Visiting Seville in November

Our late November wedding anniversary always gives us the opportunity to take a break from the long working slog until Christmas. After spending the last two anniversaries in the UK we decided to seek out a little winter sunshine in Seville. After all, it’s the second hottest city in continental Europe (top hot spot goes to neighbour Cordoba). The summers are long, hot and torrid. But did we find winter sunshine? And is Seville in November a good idea?

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Seville in November – the weather

As you can see from the photo above, Seville didn’t entirely play ball when it comes to winter sunshine. The week before we travelled (we flew on the 26th November) the temperatures were a glorious 22-24 degrees, dipping a little chillier at night and first thing in the morning. And indeed, the week after we arrived home, early December temperatures were in the low twenties with plenty of sunshine.

Our first evening was pleasantly warm, even as we strolled 26 metres above ground level atop Las Setas. Which is why it was something of a shock to discover that the temperatures had plummeted the next morning to about 5 degrees. With a cathedral rooftop tour planned we admitted defeat and returned to the hotel to pile on more layers.

Yet as the day went on, the sun finally made an appearance. And within minutes it was warm enough for us to shrug off our layers. We headed to Plaza de España and I even basked in the warmth for a while. Little did we know that it would be the last we would see of blue skies and sunshine.

Our second day was all grey skies and cloud, although it had warmed up a little from the previous morning. Top temperatures were around 14 degrees but the layers remained firmly on. And on our last full day, we opened the curtains to rain. Not drizzle, a full-on downpour of rain. The kind of weather we had gone to Seville to escape. We sought solace and shelter in Seville’s aquarium, and strolled the streets in between showers. It’s little surprise that the main souvenir we brought back with us was an umbrella. (To add to previous umbrella purchases in Edinburgh and Salzburg).

Did the weather stop me from enjoying Seville? Not at all. It’s a gorgeous city, with so much beautiful architecture. However, part of the joy of travel is al fresco dining, and spending time aimlessly strolling – two things that were made a little difficult by the weather. I’d booked a hotel with a rooftop bar and pool – and whilst using the pool in November always seemed a bit unlikely, I’d hoped for a sundowner cocktail before we went out for the night. In fact there were a few rooftop bars I’d noted down but we didn’t get to visit any of them, preferring to seek a cosy (and dry) indoor venue instead.

Rainy day activities in Seville

Seville has many excellent museums which can make a perfect rainy day activity. There’s the Museum of Fine Arts, Las Duenas Palace, the Archaeological Museum of Sevilla or the Museo Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija. Some of them are even free to enter on certain days. Aire de Sevilla baths offer a relaxing experience with thermal tours and massages in a Mudejar-style palace-house lit by candles. You could catch a flamenco show and visit the city’s flamenco museum or maybe even catch an impromptu performance in one of the many flamenco bars in Seville and Triana.

You could use a rainy day to learn a new skill – take a flamenco dance class or a Spanish cooking class. Or mooch around Calle Sierpes and Calle Tetuan’s independent boutiques for some unique souvenirs to take home. We spent a morning at Seville Aquarium before strolling back to the city alongside the river, hand in hand under an umbrella. If it’s too wet to walk, a Hop On Hop Off bus is always a great way to tour a city.

Seville at Christmas

Christmas markets often form an integral part of our anniversary trip – think trips to Vienna, Cologne and Aachen. But we arrive in Seville just a tad too early for the Christmas festivities. The lights are tantalisingly close to being turned on. Giant chandeliers hang from the sky and shimmering strands are wrapped around lampposts. Wooden huts hint at all manner of festive goodies inside, but their shutters remain firmly. We do see the lights twinkling on the giant cone-shaped Christmas tree in Plaza de San Francisco, but only because they are testing them in advance of the big switch-on. Which is the day after we leave.

If you are around in December though, Seville start off their celebrations to coincide with Constitution Day – a national holiday on the 6th December – and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 7th December – a regional holiday. Traditional Christmas markets pop up along Avenue de la Constitution, at Las Setas and on Plaza Nueva. There is one market open when we visit, the Feria del Belén de Sevilla (Bethlehem Fair) which is right next to Seville Cathedral and is the perfect place to buy anything nativity scene related.

Naturally, accommodation costs rise throughout the Christmas period, and the city is a whole lot busier so make sure you book attractions and restaurants well in advance. Sevillianos tend to celebrate largely on 24th December, so if you are visiting at Christmas you may find a lot of bars and restaurants close early on Christmas Eve. Celebrations carry on until 6th January – King’s Day.

What to pack for Seville in wintertime

It’s difficult to pack when the weather can be so unpredictable. I worried I was packing too many warm clothes – jumpers and boots. Then I worried I wasn’t packing enough warm clothes. As we were travelling carry-on only I didn’t have the luxury of throwing two different seasonal wardrobes into my case.

If you’re planning to visit Seville in November, I’d definitely suggest erring on the side of caution and packing plenty of warm clothes, or at least stuff you can layer. On the first afternoon, a T-shirt and jeans were perfectly sufficient; a couple of hours before though I was wearing a t-shirt under a hoodie under a jacket, with a scarf, woolly hat and thick padded gloves. On the evenings I was just about warm enough in a dress, tights, boots and a leather jacket. I’m glad I left my floaty summer dresses at home.

As they say, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. I rued not taking a warmer coat. And a jumper. And maybe my thermals.

I’ve banged on about the joy of layers before, in this post about packing for a Norwegian fjords cruise.

Have you got a question about visiting Seville in winter? Or any tips for future visits? Let me know in the comments below!