Seville vs Betis | Football in Seville

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It’s September, and that means – yes! – the new football season is under way. The “beautiful game” is Spain’s most popular sport and arouses fierce passions, especially during major international competitions like this year’s European Championship.

Seville has two professional teams, Sevilla Football Club and Real Betis Balompie, both currently playing in the Spanish first division, La Liga, and of course there is an intense local rivalry between the two. Betis has always been known as “the people’s team”, whereas Sevilla FC has the prestige and the money. On derby days you can’t be both Sevilla and Betis.

Sevilla FC is generally regarded as the bigger of the two clubs. It was founded in 1905, and first joined La Liga in 1934. Trophies include one league championship, five Copa del Reys (the Spanish cup), and two UEFA Cups. Their home ground is the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, in Nervión. Get there on buses 5, 32 and C1/C2, or the metro. Tickets to home games are available online from the club’s website.

The underdogs are Real Betis Balompie (their motto is “viva el Betis manquepierda” – long live Betis, even in defeat), who play at the Estadio Benito Villamarín on Avenida de la Palmera in the south of the city. Founded two years after Sevilla FC, they were the first team from Andalucía to play in La Liga, winning the championship in 1935, as well as two Copa del Reys, most recently in 2005. Tickets to home games are available online from the Betis website. Buses 1, 34 and 37 run close to the stadium.

League games are normally played on a Sunday afternoon, and European fixtures on midweek evenings.

Holiday Apartments vs Hotels

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There’s no doubt that the first option to come to mind for a majority of holidaymakers and other travellers when they are looking for a place to stay will be a hotel. But as the travelling public becomes more sophisticated and more demanding, another alternative is growing in popularity – the holiday rental apartment. Why is this? Although an apartment rental can work out cheaper than a hotel it’s not consistently so, and price doesn’t seem to be the main driver. Rather, it is the overall quality of the experience that is the key factor.

A great range of apartment types and styles have become available in recent years, from cosy studios to large family apartments, with a much larger variety of “personality” than you find in hotel rooms, so you can always find something that suits you. The extra space you usually get in an apartment is particularly good for families and groups. Children can have their own bedrooms, and there’s less chance of the “cabin fever” you can get in hotels. You’ll also get a sense of both greater privacy, and greater freedom to come and go as you please, as you don’t need to check at reception every time you leave or return.

A really big advantage of opting for an apartment rather than a hotel is that you’ll have your own kitchen. Although you’ll probably want to go out for tapas at least some of the time, being able to prepare your own meals, particularly breakfast or late night snacks, is much better than relying on overpriced hotel room service or trying to find a cafe at inconvenient times. Even better in these days of Ryanair baggage charges and other incentives to travelling light, is that you will almost certainly have your own laundry facilities.

Most apartments are serviced, although what this includes will vary from place to place (if you’re only staying a couple of nights it means your apartment is cleaned and prepared before you arrive). You probably won’t have the kind of “full service” you get in many hotels, but this is a trade-off as that can be intrusive. Your apartment may offer optional services if you need them, and the owner (or us!) should be no more than a phone call away. At Veoapartment we offer extra services such as airport pickup and doing your grocery shopping at a local market so that your kitchen will be stocked when you arrive. We can also suggest places to visit and recommend some of our favourite tour guides.

Although hotels still have an important role, more and more people are finding that an apartment offers benefits that are hard to ignore. And we continue to be on the lookout for new quality apartments that offer unique experiences in comfortable surroundings.

What are some of the things you like best about renting holiday apartments?

Granada | The Sacromonte Caves

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Across the valley of the River Darro from the Alhambra, and beyond the Albaicín, is the Granada neighbourhood of Sacromonte, named after the early 17th century abbey at the top of the hill. It is famous for the cave houses dug out of the soft chalky rock, which were built mainly in the 19th century by the Roma (Gitano) community. Many of the caves are still private dwellings, and the Roma are still the majority population, although the character of the area has started to change. Most of the caves now have electricity and running water, and some have become quite luxurious.

The Zambra flamenco (a local style of flamenco dance) shows that first attracted the attention of visitors still draw them today, and are still often performed by fire or candlelight with the spectators sitting in a ring around the performers. These are now supplemented by bars and restaurants with amazing views of the Alhambra.


