Sevilla

Seville lives outdoors, under a light that whitens the walls, in streets planted with bitter orange trees. The Royal Alcázar of Seville is a run of patios, pools and carved wooden ceilings, built for Moorish rulers and kept on by Christian kings. Next to it stands Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in the world, and its old minaret, La Giralda, is climbed by a ramp cut wide enough for a horse. The Plaza de España curves in brick and painted tiles at the edge of María Luisa Park. Across the river, the Triana District keeps its ceramic workshops, its tapas counters and its flamenco schools. The music is heard close up here, in small rooms where the heel hits bare boards. Once a year the feria raises a thousand striped tents on that same bank, and the sevillana is danced until morning. Dinner comes late and standing, with a glass of cold fino in hand.