Feature Image: A view of Calle Betis from across the river
Enticed by Triana
When you wander along Seville’s Guadalquivir River, the Triana’s Calle Betis curls an index finger in your direction to entice you over the Puente de Isabel II bridge. She wants you to explore her charms at close quarters, rather than admire the colorful and historic past from the opposite river bank. We were seduced by Seville, but Triana was our favourite discovery.
Originally on the wrong side of the tracks, Triana was the haunt of the working class and the home to the gypsy community. It’s evolved into a trendier area but still manages to stay true to it’s roots as the birthplace of Flamenco. There’s less tourists on this side of the river, and more chance of an immersive travel experience.
The pedestrian street along the riverbank is called Calle Betis, which has a collection of restaurants, bars, and clubs that are worth crossing the bridge for. Not only as a place to eat, drink, and watch a flamenco show, but also for the views of Seville and it’s ornate bull fighting ring.
Read my travel hack at the end of this article to find out how I discovered Triana.
Flamenco in Triana
There’s a whole string of bars featuring Flamenco shows along the riverside strip, and yet more nestled in the heart of this neighbourhood, but I don’t think you could visit a more authentic place than T de Triana.
T de Triana
From the outside this little Tapas bar is as modest as it comes, but once inside it opens up into a broad space. There’s also a small collection of tables and chairs outside, and when you sit down somebody will come over to you to sell tickets for the flamenco show.
The Flamenco show is hosted in an intimate back room with folding chairs, and common practice seems to be writing your name on a paper drinks coaster to reserve your seat.
We were late to the reservation game, but there’s not bad seat in this area, and even though we were in the back row—our elevated seat gave us a fabulous view, and we also had a neighboring table to put or tapas on. We’d ordered food while we were at the bar, but it took quite a while to arrive, so they happily delivered it to the back room so we could eat and watch at the same time.
The show started with a brief history of Flamenco, and the dancers explained that there was no set routines. The guitarist sets the tone and mood with his choice of song and tempo, and the flamenco dancers improvise their dance moves. I took quite a few photos and video but none of them did this show justice. It was raw, full of frenetic energy, and had us on the edge of our seats in rapt attention.
If you’re going to see a flamenco show in Seville—I highly recommend heading to T de Triana to experience this passionate display of the flamenco tradition at close quarters.
Markets in Triana
If you’re into markets, then another reason to come to Triana is to visit the covered Mercado de Triana, which is on your right as you cross the Isabel bridge.
- Calle San Jorge, 6, 41010 Sevilla, Spain
It’s a locals market so has it’s fair share of fresh fruit, vegetable, meat and fish stalls, but it also has lots of little tapas bars and places to buy baked goods, pastries, and portable snacks for a picnic or to fuel your cycle ride around the city. As well as traditional Andalusian food, there’s vegetarian and international dishes, so wander around before you buy to avoid buyers remorse because you chose too quickly. There are a couple of souvenir stalls, but because this market is away from the tourist crush in the centre of Seville, the focus is on food and sustenance and not trinkets. Although, Trinkets from Triana does have a nice ring to it.
It should be your first stop in your Triana tour, so leave yourself enough time to explore the stalls on either side of the five rows. It was built on the site of a The Castle of St. George and one of the original castle walls still stands proudly as a reminder to this building’s place in history.
Each stall is numbered and named using hand-painted ceramic panels, and this area still maintain a strong grip on it’s close alliance with the tradition of local pottery. Obrador Valle De La Osa has vegetarian options, with a choice of pizzas, empanadas and traditional Spanish dishes that you can take away, or eat while perching on a stool in front of the stall.
Other Areas of Triana to Explore
Calle San Jacinto
This road leads directly from the bridge and into the heart of Triana. On either side of the road are restaurants and shops and it’s a lively place to explore during the weekend daytimes. It’s full of local families wandering aimlessly along the road, stopping for chats with neighbors and lingering in front of bakery windows. It was busy during our Sunday cycle ride, and with no pedestrians really paying attention to nearby people on two-wheels, it was safer to walk our bikes than ride them.
Bakeries are definitely deeply entrenched in the Spanish culture, and we stopped at more than our fair share to sample savory and sweet pastries, and our caffeine fix. Many had a small cluster of tables and chairs outside, but at the weekends, an empty chair was a rare sight. So we peddled around the neighbourhood to find a park bench to enjoy our impromptu picnic.
Centro de la Cerámica Triana
Centro de la Cerámica Triana is a museum about the history and traditional craft of ceramics (located adjacent to the top left hand corner of the Triana Market), and there are shops along the neighboring streets selling locally produced and painted ceramics, including tiles and pottery.
- Calle Callao, 16, 41010 Sevilla, Spain
Area around Santa Ana Church
We had some time to kill before our Flamenco show at T de Triana, so we wandered around the adjacent streets. It was a Saturday night and the pavements were full of tables and chairs filled with exuberant and vocal Spanish voices, outside of equally noisy tapas bars.
We continued our search for a place a little more low-key, and stumbled across Bar Bistec which has a distinct laid back vibe and friendly service. We only had drinks, but the food we saw at the bar inside looked traditional and enticing. This wasn’t the only bar along this or surrounding streets, but it was representative of the bars in the area. It’s well worth venturing away from tapas bars in the centre of Seville’s tourist hub to experience Spanish culture dripping in authenticity. The prices are a lot better too.
