Calle Sierpes is the most important commercial artery in Seville, located in the city’s historic centre, starting at the Plaza de San Francisco and ending at the Plaza de la Campana.

Until recently, this street was a meeting place for trading livestock, food and cattle for bullfights. Nowadays however, it has become a walkway full of shops, cafes and pubs, a fact that has turned it into one of the busiest streets in town, both for Sevillians and for large tourist groups. You’ll also find quite a few painters, musicians, mime actors and street vendors here. 

If you come in the summer, you’ll find large awnings erected to cover the district’s streets protecting pedestrians from the suffocating heat.

But there aren’t just shops on Calle Sierpes. For example, at the southern end of the street, above the Banco Central Hispano wall, there’s a plaque with an inscription that reminds us of the Royal Prison that used to be here, where Cervantes was imprisoned on a number of occasions. The Café de La Iberia also used to be here, which many believe to be the place where tapas were invented. 

And don’t forget that this is the street where Carmen, the heroine of Bizet’s famous opera, made her escape after fleeing jail with the help of Don José. 

Walk along Calle Tetuán, a parallel street where at number 9 you’ll find a perfectly preserved advertisement for Studebaker cars, made out of tiles in 1924. 

And finally, if you’re craving something sweet, we recommend stopping at one of the most famous pastry shops in Seville: La Campana, located at the end of Calle Sierpes.