The Alcazar (Reales Alcázares) of Seville is the oldest royal palace in continuous use as a royal residence in the world.  Even today, it is still the official residence of the king and queen of Spain when they come to visit Seville.

The original fort was built around 884 AD to defend against the Norman invasion of Seville. 

After the reconquest of Seville by King Ferdinand III the Saint in 1248, various palaces were constructed, of which only the walls and a few ruins remain.

The Gothic Palace was built during the reign Alphonse X, the Wise, and under the rule of Don Pedro I of Castile, for some “the Cruel” and others “the Just”, the Mudéjar palace was built, the most representative structure of the Christian period.

During the sixteenth century new reforms were carried out, and the beautiful gardens were improved, with plantings of orange and palm trees, with fountains and pavilions that bring refreshment on hot summer days.

Through the Puerta del León, the Lion’s Gate, which opens in the crenellated walls of the Plaza del Triunfo, we enter the lavish interior of the Alcázar.

On the other side of the gate we find the Patio de la Montería (Courtyard of the Hunt), a splendid space beneath the Mudéjar façade of the palace of Pedro I; the Patio de las Muñecas (Courtyard of the Dolls), so called because of the tiny faces adorning one of the arches, beautifully ornamented with tiles and stucco arabesques; the Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Damsels), a masterpiece of the Andalusian Mudéjar style; the Cuarto del Almirante (Admiral’s Room), which Isabella the Catholic designated as the Casa de Contratación (Hiring House) after the discovery of the New World; the Salón de Embajadores (Ambassadors’ Hall), an impressive square hall covered by a dome; the Salón de Carlos V with fifteenth century tiles and Flemish tapestries; the Royal Apartments with rooms redecorated in the eighteenth century…  All of this makes the Alcázar a sumptuous, exceptional architectural achievement of great beauty, straight from the pages of A Thousand and One Nights.

The Alcazar has borne witness to great historical events of all kinds, given its character as a royal residence.  Here Charles V celebrated his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, and much more recently it hosted the wedding of the Princess Elena and Don Jaime de Marichalar, Duke and Duchess of Lugo.