There are dozens of schools. I took a beginners’ course – four weeks – at Linc, a small and very friendly school in the heart of the city. I chose it by narrowing down the schools I found on the internet and then phoning each one up and simply seeing how they responded to a few questions.

Jen, the administrator at Linc seemed not only the friendliest but also the most knowledgeable so I went with them. My teacher Rocio was great – really approachable and extraordinarily patient.

www.linc.tv
Also: www.clic.es
www.giraldacenter.com

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Not a great setting tucked away off the vibrant Plaza Alfalfa. But this Cuban-inspired bar has great vegetarian and non-veggie food. Black-eyed beans and cheese-and-onion pastries are delicious. Lunch for two including beers €26.

3 Calle Golfo

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Fun Italian in an old Arabic baths near to La Giralda. Dinner for two plus half bottle of wine: €30.

Calle Meson del Moro

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Celebrated bar with waiters from the Manzanilla sherry producing town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Bustling with well-dressed Sevillianos. It serves good fish dishes and manzanilla at just over a euro a glass.

11 Calle Albareda

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Sit outside on the cobbled street or inside on tiled benches while cured hams hang overhead. Fine Manzanilla sherry is served by a quirky moustachioed waiter.

Calle Santa Teresa

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A great traditional bar where your beer and tapas orders are written on the bar top in chalk and where if you don’t smoke already, you might as well start.

Calle Rodrigo Caro

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One of three bars owned by the same proprietor on the road. Roasted artichokes with chopped garlic and oil, garlic mushrooms and deep fried cheeses all on the menu.

24 Calle Mateos Gago

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A cool, welcoming place after the heat of the street. The museum’s 14 galleries contain works by Murillo, Velazquez and Zubaran.

Plaza del Museo, with calle Alfonso XII

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There are plenty of them, and they seem to happen over the weekend. The strangest is the pet market. Wander through Plaza Alfalfa on a Sunday morning and chose a budgie, kitten, lizard or puppy.

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Walk across the Puente Isabel II to the Triana district which is full of old-style bars in narrow alleys. Triana contains the Iglesia Santa Ana, Seville’s oldest church (1260) and the Calle Betis, a wonderful street lined with tapas bars on the banks of the Guadalavirir river.

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A huge landscaped park laid with wide boulevards where horse drawn carriages still transport visitors and where you can hire a four wheeled bike to transport you and family. Within the grounds are the 1929 pavilions – a series of often eccentric buildings by various countries taking part in the 1929 Iberian-American exhibition.

Parque de Maria Luisa

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A 16th-century palace full of ornate tile work or azulejos. It also houses Roman sculptures and collections of porcelain and Italian and Flemish art.

Plaza de Pilatos

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You don’t have to agree with killing a bull to take a tour of the ring, its baroque façade and its underbelly. Beneath the stands you will be shown the operating theatre for unlucky matadors and the museum of fighting treasures – suits and statues of the famous.

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza; Paseo de Colón, 2; www.realmaestranza.com/

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Europe’s oldest royal palace and now a world heritage site. Built in the 14th century, it has beautiful, calm gardens and pools with towering palm trees right in the city centre. It’s next to the overbearing gothic Seville Cathedral - the third largest in the world - and its tower, La Giralda.

Plaza del Triunfo

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Avoid the main agents – Hertz, Avis etc – instead try Bravocarhire.com. It seems to be a British-based site which puts you in touch with local car hire companies. We were quoted €54 for two days' hire with Spanish firm Niza Cars, a free additional driver and only €4 more to have insurance excess at zero. The international companies were more than €110.

One thing to watch. They give you the car full and you have to bring it back empty. So you pay for the fuel up front.

www.bravocarhire.com

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An alternative to booking a hotel is to rent an apartment. It can work out cheaper and makes you feel as if you are meant to be in the city. To do this there are a number of good websites.

We found our apartment through www.2abookings.com. In fact the exact address for where we stayed was www.2abookings.com/new/establecimiento/info.asp?Idhotel=428&idi
For Casa Doña Teresa we paid €2,520 for 5 weeks. We also rented a separate one bedroom flat for two weeks for friends and family at an additional cost of €787.50.

Other good sites are:
www.sol.com
www.barriosantacruz.com/apartments
www.casaspain.com
www.sevillarent.com

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Calle Sierpes and a parallel road Calle Cuna are the main shopping streets. Dozens of shoe and clothing stores line its sides plus High Street names such as Zara and Camper at lower prices than the UK.

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The carriages go from La Giralda and costs €40 for a 40-minute ride. The bus is €13 and includes a free glass of sherry at one of the local tapas bars. The boat is €15 but looked less inviting.

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