Spanish city of Seville is simply sensational

Undoubtedly the liveliest and tourist-heavy of all the cities we visited, it was also the warmest, hitting a balmy 25C during our two-night stay in the last week of October – a tad unexpected for a couple of pasty Scots who’d turned up without sun block.

Another stunning hotel awaited but first on the agenda was a tapas cooking class, where we were entrusted not to blow up a local restaurant’s kitchen as they chefs showed us how to make Spanish favourites like patatas bravas and gazpacho.

That night we took in a traditional flamenco show in a packed little theatre. It felt like a step back in time and is simply a must-do event when you’re in this part of Spain.

However, the evening was tempered somewhat by the news that our guide, Fred, was suddenly leaving us.

He was replaced the next morning by the charming, humorous and informative Luis. He was a Back-Roads tour guide veteran and really knew his stuff, but it was sad to see Fred go.

Next morning we took a boat along the river that runs through the city (imagine the Clyde with sun) and, if you want a great view, ride the London Eye-type big wheel that sits on the water’s edge.

Seville has twice been host to The World’s Fair, in 1929 and again in 1992.

The Plaza de Espana, constructed in the 1920s, is a stunning building in the midst of a beautiful park that draws thousands of tourists.

The same can’t be said for the ’92 Expo on the opposite side of the city, which has been allowed to decay into something of an urban wasteland.

Leaving Seville, we stopped for lunch in the seaside town of Cadiz before visiting a family sherry-making business in Jerez de la Frontera.

Our final destination for the day was Ronda, a small but beautiful town perched on a canyon edge.

Again, the hotel was out of this world and it seemed a shame we were only getting to spend one night there.

Although a popular destination, there isn’t a multitude of things to do in Ronda.

It does, however, have one of the country’s oldest and classic-looking bull rings.

Thankfully there were no bull fights actually taking place while we were there but, just like the flamenco show in Seville, you can’t come to this part of the country without visiting a bull ring and Ronda’s is one of the best.

What’s even better is the view from the Puento Nuevo, the largest of the bridges that span the 120-metre chasm to the river.

When we realised it was possible to walk all the way down, we set off at a brisk pace and came back a sweaty mess.

It’s worth doing, but not as we did, wearing the wrong shoes and clothes and leaving so little time we had to forego lunch and nearly missed our bus!

Next stop was Granada, another tourist hot spot.

That was why, next morning, we made sure we were at the Alhambra for the gates opening.

This spectacular Moorish fortress and palace is like nowhere else you’ve seen – stunning architecture, beautiful gardens and trickling fountains all on a scale so massive it has to be experienced.

The city is also an ideal place for gift shopping, with its huge range of independent shops and bigger stores.

From Granada, we drove to the quieter but no-less-beautiful towns of Ubeda and Baeza (both are UNESCO World Heritage sites).

After buying some biscuits from a convent, where the money had to be passed through a wooden roundel in exchange for the cookies so the nuns’ faces couldn’t be seen, we were given a tour of an olive oil production plant (this part of Spain produces more olive oil than all of Italy).

And then it was time for our farewell dinner together in Baeza, before returning to Madrid the next day for our flights home.

We were amazed at how much we’d squeezed into the 10 days.

If you’ve never been to this part of Spain – or want to see it in a different way with a company that really knows its stuff – then it’s worth taking the Back-Roads to discover the very best on offer.

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