Sevilla, Spain

Seville runs on passion, heat and tradition. The Real Alcázar — a Moorish palace expanded by Christian kings, its courtyards and gardens as beautiful as the Alhambra but less crowded — sits at the city's historical heart alongside the Cathedral of Seville (the largest Gothic church in the world, with Columbus's tomb and the Giralda bell tower, originally a Moorish minaret). The Barrio de Santa Cruz, the former Jewish quarter, is a labyrinth of whitewashed alleys, flower-hung balconies, hidden plazas and orange trees. Plaza de España — the vast semicircular building constructed for the 1929 Expo — is one of the most photogenic squares in Europe, with tiled alcoves representing each Spanish province and a canal you can row on. Flamenco in Seville is not a tourist show — it is a living art form performed in intimate tablaos in Triana and Santa Cruz, where the audience sits close enough to hear the dancer's heels crack on the wooden floor. The tapas culture is the deepest in Spain: Sevillanos bar-hop through the evening, ordering a tapa and a caña at each stop — the Feria, Triana and Macarena neighbourhoods each have their own circuits. Semana Santa (Holy Week) transforms the city for a week of breathtaking processions — ornate floats (pasos) carrying religious figures are carried through the streets by costaleros while penitents walk in pointed hoods. Two weeks later, the Feria de Abril erupts: six days of flamenco dresses, casetas (marquees), sherry, horses and dancing until dawn.