TRANSPORTATION
Getting there & away
Air
Seville's San Pablo Airport (SVQ)
lies 12 km northeast of the city on the main NIV
Cordoba road. Iberia flies to Seville every day
from Madrid, Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, Valencia and London. Aviaco also offers
a daily service from Alicante, and flies from
Bilbao and Palma de Mallorca every day except
Sunday, from Lanzarote on Tuesday and Thursdays,
and from Fuerteventura on Sundays. An airport
bus leaves for the city every 30 minutes with a
fare of 2.30 € and stops at Palos de la Frontera
Street, Santa Justa railway station and Calle de
la Constitucion. Taxis are plenty outside the
airport and will take about 15 minutes to reach
the city. There are fixed rates from the
airport which vary according to the zoning
system. Usually the fares range from 15 - 18
€.
Train
AVE operates intercity trains from Atocha
station in Madrid almost hourly to Santa Justa
station in Seville. The journey takes about 2
and a half hours. The Santa Justa station
however is located on Avenida Kansas City which
is some fair way out of the city, but you can
take either bus #27 or #37 to the Plaza de la
Encarnación, from where all sights are within
walking distance. For train schedule or online
train booking, check out RENFE's website at
http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html.
If you are coming from France, it may be worth
getting a France 'n Spain pass from Eurail which
offers unlimited travel throughout France and
Spain under a specific time period.
Bus
Regional buses connect all of the towns and
villages within Andalucía with more frequent
service than trains. Alsa/Enatcar
(Phone: 902/422242, http:// www.alsa.es) is a
national long-distance buses that connect
Seville with Madrid as well as with other cities
in the region. There are two bus stations in
Seville. The older one is the Estación del
Prado de San Sebastián, off Plaza de San
Sebastián between Manuel Vázquez Sagastizabal
and José María Osborne; buses from here serve
west and northwest. The second station, a modern
terminal on the banks of the Guadalquivir River
downtown, next to the east end of Cachorro
Bridge, is called Estación Plaza de Armas and
serves central and eastern Spain.
Car
If you are planning to drive to Seville, the
main road from Madrid is the N-4 (also known as
the Andalucía Highway) which is a four-lane
highway that passes through Córdoba and the
distance is 538 km (the distance from Córdoba
itself is 155 km). If you are coming from the
nearby Málaga, head for Antequera, then take A39
autovía by way of Osuna to Seville.
Getting around
Seville
has an extensive public transportation system,
but buses tend to be crowded and the streets
through which they cruise are typically narrow,
so often you may find it less of a hassle to
just jump out of the bus and savor the beauty of
Seville on foot. If you drive to the historical
sites, there is usually no parking fee, but make
sure you do not leave anything in the car as
they may be stolen. If you're planning to
travel to the part of the city that is quite far
from your hotel's vicinity, taxis are of course
always available. |