Seville lies to the south of Spain and is its cultural capital. It is a very beautiful city and is situated on the river Guadalquivir. Seville is about a thousand years old and has a rich history. The Vandals and the Visogoths conquered this fourth largest city of Spain during the fifth and sixth centuries. The Moors who conquered it later also developed it. They built several beautiful edifices and made it an important place.

Seville was called Hispalis earlier when the Romans were in charge. King Fernando took over Seville from the Muslims in 1248 but it still retains its Moorish character. After Christopher Columbus discovered America, a golden age of development took place at Seville with the wealth which grew as trade with the New World and Spain prospered. Rapid industrialization took place in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Cathedrals and Churches, mosques and buildings have made Seville interesting and a tourist attraction. The Alcazar was developed from an old Moorish palace. Its construction took over five hundred years to complete. It started in 1181 and is a lovely blend of Christian, Moorish and Andalusian traditions. The gardens are beautiful and well laid out. Tourists love to walk in the gardens and enjoy its beauty.

Seville has a big University where many students from all over the world study, and a lovely Town Hall which was built in the 16th century. The climate of Seville is Mediterranean with warm summers and mild winters. It is situated at an elevation of seven meters above sea level and hence has a salubrious climate. People can visit Seville any time of the year but the best period is from March to October.

Seville hosts a very popular Seville Fiesta which is full of fun and frolic. The fiesta begins on a Tuesday afternoon a couple of weeks after Easter and continues till the following Sunday. It again begins on the next Tuesday till Sunday. Thousands of people flock to Seville to participate in the Fiesta. The whole town is decorated and given a gay look. It begins with a drive by the festive people to the Town Hall where hundreds of lamps are lit to signify the beginning of the festival. There are parades and eating, drinking and merry making. The people then reach the bull-fighting ring where bullfights are held. They then return and continue with the festivities.

Special colorful tents are pitched on a special place and the revelers reach there to spend the evening in merriment. This goes on till the next morning and then the people have some chocolate drinks and rest till mid afternoon when the feasting begins all over again. Women wear their traditional dresses and dance the flamenco, which are very popular.

Seville hosted the 1982 WORLD Cup semi final in 1982, the 27th Athletics World Championship in 1999 and the Tennis Davis Cup in 2004. Seville houses the largest DNA Bank and stores over 20,000 DNA samples.