Travel Hack for discovering new neighbourhoods
I already had Triana in my sights because of a travel hack I’d recently discovered. You’ve probably seen the rise of private tours where you book through sites like With Locals, and local residents who know the city and help you to discover corners of their hometown you might not have ventured into on your own. They can also help you to have an immersive travel experience based on your personal tastes.
During my research for our 1:1 Barcelona private tour I realized what a great travel resource these sites are. I used the With Locals Seville tour pages to research neighbourhoods I wanted to explore independently, and was captivated by the descriptions of the Triana.
If you're heading to #Seville - make your way over the bridge to the #Triana neighbourhood to get up close and personal at a #flamenco show. Share on XPin this Image
Great info. We are all over this. Thanks so much!
You won’t regret it .. Triana is fabulous and a great additional travel supplement to Seville.
We have talked about getting Seville on the bucketlist for 2020, but we’re not sure yet… its Seville or Tuscany 😀 Your view of Seville looks amazing thoygh, I love the dancing part 🙂
Tough choice Ann … we’re yet to visit Tuscany, or anywhere in Italy for that matter, so I know how tough those travel choices get.
One aspect I love about visiting Spain is seeing a flamenco show. I love it. Great tips for discovering new neighbourhoods 🙂
Yep you can’t go to Spain and not see some dancing. It’s at the core of their culture so can’t be skipped.
I have heard so many great things about Seville, hopefully I can visit there someday
It was definitely the most Spanish feeling city out of all the ones we visited. So if you’re looking for an immersive experience into the country’s culture, this would be the city to head for.
I love how you really explored a particular neighborhood, it really shows how one city can have different things to offer!
Claire recently posted..The Ultimate Guide to Traveling on a Budget with JenRew
It really does pay to explore a city by foot so that you can see as much of the city as you can. As soon as you take public transport or taxis you miss out on the flexibility of seeing a city up close and personal.
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I saw a Flamenco show in Madrid and absolutely loved it so I would definitely like to head to this neighbourhood to watch another. I also like your recommendation for the site “With Locals” for getting a more intimate view of different cool neighbourhoods off the tourist path.
We saw a flamenco show in Barcelona in a theatre – very polished and amazing music, but I really enjoyed our flamenco encounters on the streets in Seville, and in this back room in Triana. It feels to me that flamenco is best experienced at this street level.
Triana looks like an area right up my alley. I much prefer escaping the tourist traps and immersing myself in the local culture. Thank you for the tip to use the With Locals Seville tourist pages. I always love to research the area prior to going especially being a solo traveller.
With Locals was a great find … and a great travel resource to any of the major cities.
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Seville is such an underrated city so thank you for giving it the spotlight it deserves! Flamenco dancing is incredible and I highly recommend seeing it if you’re in the area. Great guide!
It was our favourite Spanish city – and we can’t wait to go back there again, and stay for an extended period.
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I often visit Seville. One of my favorites cities in Spain. Triana is a great place. It has a fantastic vibe. I love these bars and flamenco music. I recommend Seville during the Feria de Abril. It’s a great festival on Traina.
I read that Easter is a good time to visit, they take that celebration very seriously.
Jay Artale recently posted..Seduced by Sunny Seville’s Quirky Charm
I enjoyed Seville so much when I went. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time there but would go back in a heart beat to explore more. The flamenco show was so amazing to watch!
WanderlustBeautyDreams recently posted..EVEN New York Hotel- Midtown East
I can’t wait to go back again. I’d definitely stay in old town again. I loved wandering the narrow streets and little squares to see what delights we could stumble across.
Jay Artale recently posted..How to Create an Effective Freelance Writing Portfolio
I think a day of browsing the market in Triana followed by an evening at an authentic flamenco bar sounds perfect to me! The photo of people sitting out in front of the cafe reminds me so much of an amazing evening I had with friends in Spain a few years ago. Such a wonderful way to spend a relaxing summer night.
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There’s a lot to be said for ignoring the big expensive sights and just sitting at a cafe and soaking up the ambiance of the locals.
What an awesome neighborhood guide. Seville has been on my short list for a while so I’ll be bookmarking! I actually just read about With Locals and was thinking of trying them out, how extensive is their network of locals? My next trip is to the Balkans so a little less touristic.
Triana was one of my favourite neighbourhoods too in Seville. We had stopped off there for a couple of nights on our way to a house sit. I remember enjoying a cafe con leche and I called the house owner and joked we were having so much fun in Seville, we weren’t coming. She replied, fabulous please stay an extra night as I have a terrible migraine. So we got to enjoy another night of tapas and flamenco in one of my favourite cities in Spain. Thanks for bringing back the memories..
You’re welcome Sarah .. I loved Seville, but would happily go back and base myself in Triana if we go back, I’m sure it would be cheaper than staying in the central area of old town we stayed in, and it’s so easy to get around by foot it wouldn’t matter that we were over the other side of the river.
Wow, Triana looks like the perfect blend of colourful days and exhilarating nights! Looks like the place to be.
I was so glad that we ventured over the river to discover Triana. I had high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed.