Real Alcázar of Seville (general)

The Real Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace that has been growing for 11 centuries, since a new seat of government was ordered to be built here in 913; the Gothic Palace of Alfonso X and the Mudéjar Palace of Pedro I stand among its gardens. This free audio guide plays in English straight from this page. Below are the 2026 tickets and opening hours, the best time to go and a route through the palace.

Some points of interest described in the Real Alcázar of Seville Audioguide:

What the audio guide tells you

Our free audio guide walks you through the Real Alcázar, from the Lion’s Gate to the gardens, in about 7 minutes, and it plays straight from this page. It starts at the Lion’s Gate and goes back to how the palace began, with the seat of government ordered in 913 and the Almohad buildings of the 12th century, then crosses the Lion’s Courtyard and the Patio de la Montería into the Palace of Pedro I: the Patio de las Doncellas, the Hall of the Ambassadors and the Patio de las Muñecas.

From there it steps back in time to the Gothic Palace that Alfonso X built in the 13th century, goes down to the Baths of María de Padilla and ends in the gardens, by the Mercury Pond and the Pavilion of Charles V, with the answer to the question it asks at the start.

Planning your visit to the Real Alcázar (2026)

General admission is €15.50 in 2026, and the palace opens daily at 9:30 — until 19:00 from April to September, and until 17:00 from October to March. Reduced tickets are €8, and people born or living in the city of Seville go in free. This is the oldest palace in Europe still in use, entry is by 30-minute time slot and, on busy dates, tickets sell out in advance — so book online before you travel, then press play on the free audio guide above and walk it at your own pace.

Tickets and opening hours at a glance

Every figure in this table was checked on 29 September 2026 against the Real Alcázar’s official website and its official ticket shop, which is the only place to buy online. Hours can shift around public holidays and special events, so have a quick look at the official page the day before you go.

Worth knowing before you buy

• Tickets carry your name. Everyone shows their passport or ID with the ticket (printed or on your phone) at the Lion’s Gate.
• No changes, no refunds, whatever the reason — so pick your slot with care.
• Sold out online is not the end. The ticket office keeps a very small quota for every 30-minute slot of the standard visit (not for the Upper Royal Quarter). On busy dates, the official advice is to arrive at least 1 hour before the office opens at 9:00. There is no waiting list.
• A free Monday visit exists as a separate ticket on the official shop, with limited places. When we checked on 29 September 2026 it was sold out, so treat it as a bonus, not a plan.
• Water only. No other drinks and no food inside (baby food excepted), and no pets apart from guide dogs and assistance dogs with their papers.

When is the best time to visit the Alcázar?

Arrive at opening (9:30), or in the last 2 hours before closing. Mid-morning to early afternoon is the busiest stretch, when the tour groups and the Cathedral crowds from across the square overlap. Get there early and the Patio de las Doncellas and the Baths of María de Padilla are almost yours — the 2 places where it is most worth standing still and letting the audio guide talk.

• Spring (March–May): the gardens are at their best and the crowds at their worst. A timed online ticket is essential, and during Holy Week and the April Fair the whole centre fills up.
• Summer (June–August): come at 9:30 to beat the queue and the Andalusian heat at once. The palace halls stay cool; the gardens do not.
• Autumn and winter: the quietest months. The shorter 9:30–17:00 schedule still leaves room for the full route with the audio guide.
• Bad weather: the gardens can be closed without notice if the weather makes them unsafe, and that does not entitle you to a refund. On a stormy day, the palaces are the visit.

A suggested route with the audio guide

Allow about 90 minutes for the palace, or 2 hours with the gardens. Follow the points of interest in the order of the table above — it mirrors the natural walking route — and press play at the Lion’s Gate: the audio guide walks the same way, from the gate to the gardens. Bring earphones: the halls are enclosed and sound carries.

1. Patio of Flags and the Almohad walls — the square outside, where the ticket office stands, and part of the site’s Islamic layers.
2. Lion’s Gate (Puerta del León) — the visitor entrance, named after the crowned lion in the tile panel above the door.
3. Mudéjar Palace of Pedro I — the highlight: the Patio de las Doncellas, the Hall of the Ambassadors under its gilded dome, and the small Patio de las Muñecas, whose marble columns carry capitals brought from Medina Azahara.
4. Gothic Palace — built for Alfonso X, with the tiled halls of Carlos V.
5. Baths of María de Padilla and the gardens — finish outdoors, with the most walking left in your legs.

Two works of art are easy to walk past. In the Admiral’s Quarter, off the Patio de la Montería, hangs Alejo Fernández’s altarpiece of the Virgin of the Navigators, dated 1521. Look out, too, for the flat, painted tile altar of the Visitation, made by Francisco Niculoso Pisano in 1504 for Isabella I — one of the jewels of the palace’s Renaissance side.

Want to keep going outside? Continue with our free audio guide to the Alcázar gardens, or with the one about the rooms and stays of the Alcázar.

Our free audio guide and the official one — what is the difference?

The Alcázar has its own official audio guide, which you open on your phone by scanning a QR code or following the link on its website. Ours is different in the way that matters while you are still deciding: you can listen to it right now, before you buy a ticket, and work out how long you want inside and which rooms deserve your time. It is free, it plays in your browser on any phone, and there is nothing to download. The two are not exclusive — use the official one in the palace if you like, and keep ours for planning and for the gardens.

Getting there and accessibility

The address is Patio de Banderas, s/n, 41004 Seville, but you go in through the Lion’s Gate, on the Plaza del Triunfo side, facing the Cathedral. The nearest tram stop is Archivo de Indias, a few minutes’ walk away, and the nearest metro station is Puerta de Jerez on line 1, about 5 minutes on foot. The streets around it are largely pedestrian, so do not plan on arriving by car.

• Visitors with a disability of 33% or more go in free, and so does 1 companion. Bring official documentation; a European Disability Card only counts if it shows the percentage. These free tickets are collected at the ticket office, subject to availability.
• Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome with their documentation. Other pets are not allowed.
• Expect uneven ground and wear comfortable shoes. The floors are medieval tile and stone from end to end, and the gardens add a lot of walking.

Nearby, with their own free audio guides

The Alcázar, the Cathedral and the Archivo de Indias were declared a World Heritage Site together in 1987, and they stand around the same square. Cross the Plaza del Triunfo for Seville Cathedral and climb the Giralda, or step into the Archivo de Indias, on the same square.

Free audio guideSeville Cathedral
Free audio guideThe Giralda

Walk about 15 minutes south-east, past the Murillo gardens, and you reach Plaza de España; the Torre del Oro is 10 minutes south-west, on the river. To the north, about 20 minutes away, the wooden canopy of the Setas de Sevilla is best at sunset. Plan on the Alcázar at opening and the Cathedral in the afternoon. Or follow our Seville audio guide, a free self-guided walking loop of 17 audio guides that starts at the Cathedral.

Free audio guidePlaza de España