For a really unique holiday experience you can rent a holiday apartment inside these spectacular cave houses. We now have two cave apartments available with all mod cons and furnishings (except air conditioning – the caves maintain an almost constant temperature throughout the year), adding a new dimension to our range of rental options.

Our Sacromonte Holiday Apartments

To get to Sacromonte by bus take route number 34 from the Gran Via.

Seville | Day Trip to Carmona

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Carmona is a pretty little town that takes about half an hour to reach by bus from Seville, making it an ideal destination for a day trip.

The old town is surprisingly ancient. The Phoenicians were certainly here by the 8th century BC, taking advantage of a defensible position on a ridge overlooking the rich agricultural plain along the River Guadalquivir. It was then occupied in turn by the Carthaginians, Romans and Moors, before being captured by Ferdinand III in 1247, the year before Seville, and all of them have left their mark on the town.

 
It’s best to arrive early, as a number of places close around 3pm (and in summer you don’t want to be out walking later than this because of the heat), so you can do your sightseeing before finishing the day with a leisurely lunch at one of Carmona’s many bars and restaurants.

The bus stops in the Paseo del Estatuto, a few minutes walk down the main road from the gateway to the old town, but a short diversion down Joaquin Costa will bring you to the Fuente de los Leones (Fountain of the Lions), with a view down the Alameda de Alfonso XIII. Turn left to get back to the main road and the church of San Pedro, which has a tower with a weathervane on top, in a style very like the more famous Giralda in Seville.

From here you can already see your next stop, and one of Carmona’s most important historic buildings, the Seville Gate and Alcázar (palace/fortress). It’s worth walking around this (follow the road to the left, and come back through the arched double gate. Entrance is through the tourist information office (remember to pick up a map of the town), and costs just 2 euros. It seems bigger on the inside than it does from the outside, and there is an exhibition in the Upper Prisoners’ Hall that gives you a good idea of the various stages of construction. From the top of the Torre del Oro you get a wonderful view over the town to the skyline at the top of the ridge, where the church of Santa Maria and the ruins of the fortress of Don Pedro (part of this is now a Parador Hotel) stand out.

From the Seville Gate head into the old town for a visit to the municipal market. Sadly, many of the stalls are no longer open, but there are a number of bars under the colonnades around the central square, and this is probably a good time to stop for a coffee or a beer. Once suitably refreshed carry on to the Plazas Cristo Rey (look for the storks), San Fernando, Las Descalzas, and Marqués de Torres, a rather winding route, but one that will take you along some of the most picturesque streets and past many of the most interesting buildings. Look especially for the church of El Salvador, the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall), the Convent of las Descalzas, and the church of Santa Maria.

By now you’ll probably be ready for that lunch we mentioned earlier. Try La Yedra for some gourmet tapas or a full-course meal. Alternatively, make your way back to the Seville Gate and try the excellent traditional tapas at La Muralla. Opened three years ago by ex-Parador waiter Manolo, who clearly enjoys showing off his professional expertise. The food’s good, too.

From here you are just a short walk back to the bus stop and will be back in Seville in time for a siesta.

How to get there:

The M-124 bus from Prado San Sebastian leaves about once an hour. Check this timetable from the Carmona Town Hall for up-to-date times: Carmona-Seville bus schedule

By car take Avenida Kansas City and follow the signs.

Granada | Carmens

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[Carmen Terrace 3]

Carmens are a type of house, typical of the city of Granada and its immediate surroundings, that are characterised by the incorporation of a garden area separated from the world outside by a wall, and including vines and fruit trees as well as flowers and other decorative plants. There are often fountains and small water features as well, so that the garden is cool and shaded and filled with the sound of running water. The houses are too small to be considered as palaces, although their owners would normally have been moderately wealthy.

The name Carmen comes from the Arabic Karm, meaning dwelling, and they had their origins in the early 17th century, when the city had been depopulated by the flight of the Muslims and Jews during the previous century, and there was space available for them, particularly in the Albayzin and Realejo districts.

Nowadays only a few are still maintained as private family dwellings. Others have become boutique hotels, restaurants, or apartments, and the views of the Alhambra and the Sierras which many of them have have made them much sought after by businesses involved in tourism. Our Casa Carmen holiday apartments are located on the Alambra Hill with magnificent views of the Albaicín.