One of the most popular attractions in Seville, Spain is El Real Alcázar de Sevilla. We visited this beautiful royal palace back in May, and we definitely learned a few things along the way.
Since it is such a popular attraction, you may have a hard time getting tickets, but I am here today to share a few tips and tricks with you. Make sure to read through the following pointers before you visit, so that you can have the best possible experience. Visiting the Alcazar is worth every penny and it is most definitely worth your time!
- Try to buy your tickets online ahead of time.
- We tried to buy our tickets online prior to our arrival, but we had no luck. We tried different days, different times, different credit cards and nothing would work. We even tried to purchase tickets once we were in Spain. No such luck.
- I don’t know what the issue is with their website. Some people said they had the same issue and other folks said they had no problems buying their tickets online. So, I’m not sure what the secret sauce is, but give it a try and see if it works for you. Here is the link to their website.
- If you can’t get tickets online, buy a guided tour.
- Since we were unable to buy our tickets online, we ended up buying tickets through a tour group once we got to Spain. It was a guided tour and we did have to pay more, but we really just needed a way to get inside. After staying with the guided tour group for 15 minutes, we went off and explored the Alcazar on our own. We hate guided tours, so we really only used this as a means to get inside.
- Here is a link to sign up for a guided tour.
- Whatever you do, do not wait in the queue.
- Since we had no luck getting our tickets online, we decided that we were going to wait in the queue (this was before we knew about the guided tours). We were waiting in the queue for about 10 minutes and then they randomly came up and cut off the line. The staff told us they were full for the entire day.
- We decided to do other things around the city that day, but we did walk past the Alcazar later in the day around 6 PM. The line was extremely long and they were letting people wait in the queue again! This was after telling us at 1 PM that they were full for the day. It made no sense to me. Moral of the story: You can’t trust this queue.
- Make sure to spend time in the gardens.
- The structure of the Alcazar is really beautiful, but make sure to spend time outside in the gardens. I think a lot of people miss this because they spend so much time inside. The gardens are absolutely breathtaking and you could spend hours getting lost amongst the flowers.
- There is a fun hedge maze outside as well, so make sure to check that out. It makes for a cool picture opportunity!
- Reserve at least 2 hours to see everything.
- We typically go through attractions pretty quickly, but this is one of those things that is going to take awhile no matter what. There is so much to see and so much ground to cover. We spent over an hour in the gardens and we didn’t even make it to all areas of the garden. That is how big it is!
- I think most people probably spend more than 2 hours at the Alcazar. It really depends how interested you are in learning about the history of the structure itself. If you want to be on the safe side, reserve 3-4 hours for this attraction.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions about visiting the Alcazar. I am always happy to help!
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