3 Days in Seville — Essential Highlights

The world's largest Gothic cathedral (11,520 sq m), the tomb of Columbus carried by four bronze kings, and La Giralda (the 1198 minaret with ramps instead of stairs — the muezzin rode a horse to the top).

The original home of flamenco gitano: the corrales (courtyards) where Romani families have lived for 400 years, and the Calle Alfarería where hand-painted Moorish ceramic tiles have been made since 1492.

The Almohad watchtower on the Guadalquivir: Seville's monopoly on all Americas trade (1503–1717) made it the richest city in the 16th-century world. The golden river reflection at sunset explains the name.

The 1929 World's Fair masterpiece: each Spanish province represented in hand-painted ceramic tile, the four kingdom bridges over the moat, and the dome colonnade that took 4 years to build.

The 1883 Eiffel iron structure on the riverbank: the acorn-fed black pig ham (36–48 months aged in the Sierra), the cold blended tomato-cucumber-sherry-vinegar gazpacho and Andalusian olive oil on bread.

Founded 1670: the wooden counter where the barman chalks your tab, the manzanilla (the saline Atlantic-air fino from Sanlúcar), and the Moorish spinach-and-chickpea tapa that is the most Sevillano thing to eat.