Where to live a New Year magical, full of charm and things to do but without the crowds deafening the cold of London or Paris? TO Seville! The pearl of Andalusia is the ideal destination for those who would never give up celebrations but do not like excesses.
Il New Year's Eve in Seville, called nochevieja in Spanish, is a different experience from the usual New Year's Eve in the capitals, more intimate and suggestive. Traditionally it is celebrated with the family, but now many Sevillians leave their homes before midnight to exchange greetings in the square and eat grapes as the local custom dictates.
You can join them taking advantage of the good temperatures or spend the whole night in an elegant restaurant admiring beautiful views over the city while toasting glasses of champagne. The youngest or the hardened party animals will find discos open until late to continue the celebrations.
What to do on New Year's Eve in Seville
Here how to spend the New Year in Seville: get ideas for things to do during your holiday between the end and the beginning of the year.
Parties in the square and fireworks
The nerve center of the New Year celebrations in Seville is New Square, where locals and tourists gather to exchange greetings at the stroke of midnight. Traditionally there is no fireworks display from the city, but people arrive armed with fires and firecrackers for which colors and noises are equally guaranteed.
A fairytale scenario to experience the transition from the old to the new year is Plaza of Spain, the magnificent square of Seville and one of the most famous tourist attractions of the city.
Where to have the New Year's Eve dinner
For the Sevillians, the New Year's Eve dinner is a family affair: tradition has it that on the evening of the 31st everyone gets together and waits for midnight eating typical dishes prepared at home. As a result, many restaurants and almost all tapas bars are closed on New Year's Eve.
The good news is that the restaurants in the upper-middle-range hotels offer special menus for nochevieja, as well as some classy restaurants. Below you will find the 4 best restaurants for the New Year's Eve dinner in Seville: reservations open weeks in advance, make yours as soon as possible to guarantee your place.
The top restaurant for the New Year's Eve dinner in Seville is that ofHotel Alfonso XIII, a luxurious property synonymous with class and refined extravagance. Each year it offers a fabulous dinner menu washed down with glasses of champagne followed by a cocktail party that lasts until 5 in the morning.
Abbots Triana it is considered one of the best restaurants in Seville for its spectacular views over the city and its refined cuisine. The New Year's Eve menu is no exception: chef's delicacies, quality wines and an unobtrusive background music, usually jazz, await you.
If the glamor and the ostentation or the bills of several hundred euros are not for you a better solution is the restaurant of theEME Catedral Hotel, less sumptuous but still of excellent quality and with a breathtaking view of the Giralda. The dinner is served on the panoramic terrace, followed by a party at the rooftop bar.
Many tourists dream of a dinner with a flamenco show for their New Year's Eve in Seville. Unfortunately on this particular date the most famous tablao de flamenco are closed, but you can opt for the popular New Year's Eve party at Baile Flamenco Museum, exceptionally open also at night.
Events, clubs and disco in Seville
The nightlife areas in Seville are the Barrio de Santa Cruz e Betis Street: even on New Year's Eve here you are sure to find clubs open until late, music, drinks and lots of fun. But why not aim for the best and book a party in one of the most famous clubs in Seville? Here are the right addresses!
Boss is one of the most exclusive clubs in Seville, with a strict selection at the entrance: if you want to celebrate here don't forget to pack your most elegant clothes. The musical genres are very varied, but the regular clientele is more interested in elegant and futuristic décor, refined cocktails and showing off. The right address for glamorous clubbing.
The right place to wear shoes dancing non-stop until morning is theAntique Theater, a club with DJ sets and live music in a large open space.
Fun Club is an alternative venue near the gardens of Alameda de Hércules. The musical proposals are very varied and depending on the evening they can include jazz, hip hop, international dance and rock.
Sanctuary is a club with themed furniture in the center of Seville: as you can understand from the name, it is decorated in an ecclesiastical style but the rites that are celebrated inside are all dedicated to the profane rather than the sacred. This small club attracts a mixed clientele of students and professionals and is loved for its special atmosphere.
New Year's cruise
The tradition of grapes
Throughout Spain, the New Year tradition par excellence is that of 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. In the main squares of the town, including those of Seville, the clocks of the city towers mark the arrival of the new year with twelve strokes: at the sound of each stroke, tradition has it that a grape is eaten as a good omen.
If you are in a restaurant certainly the bunch of grapes is included in the menu, if instead you celebrate in the square remember to bring it with you to experience this ancient tradition to which the Spaniards are still very attached today.
How to organize the New Year's Eve in Seville
Organizing the New Year's Eve in Seville on your own is easy and allows you to save the costs of tourist agencies and tour operators.
How you do it? Book your flight first: start searching early and book as early as possible to get the best prices.
The second thing to do is decide where to sleep: find out about the different areas of the city and find your hotel in the one that best suits the type of holiday you want to do.
Third step: whether you want a thousand and one night dinner or if you just put something in your mouth to get by, book the restaurant it is strongly recommended because, as already mentioned, the dinner is experienced as a family thing and therefore many restaurants close.
Arriving in Seville without a table booked for the 31st is likely to miss the evening looking for something open or with a table available: a very frustrating experience that could ruin your holiday.
Finally, when organizing your trip, do not neglect the activities to do before and after the night of the 31st: visits to museums and monuments, river cruises, guided city tours. Find out in advance about the times and any closures.
Also at this time of the year it is good to buy tickets for the most famous attractions online: this saves you from wasting time in the queue at the ticket office and saving a little.
Tips for celebrating New Year's Eve in Seville
Many Italian tourists return from a New Year's Eve in Seville disappointed because they believe they will find mass celebrations with huge crowds of people or crowded clubs even before midnight. It would be a shame to get your holiday ruined, but don't worry: if you leave already knowing what to find, you won't be disappointed and you will experience a memorable New Year's Eve.
To live a satisfying experience it is in fact important to know the local culture and adapt: if you want to celebrate crowded with thousands of people or dance in a 5-storey megaclub, the right city in Spain is Madrid.
Seville is suitable for those looking for more intimate atmospheres or a more favorable climate. Remember that for the Andalusians the great festivals are those of the ferias, which usually take place between spring and summer. New Year's Eve is an opportunity for everyone to get together in the family and is mainly experienced as an event to be spent at home.
For this reason the New Year's Eve nightlife in Seville it generally begins when family gatherings end: children and the elderly go to bed, adults stay to chat and young people go to the disco. Don't expect to find the clubs full before 2-3am; on the other hand, however, you can continue to dance until morning.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the scarcity of taxis in service during the night between 31 December and 1 January. So plan ahead if you can't walk back to the hotel.
Weather and temperatures on New Year's Eve
One of the main reasons for choosing Seville as a destination for a New Year's holiday is his climate. Even in winter the temperature they are mild, on average much higher than a typical Italian winter. You can expect to find temperatures around 10 °, and if you are lucky you could even get to 16-18 °.
Rainfall is scarce and snow is practically never seen. Of course, temperatures drop during the night in Seville too, but they never reach extreme levels and it is therefore possible to enjoy the festivities in the square without suffering from the cold.
To find out the weather in real time and forecasts for the next few days, consult the Seville Weather page.
