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.

• Visit the Bar De Triana Facebook page for Show Times and events

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.

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