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Maria Luisa Park in Seville is one of the top things to do in Seville Spain. You’ll see why when you see the gorgeous pictures produced from our visit. If you’re ever in Seville, you should check it out.
Maria Luisa Park:
This gorgeous and beautiful park is located south of the city center, close to the Guadalquivir River. It used to be part of the gardens of the San Telmo’s Palace until it was donated to the city in 1893 by the Duchess of Montpesier, Maria Luisa Fernandez for use as a public park.
It sort of reminds me of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, very expansive. Therefore, it was not a surprise to learn that it was redesigned by Jean-Claude Nicholas Forestier, a French man, in 1911.
The crowning glory of Maria Luisa Park is the Plaza de Espana, which was built for the Ibero-America Expo that was arranged as a way to boost the morale of the people after the loss of the Spanish colonies.
The Maria Luisa Park is a half-mile long, and about 100 acres in size. It is home to many species of trees and insects. You won’t be disappointed visiting the park as part of your Seville itinerary.
We spent an afternoon in Seville exploring the many parts of Maria Luisa Park. It’s a perfect place to spend an afternoon, even the whole day. You can see the Moorish influences from the previous rulers in the landscape, including the park benches to chill out on. It is huge enough that it never seems crowded. There were many families out that day, yet it never looked “busy”.
There are humongous trees in this gorgeous park that provide shade for those hot days. The flowers, which bloom for just about 3 weeks before dying, were in full bloom, making everything smell so nice. I think my favorite part was the Fountain of the Lions.
As a Leo, l truly appreciated them. The fountain is in an octagonal shape, with four lions with shields guarding it. The tile work is so intricate. It had originally been designed by some famous guy, but unfortunately, was badly vandalized in 1957 and the lions were replaced by copies.
The Maria Luisa Park is also home to several large buildings, in addition to the Plaza de Espana. They include the Archeological Museum of Seville, the Seville Public Library, and the Queen’s sewing box, which l took a picture of, as we were driving past, but can’t for the life of me, find it.. :-(.
It’s a small hexagonal-shaped castle with turrets that just looks wicked nice. My friends say legend has it that the queen wanted a separate place from the palace so that she could “sew” in peace with her friends, and most believe that was where she took her lovers, etc. Scandalous!!! :-). If only walls could talk! ;-), but l am betting the king had his own peccadilloes.
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Maria Luisa Park Sevilla Statues:
There are several statues in Maria Luisa Park, including one of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, a Spanish poet and writer. I love the figurines of the women sitting on the bench. They remind me of the Lladro porcelain figurines that originated in Valencia, which l love. I admire them from afar though, but are too expensive for my taste :-).
I have exactly a collection of one Lladro, which l purchased in Madrid over 27 years ago. I wonder how much it’s worth now. I might be sitting on some major bucks.. :-).
A monument to Miguel Cervantes, of Don Quixote fame, is also located in Maria Luisa Park. We did not get that far. The statues of Don Quixote on his horse, and Sancho Panza on his donkey, have however disappeared. I mean, seriously, why would anyone want to steal those?
I discovered two things that day from my friends. One is that the oranges that grow on the trees that are plentiful in Seville and Malaga are bitter and uneatable. They are collected and sold to the U.K mostly where they are used to make orange marmalade.
The second is that they favor white pigeons in the park, all the black ones are killed :-(.
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One more place to visit on a Seville vacation! Really, there’s no need to ask “What to do in Seville?”. Just look back at some of the older posts like the Plaza de Espana and the Parasol. :-). Are you game?
If you’ve visited Seville before, did you include a trip to this amazing park? It was surely one of the things that influenced our move to the city.
Really beautiful! And even though you didn’t go with the SEO-friendly title, I am sure that these photos will draw in more visitors than the title would.
Regarding the stolen statues, we also have in Romania a statue that has a certain element stolen on a regular basis. It’s like the hat of the statue or something and they ended up chaining it down and installing surveillance cameras to prevent it from stealing (I don’t remember the exact details, but I also remember wondering why would anybody steal those :D)
Thanks C! I often read about these secret collectors who spend heaps of money on stolen art for their private galleries. I think it’s just weird because you can’t let them be seen by the public, since they are stolen work, but maybe that is part of the excitement..
Gorgeous pictures! Seville is one of my favorite cities!
I have to say it’s rapidly becoming one of mine as well 🙂
What a beautiful park.Such a pity about the black pigeons though. I reckon you should go on those Antiques Roadshow type shows and find out how much your Lladro costs.
I was appalled when l heard about the poor pigeons :-(. I used to love the Antiques Roadshow. I might try searching on ebay to see it’s worth, even though l wouldn’t sell it. It’s just so dainty and cute.
Oh my gosh, so much fun Kemkem! I would have loved to seen that picture of the castle with the turrets. And she sounds like my kind of Queen lol 🙂 Ya know, each and every one of us has our lists of things we have zero tolerance for. And one of mine is vandalism. That’s one thing that frustrates me about the laws in the U.S. is that they are far too lenient. So, I hope those vandals were caught and dealt with severely. Once something like that is destroyed…you can never bring back an original! Off my soapbox now…sorry 🙂
I will have to search for that picture. I just hope it wasn’t fuzzy or something and l deleted it. I hate vandalism too! I was just reading today about 2 American women who were caught carving their names into the Colosseum walls. I mean, how stupid are people, and they were over 20 too!!! Tar and feather them l say. I have no clue what delusions of grandeur exists in peoples mind that they think their names should live on in posterity? Urrghhh.. I will get off my box now too 🙂
Beautiful! I love the old statues. Everything here is covered in snow so even the grass looks appealing!
I totally forgot about the fact that elsewhere, there is oodles and oodles of snow :-). Makes me glad l no longer live in Boston. I don’t miss those miserable days that feel like my ears would just fall off, never mind how many times l landed on my tush, thanks to the slickness of the ice..Soon, you will be on the beach though, so that’s good!
KemKem… lovely photos! We are thinking of living in Seville for a bit next year. Are their other towns you would suggest more in that region of Spain? I’m happy to have an expert help us!
Thank you :-). How cool that you’re thinking of living there. There are some little towns that are just kilometers away from the center so you can be away from the madness and are on the subway line. Happy to help anyway l can..and by the time you come, l will be an expert for real..lol!
Such beautiful photos! I love looking at statues all around the world.
Thank you Alexis. My husband loves statues too. We always take 2 cameras when we travel so he can really up close to his beloved statues while l putter around with other stuff. Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
Why they have to kill all the black pigeons, though?! What’s up with that?! Lol. You’re a Leo!! I knew there was a reason why I like you (not the only reason though)! It’s funny because me and my close circle of friends are all Leos. Go figure! This park is beautiful. I especially love that long walkway with the arches – gorgeous!
I know, right? Let the pigeons be! It’s just ridiculous :-). Aha! Hello, fellow Leo, my best friend is a Leo too, but she is a bit more reserved than me. The park is indeed very lovely. I kept picturing a wedding on that walkway you mentioned. It would be perfect, wouldn’t it? Ooohh..am l turning into a big softy?
SOOOOO amazing! We just got back and didn’t get to go, so I was trying to find a blog with lots of pictures to include in my Travel Guide! I’ll be linking back to you! Great work!!! xoxo
Awwhh! Thanks so much for the nice compliment :-). I hope you had a wonderful time in one of my favorite cities ever! I’m gonna read your guide and l thank you for reading.