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This building has been the town hall since the 16th century. Inside, the rooms are decorated with historic paraphernalia of the city and the monarchy, in a blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles. Outside, the façades reflect the evolution of taste, from the original Renaissance Plateresque work with its finely carved stone-work, to the 19th-century attempt to copy the style, seen from Plaza de San Francisco.

Seville’s town hall dates from the 16th century, with later modifications added in the 19th century. The original sections are in Plateresque style, begun by architect Diego de Riaño in 1526 – note the mix of motifs used on the main façade (on Plaza de San Francisco). Inside, a collection of art features paintings by Zurbarán and Velázquez.

Designed by Siloé and Vandelvira, this masterpiece of Andalucían Renaissance was commissioned as a family pantheon and is still privately owned. The sacristy is the highlight, employing caryatids and atlantes as columns and pilasters. It was once embellished by a Michelangelo sculpture, a sad casualty of the Spanish Civil War (see Plaza de Vázquez de Molina, Úbeda).

Although not without aesthetic merit, these two structures are more about Christian triumph and royal ego than they are about spirituality. At the Royal Chapel’s sarcophagi, note how Queen Isabel’s head presses more deeply into her marble pillow than that of King Fernando – said to indicate greater intelligence. In the cathedral is the equestrian statue of El Matamoros (“The Killer of Moors”) by Alonso de Mena (see Cathedral & Capilla Real, Granada).

This 15th-century monastery has had its ups and downs over the centuries. During Spain’s Golden Age it was the favoured retreat of Christopher Columbus, whose remains were interred here for several decades. The monks went on to decorate their vast enclave with commissions from some of Seville’s greatest artists – most of the works are now in the Museo de Bellas Artes. In 1841 it became a ceramics factory. Finally restored as part of Expo ’92, the complex is today home to a contemporary art museum.

Erroneously said to be based on the house of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, this 15th-century gem is the most sumptuous of Seville’s urban mansions. It is a delightful blend of Mudéjar (Christian-Islamic), Gothic and Renaissance styles, punctuated with Classical statuary. Look for the head of the Greek boy, Antinous, who died as a teenager and was deified by his grief-stricken lover, Emperor Hadrian, in the 2nd century (see La Casa de Pilatos, Seville).

Few palaces are more opulent than this 15th–16th-century mansion. A mix of Mudéjar (Christian-Islamic), Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance styles, it is also adorned with Classical sculptures, including a 5th-century BC Greek Athena and important Roman works. A noble residence to this day, it is filled with family portraits and antiques from the last 500 years.

This Moorish castle is one of the best preserved in Andalucía. Its horseshoe-arched main gate bears an inscription dating its construction to AD 967. Some 14 square towers provide vistas far and wide.

One of the few castles newly built after the Christian reconquest, this was also one of the first in Spain to be built according to Italian Renaissance tenets. Despite its forbidding situation and exterior, its inner courtyard is exquisite, with staircases, pillars and arches carved from Carrara marble.

Restored by the Christians, this 13th-century castle towers above the town and affords spectacular views.