-century casa palacio with a view of the Giralda from the roof. Hotel Mercer Sevilla is a restored 19th-century mansion in El Arenal. Stay in Santa Cruz or El Arenal so you can walk home after dinner.
Food and the Rhythm of the Day
Both cities eat late. In Barcelona, lunch runs from about 2 to 4 p.m., often a fixed-price menú del día with wine. Dinner starts around 9:30. The evening vermouth hour is a local ritual. Order pa amb tomàquet, bombas in Barceloneta and arròs negre with squid ink. Seafood paella is a lunch dish. For a celebration, Disfrutar's playful tasting menu books months ahead.
Seville is a tapas city first. Order one or two plates at a time at the bar, then move on: espinacas con garbanzos, salmorejo, fried fish and slow-cooked pork cheeks. Drink chilled fino or manzanilla from the sherry towns nearby, or tinto de verano on a hot afternoon. Tapas are cheap enough to try four bars in an evening. A 7 p.m. flamenco show still leaves time for a 9:30 dinner.
Barcelona offers more variety and fine dining. Seville offers more atmosphere per euro.
Getting There From the US
Barcelona is the easier arrival. Nonstops land at Barcelona-El Prat (BCN) from the New York airports, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston and Seattle. A taxi to the center takes 25 to 30 minutes, or the Aerobús runs to Plaça de Catalunya every few minutes. In town, walk and use the metro. Skip a rental car. Flights to Mallorca, Menorca or Ibiza take under an hour.
Seville has no US nonstops. The easiest route is to fly into Madrid and take the high-speed train to Santa Justa station in about two and a half hours, with Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo all on the line. You can also connect through a European hub to Seville Airport (SVQ), 20 to 25 minutes from town. Taxis cannot reach many hotel doors in Santa Cruz, so pack bags you can roll over cobblestones. Córdoba is about 45 minutes by fast train and Jerez about an hour.
Barcelona to Seville takes about a 90-minute flight, or roughly five and a half hours by fast train.
Seasons and Heat
Timing matters more in Seville. March through May is the classic season, when orange blossom scents the whole city and days sit in the 70s. Holy Week and the April Fair are spectacular but can triple hotel rates, so check their dates before booking. Late September through November is just as good. Winter is mild and often sunny around 60°F. July and August are fierce, with afternoons commonly above 100°F, so locals retreat indoors from about 2 to 7 p.m.
Barcelona is more forgiving. April through June and September through October are best, warm enough for terraces with swimmable sea from June. July and August are hot and crowded, with cruise ships unloading into the old town. Winter is mild, often in the high 50s, with calmer streets and calçot season in late winter.
For a summer honeymoon, Barcelona is the safer bet. For spring, Seville is at its most romantic.
Cost, Crowds and Doing Both
Seville is the better value. A very good palace hotel costs less than its Barcelona equivalent and tapas bars are inexpensive. Barcelona has higher hotel rates in season and a per person, per night tourist tax charged at checkout, highest at five-star hotels. All prices here are approximate ranges.
Both have crowds in predictable places. In Barcelona, pickpockets work Las Ramblas, the metro, La Boqueria and the beach, so keep phones off café tables. Book the Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló two to four weeks ahead. In Seville, buy Alcázar and cathedral tickets a week or more ahead in spring and shoulders and knees for churches.
Combining them is straightforward with a short flight. A ten-night trip might be four nights in Barcelona, then a flight to Seville for three nights and a train to Granada for two or three. Or end in Barcelona with a beach or island finish. Either way, you see two sides of Spain.
