Plaza del Cabildo

Hundreds of thousands of tourists walk within twenty metres of this square every year and never find it. The Plaza del Cabildo is hidden behind a curved row of buildings just south of the cathedral, accessible only through three narrow arched passageways that look like they lead to someone's private courtyard. Step through, and you find yourself in a perfect semicircular plaza with painted arches, a central fountain, and a serenity that feels impossible given how close you are to the cathedral crowds.

The square was created in the 1930s when a convent on this site was demolished and the city decided to build a public space in the cleared lot. Architect Juan Talavera y Heredia designed the elegant curved colonnade in Seville's signature blend of Baroque and Regionalist styles, with arched openings painted in the ochre and white that defines the city's palette. The frescoed ceiling under the colonnade depicts allegorical scenes and is easy to miss if you do not look up.

On Sunday mornings, the plaza hosts a small collectors' market where dealers sell old coins, stamps, postcards, and other ephemera. It is a far cry from the tourist shops lining the surrounding streets, and the atmosphere is pleasantly local — Sevillano collectors arguing amiably over the provenance of a Civil War medal or a stack of 1950s bullfighting posters.

The rest of the week, the plaza is simply a quiet place to sit. The fountain murmurs, pigeons strut across the tiles, and you can look up at the walls of the cathedral rising above the rooftops and wonder how a space this peaceful exists in the middle of one of Spain's busiest tourist zones. The answer is that most people never find the entrance.