Holy Week in Spain: Visiting Seville and Barcelona During Semana Santa
2 min readCelebrated since the 16th century, Holy Week in Spain is one of the world’s must-see sights, reminding us about community and faith.
The post Holy Week in Spain: Visiting Seville and Barcelona During Semana Santa appeared first on JourneyWoman.
If you go to Seville
There are many tourists in during Holy Week in Seville, so if you go, book your hotel well in advance and expect to pay higher rates. While not all the bars and restaurants are closed, you will want to make reservations. Find a hotel here.
Join the Expat Sevilla group on Facebook (it’s in English) and download the El Penitente app for timetables (it is in Spanish). You can also rent balconies for viewing; I noticed some of 60 euros including tapas. Television station 101 Sevilla has live broadcasts of the procession.
Safety tips for Seville
When the streets are crowded, make sure you keep your cross–body bag in front of you, and consider using Wise for ‘tap and pay’ rather than using actual currency. Be caurious posting your current location on social media, particularly your hotel; it’s always better to post when. you get home. Find more cybersecurity travel tips here.
How to get to Seville and Barcelona
Spain has a very good train network. I took the OUIGO high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid (about 2.5 hours), and then a Renfe train to Seville, which was less than three hours. (Note: the Wifi doesn’t work well on either, so make other plans!)
Believe it or not, it was cheaper to fly into London than Madrid from Toronto and to take the train from London to Seville. From there, I took the Eurostar train from London to Lille and then went through to Barcelona. The train easy and pleasant, giving me time to catch up on sleep and some writing. My route was London St. Pancreas to Lille, Lille to Lyon and then Lyon to Barcelona. Book your train trip here on Trainline.
Where to stay in Seville and Barcelona
There are so many beautiful hotels in both Seville and Barcelona but I prefer bed and breakfasts and smaller boutique hotels. In my many trips to Seville, I’ve never found a neighbourhood I didn’t enjoy, including Santa Clarita and Santa Cruz, which is most often visited by tourists. Triana, just across the river, is also becoming more popular. In Barcelona, I usually stay in the Gothic Quarter but have also spent a few weeks in Saint Antoni and nearby Sitges and Girona which I’ve found can be cheaper than staying in Barcelona. To look for hotels recommended by women in Spain, click here or check Booking.com.
