Real Alcázar of Seville

The Real Alcázar is a palace complex that grew in layers across a thousand years, and it is often described as Europe’s oldest royal palace still in use. The kings of Spain still use the upper floors, known as the Royal Apartments, when they stay in Seville. The site, whose Spanish-Muslim architecture is its hallmark, began in the tenth century as a Muslim fortress. The Abbadid kings of the taifa period expanded it in the eleventh century, and the Almohad dynasty, who ruled in the twelfth, left a mark with gardens and buildings. After Seville fell to Ferdinand III of Castile in 1248, Christian rulers kept using the site, and the building’s mix of styles reflects that continuity.

The most famous section is the Mudéjar Palace, built for Peter I of Castile in the 1360s with craftsmen from Toledo and from the Nasrid court in Granada. Courtyards such as the Patio de las Doncellas, with its arcades of slender columns, and the smaller Patio de las Muñecas are lined with carved stucco and bright tile. The Hall of Ambassadors, covered by a gilded cedar dome that looks like a starry sky, was the throne room. Inscriptions in Arabic script decorate many of the walls, and some praise the Christian king in the language of the earlier court.

Later additions include the Gothic Palace, built by Alfonso X, and the apartments Charles V had built for his marriage to Isabella of Portugal in 1526. The tapestry-hung halls display the later Renaissance style. In 1503 Queen Isabella established the Casa de Contratación here to administer trade with the Americas, and the Admiral’s Hall preserves a painting connected with that history.

Outside are the gardens, which many visitors remember best. Terraces, ponds, fountains, orange and palm trees, pavilions and a grotto-like gallery lead from one enclosure to the next, and peacocks wander the paths. The Mercury Pond and the long Gallery of Grotesques are particular highlights, with a maze of clipped hedges nearby. The complex features in the television series Game of Thrones, which used it for the water gardens of Dorne.

As an Andalusian palace, it is one of the finest examples of Spanish Mudéjar style in Europe. The Alcázar is on the UNESCO listing together with Seville Cathedral and the Archive of the Indies. Tickets are sold for timed entries, so book online in advance; the official site gives the current hours and ticket types, including audio guides. The Patio de Banderas is the entrance square, next to the cathedral and Barrio Santa Cruz.