Travel podcasts for city break fans. All the historical and cultural background you need to enjoy your visit.
Episodes
Nov 20, 2019
Nov 20, 2019
32 min
First, some short quotations including one from Lord Byron, who famously praised the city for its ‘oranges and women’ and another from Jan Morris who wrote more poetically of the air which was ‘heavy with jasmine and orange blossom’. Then, time is devoted to writers of longer accounts. Enjoy hearing, for example, about Richard Ford’s ‘Handbook for Travellers in Spain’, written in the 1830s, Laurie Lee’s account of walking through Andalucia in the 1930’s and the writings of Jason Webster and Edward Lewine whose more recent travelogues focus respectively on a search for the country’s Arabic roots and its bullfighting tradition.
Nov 13, 2019
Nov 13, 2019
29 min
A Spanish proverb says that he whom the gods favour will eat in Seville. (‘A quien Dios quiere bien, en Sevilla le da a comer’) This episode offers an overview of Andalucian food, from staples like olives and fish, to the delicious and seemingly endless array of little treats known as tapas. Hear about Arabic influences, sherry production and much more and savour the experiences of a number of travel writers who enjoyed what they ate and drank in Seville and then wrote about it memorably.
Nov 6, 2019
Nov 6, 2019
31 min
Many of Seville’s art treasures date from the ‘Siglo de Oro’, the ‘golden century’ when the city grew rich on its role as the hub of New World exploration. First, we visit the Hospital de la Caridad and the Hospital de los Venerables where there are works by acclaimed painters like Murillo and Zurbaran. After short biographies of three famous painters with very Sevillian roots, it’s off to the Museo de Bellas Artes, where many of the paintings are by Spanish artists and where the stated aim is to be ‘an essential element in the cultural identity of Seville’.
Oct 30, 2019
Oct 30, 2019
25 min
Flamenco originated in Andalucia and has a long tradition in Seville. Find out about its roots in gypsy culture and about all the aspects which combine to make this colourful, dramatic art-form so unique: music, song, rhythm, dance, gesture and costume. Hear about the Museo del Baile Flamenco, Seville’s flamenco museum with its informative displays and concerts and discover how various travel-writers reacted when they came across this highly emotional art form.
Oct 23, 2019
Oct 23, 2019
28 min
Bullfighting is an integral part of Sevillian culture, whether you are for or against it. We look at the arguments on both sides, then learn a little history and some basic facts about bullfighting today. We also visit the Seville bullring – the oldest in Spain – and its museum and hear from travel writers, novelists and poets what they thought about it all.
Oct 16, 2019
Oct 16, 2019
28 min
We cross the river Guadalquivir to the ‘other’ side, the former working class district of Triana, which has always been a little set apart from the rest of the the city. It wasn’t until the mid nineteenth century that a stable bridge was built to link Triana and Seville! Hear about its Moorish and gypsy roots, its links to Christopher Columbus and its critical role in Seville’s world-famous ceramics industry. Find out about its ‘endearingly scruffy’ atmosphere and how it is the place where two of Andalucia’s most important cultural traditions are thought to have begun: flamenco and bull-fighting.
Oct 9, 2019
Oct 9, 2019
29 min
An episode about just wandering round Seville for the pleasure of it! Hear about the art-deco charm of the Maria Luisa Park, with its delightful tree-lined avenues, fountains and statues and the splendid Plaza de Espana, built to showcase Spanish culture in 1929 and today a place to enjoy ice creams and boating. Then discover three of Seville’s palaces, the Casa de Pilates, the Palacio de las Duenas and the Palacio de Lebrija, where shady courtyards, exquisite archways and a feast of other treasures await. This episode offers a little history, a spot of travel-writing and a lot of relaxation.
https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
Oct 2, 2019
Oct 2, 2019
30 min
For two weeks every spring, it seems as if the world has come to Seville and this episode explains why. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, sees sombre processions by 50 different 'brotherhoods' to re-enact the events from the last week of Christ's life, the culmination of months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals. In late April, it’s party-time at Seville's six-day long 'Feria de Abril', thought to be the liveliest in Spain. After afternoons of carriage-riding or perhaps a paseo on horseback, the long nights are for revelling Seville style which means flamenco, tapas, funfair rides and dancing till dawn.
Sep 25, 2019
Sep 25, 2019
28 min
1492, the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue, marked the beginning of the golden age for Seville, which had the monopoly on trade between Spain and the New World and became Europe's 16th century boomtown. The episode re-tells the story, then highlights 3 places to visit in today's Seville which have much to tell you about the city's role in the discovery of new lands and about the sailors who first sailed right around the globe: the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower), Admiral's Quarters and the Archivo de Indias, former trade centre and now a museum and archive centre.
Sep 18, 2019
Sep 18, 2019
27 min
Seville's cathedral was built on the site of the mosque when the Christians re-conquered the city, so parts of it – the Giralda, the Patio de los Naranjos and the arched gateway - date from the Islamic era. After choosing just a tiny proportion of the cathedral's treasures to highlight, we head off to the nearby area of Santa Cruz, home to Seville's Jewish community before they fled Spain during the Inquisition. Today it's a charming labyrinth of tiny cobbled streets and flower-filled patios, enticingly viewed through wrought iron gates.