Seville.

Seville is the capital of Andalusia, built on the banks of the Guadalquivir river and shaped by centuries of Moorish and Christian rule. The Real Alcázar remains a working royal palace, its tiled courtyards and gardens layered with Islamic, Gothic, and Renaissance detail. Next to it, the cathedral holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus and rises around the Giralda, a former minaret turned bell tower that looks out over the old town's tangle of white-walled lanes. In the Santa Cruz quarter, orange trees line small plazas where the scent of blossom lingers into early summer. Across the river, Triana keeps its own pace, known for ceramic workshops and bars where flamenco grew as a local art form, still performed in small rooms and courtyards. Plaza de España, built in brick and tile for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, curves around an artificial canal at the edge of María Luisa Park. Seville's food culture runs on tapas: small plates of fried fish, cured ham, and slow-cooked stews shared standing at the bar. Summer heat is intense, and the city adapts by moving outdoors in the evening, when terraces and squares fill again after dark.