Seville, Spain in the Fall

It’s hard to find anything negative about fall weather. Fall breezes offer relief from the hot, humid summer afternoons; you get to reap the benefits of cozy sweaters and scarves minus the frozen sidewalks and snowstorms; and all drinks suddenly have the option of being served with a pumpkin flavor. And traveling to Europe in the fall, specifically somewhere as popular as Seville, Spain? I’m not sure if they love their pumpkin-flavored drinks as much as we do over here, but you can at least expect the awesome weather, lower prices, and fewer crowds that come along with traveling in the fall rather than the busy summer months.

Because it’s located in the southern part of Spain closer to the Mediterranean coast, Seville has fairly mild weather all year round. In the fall, expect sunny days and cool nights, perfect for walking around all afternoon without breaking a sweat and for chatting with new friends on restaurant patios until the early morning. Usually the temperature in October stays in the mid-70s range during the day.

Seville is a great destination all year round for more reasons than just the weather. Although it’s not as centrally located as Madrid, several of the most popular Spanish destinations are easily accessible by train from Seville. Madrid is a brief two hour and twenty minute train ride away; Cordoba is forty-five minutes; Granada is three hours; and Malaga is about two hours. To give you a better idea of what to expect during one of these high-speed train rides, let’s break down the journey from Madrid to Seville as an example.

Seville, Spain Architecture

Traveling by Train from Madrid to Seville

Basic Facts

Travel time: 2hrs 20mins
Train stations: Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Sevilla Santa Justa (via Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and Cordoba)
Type of train: High-speed AVE trains

On board the AVE Train: View out the Window

As we mentioned, it only takes about two hours to travel from Madrid in the geographical center of Spain to Seville and its world-famous bullring. Along the way, you’ll pass Valdepenas, which means “The Valley of Rocks” – so named for its voluminous limestone. From “the Valley of Rocks” you’ll next pass through “The City of Sun and Towers,” also known as Ecija. At the center of the grape-growing district, its red wines are among the most popular in Spain, but as you probably could have guessed it’s the fifteen bell towers, various churches, and beautiful belvederes that give this little city its name. Five of its buildings have even been classified as national heritage sites. And during that point on the trip when you think you might hear the faint sounds of classical guitar in the background? You might be passing through Linares, proud birthplace of Andres Segovia.

Traveling from Madrid to Seville with a train ticket

One way and return trip tickets can be purchased for the high speed AVE trains in economy (second class), comfort (first class), or premier (business class.) These tickets will be issued as Print at Home e-tickets. You will receive the tickets by e-mail as PDF files after you purchase them from Rail Europe. These tickets must be printed out before you arrive at the train station. If you lose your first copy, you can print them out again as many times as you’d like.

Traveling from Madrid to Seville with a Eurail Spain Pass

Your pass will cover the ticket price of the high-speed AVE train, and so you’ll just need to purchase the reservation supplement in order to get a specific seat assignment. Reservation supplements usually start around $14.00 per person in Economy/Second class and around $33.00 per person for Comfort/First class. These trains fill up pretty quickly so we definitely recommend purchasing reservations in advance.

Onwards from Seville: Train Travel in Southern Spain

You can view pricing for tickets and passholder reservations for trains between Seville and other popular Spanish cities by searching in the Check Fares and Schedules section on the home page of Rail Europe’s website.  Also, be sure to check out the Activities tab along the top of the website page for information about sightseeing tours and public transportation cards in both Seville and Madrid. And if you find out that the Spanish are just as enthusiastic about pumpkin-spiced lattes as we are, make sure to report back.