Avenida de la Constitución

This broad boulevard is the ceremonial spine of Seville, the street where every Semana Santa procession passes and where the city puts itself on display. But for most of the twentieth century, it was a traffic-choked nightmare — cars, buses, and motorbikes fighting for space alongside pedestrians trying to reach the cathedral. In 2007, the city finally pedestrianized large sections and installed the MetroCentro tram, transforming it from a polluted thoroughfare into one of Spain's most elegant promenades.

The architecture along the avenue reads like a timeline of Seville's ambitions. The neo-Gothic Edificio de la Adriatica, built in 1922, was designed by Jose Espiau y Munoz and crowned with a small tower and weather vane that locals still use as a landmark for giving directions. Across the street, the Banco de Espana building flaunts its Regionalist credentials, while further along, the former Hotel Alfonso XIII — built for the 1929 Exposition — is considered one of the most beautiful hotel buildings in Spain.

During Semana Santa, this avenue becomes an outdoor cathedral. Thousands of spectators line both sides as the brotherhoods carry their pasos — enormous floats bearing life-sized religious sculptures — from their home churches to the cathedral and back. Some of these floats weigh over 5,000 kilograms and are carried by teams of 40 costaleros who cannot see where they are going. The silence when a paso passes is absolute, broken only by the occasional spontaneous saeta — an emotional flamenco prayer sung from a balcony.

Walk the avenue on a normal evening and you get Seville at its most relaxed: families on the paseo, kids chasing pigeons, and the Giralda glowing gold at the far end.