Seville Nightlife
As one of the hottest cities in Europe, it should come as no real surprise
that the Seville nightlife scene is widely regarded as being amongst the
'hottest' in Spain. After all, Andalucia is the home of flamenco, tapas, sherry
and one Spain's best beers, Cruzcampo – all pretty good ingredients for a
flourishing nightlife when combined with those balmy summer nights.
Seville is a wonderful city in which to enjoy yourself. It is large enough to
have a great variety of places to go but, at the same time, it's compact enough
to negotiate your way around easily. It also has a large student population, a
thriving Bohemian or 'underground' element and a lively gay scene, as well as a
socially mixed community and an ever-changing population of foreign workers and
tourists.
As with many Spanish cities, though, if you venture into the streets before 11
o'clock in the evening you might get the impression that it's only the tourists
who know how to enjoy themselves in Seville. Aside from a few people having a
beer on their way home from work, the locals will not come out until later – and
that's when things will start hotting up.
Seville Bars & Tapas Bars
It's customary here to begin the evening with a beer or two before moving on
to other places and you'll find a wide range of Seville tapas
bars – many of them overflowing into the streets – offering the ubiquitous
ice cold Cruzcampo. Don't worry if you want a more 'international' selection,
though – in recent years the number of bars offering a wider range has increased
considerably. And there are, of course, numerous Irish pubs throughout the city
– of, it has to be said, varying degrees of legitimacy.
When you think of food in Seville, I suppose it's only natural to think of
tapas, and the reputation that the city has for the quality and variety of the
tapas selections you will find here is completely merited. There are so many
places where you can pop in for a tapa or media ración of delicious home-made
food. Seville is near enough to the coast, of course, for the fish and sea food
to be fresh so the range of food available here is almost limitless. There are
few better ways of eating than having a few friends sharing half a dozen or so
of these wonderful dishes before moving on to the next tapas bar as part of your
'tapeando'. Interestingly, although the traditional tapas offerings will still
be readily available wherever you go, the revolution in Spanish cooking has led
to some restaurants and bars offering innovative, contemporary – even
fusion-style, tapas dishes. And there's certainly more for the vegetarian diner
than was the case a few years ago.
Seville Restaurants
There are, however, numerous occasions when, for whatever reason, you don't
want tapas but instead prefer a 'proper' meal and, although Seville might not
have the culinary reputation of, say, Bilbao or Barcelona, there are still many
fine restaurants in Seville where you can go and
enjoy a 'sit down' meal. In addition to the good value 'menu del día'
opportunities you'll see in many places, there are some truly exceptional
restaurants offering the very best in Spanish and International cooking.
Seville Nightclubs
And if, after you've eaten, you fancy a spot of clubbing, then again Seville
has a wide choice available for you. Many of the top
Seville nightclubs and discos are in the Triana district, as well as around
the Expo '92 site, but there are also plenty in and around the old city centre.
You'll find that most of these clubs won't close until 6 or 7 in the morning and
many of them will have strict dress codes – even when it's not 'Feria' time,
Sevillanos like to smarten up when they have the chance.
Seville Flamenco
And finally, of course, there is flamenco in Seville.
In actual fact, there are many differing styles that come under the generic name
of flamenco – but this is the part of the world where the gypsies first found
this form of music and dance in order to express their suffering so
flamboyantly. The famous Seville 'tablaos', which you'll see plenty of
advertising for, undoubtedly offer high quality, superbly choreographed
professional shows – often with a meal as part of the package. Some people
prefer to take in what they consider the 'true' flamenco of the back street
bars, where local artists sing, dance and play the guitar in unforgettably
soul-stirring flamenco rhythms.
Whatever your taste, Seville will offer you plenty of high-quality nightlife
which, along with the fascinating places you'll want to visit during the day,
will make your stay here one incredible experience. |
