Seville outside the triangle: courtyards and a Roman basement

Seven places in Seville that are not on the list of main sights, six of them outside the cathedral–Alcázar–Santa Cruz triangle: two noble palaces with their courtyards, a Roman town in the basement beneath the Setas, the Triana market, the Macarena, the Alameda and the Venerables. Most are indoors or in a courtyard, so they fill the hours when the street is at its hottest.

The Casa de Pilatos

The palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli, ten minutes north-east of the cathedral, with a courtyard where Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance meet in the same arch. Tradition has it named after Pilate's house in Jerusalem, which it was meant to resemble. The ground floor is €12 and the upper floor another €6; the palace opens every day from 9:00 to 18:00, with no midday break.

The Palacio de las Dueñas

The palace of the Dukes of Alba, opened to visitors in March 2016. The courtyards are full of lemon trees and bougainvillea, and inside the family's things stand where they were left — paintings, bullfight posters, photographs. Antonio Machado was born here in 1875, and the lemon-tree courtyard is the one his verses remember.

The Antiquarium under the Setas

When the foundations for the Metropol Parasol were dug, a Roman and Andalusi town was found beneath the square — houses, mosaics and a tank for salting fish. Rather than filling it in, a museum was built in the basement and the structure above raised on columns that had to dodge the excavations.

2 daysWhere these seven fit into the two-day plan:Seville in 2 days →

Four more

• Triana and its market — the market stands on the foundations of the Castle of San Jorge, seat of the Inquisition. Around it are workshops where azulejos are still made.
• The Basílica de la Macarena — the church of the Virgin who is the city's most important figure during Holy Week. Entry to the basilica is free, the brotherhood museum is charged separately, and it shows you what a procession means to Seville.
• The Alameda de Hércules — a public park laid out in 1574, now a square of bars. Quiet by day, and where the city goes out at night.
• The Hospital de los Venerables — a former home for priests in Santa Cruz, with a courtyard whose fountain is sunk below floor level so the water would reach it at all. The building now also houses the Centro Velázquez, with paintings by Velázquez.

When to goWhich month makes most sense for these places:The best time to visit Seville →

One hack

If you are going up the Setas in the evening, see the Antiquarium beneath it the same day before 19:30 — after that nobody goes in below, and on Sundays not after 13:30. That way one outing covers both the Roman town under the square and the roof above it, from which you see the Giralda.