Europe’s most emotionally charged festival in our favourite Andalucían city, Semana Santa (April 5-12) – Holy Week– transforms Seville, Spain, into a celebratory Catholic carnival, all candlelight and costume. Local cofradias or brotherhoods, each on a float, wind through the streets, followed by dozens, even hundreds of nazarenos – hooded devotees carrying candles and heavy crosses. Normal life is put on hold, as visitors and locals pack the cobbled streets to watch as the brotherhoods make their way to the cathedral. The sense of history and devotion is palpable, and the whole thing is incredibly moving and magical, even for the most ardent non-believer.
What to do? Don’t miss el silencio, a particularly moving procession, in which lights are dimmed and the crowd goes eerily quiet (make sure your phone’s turned off!). But, for many, the all-night procession La Madrugá is the highlight of the week. It starts around midnight on Holy Thursday and continues well into the next day.
Where to stay? Tucked away in the narrow streets of Seville’s old town, Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza is based around rustic cobblestone courtyards, in which you’ll find trailing greenery and help-yourself baskets of Seville’s famous oranges. Private and charming, Corral del Rey is a reinvention of a 17th-century casa palacio, which preserves Roman marble pillars alongside medieval Mudéjar wooden doorways. You can see the whole city from the poolside rooftop mirador. To escape the masses, Hacienda de San Rafael, within easy reach of the Costa de la Luz, is a peaceful hotel located 40 minutes due south of Seville. View more images and book these hotels at Mr & Mrs Smith.
