Winding corridors and a welcoming riverbank, the setting of Seville turns football clichés upside down as its sky-scraping amphitheatres bring the game to beautifully rustic spaces.
A city that houses two teams with sizeable support and stadiums to match, it's the best part of 100,000 people that combined, Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié could host.
For us, first up was the red and white side of the city that waved us in, setting the tone and winning. Sevilla FC v FCShakhtar Donetsk in the semi-final of the UEFA Europa League. A carnival for kings of the cultured game, it served up delicious finishing, behind the scenes exclusives and the elation of 40,000 flags ― so many flags. Dusty brick and battered brilliance, if you venture to this part of the world for a game, you needn't be a hardened Sevilla FC fan either. That is rather more likely at the end of the trip if this experience is anything to go by. Swept up in the emotion coupled with the emphatic atmosphere and pure loyalty of the fans, these people made a picturesque party.
While we landed in the city with the game the prime focus, it was in fact the gateway ― not just to local feeling of glory, but the charisma that chirps at every crossing of this beautifully photogenic wonder of old and new worlds colliding.
Architecture that defies expectation, wandering from street to street with tapas turning heads, there's simply so much to soak up in a place like Seville post 90 minutes. Picked up by Enterprise Rent-A-Car at the end of the game, this chauffeured experience exited from the front door of the stadium and headed for the centre. Horns of celebration all over with fans in their cars taking every second to congratulate each other, there's nothing quite like the united emotions that football can explore.
Taking a day either side of a game gives you freedom to make the very most of a European adventure. In the case of this city, Real Betis Balompié are also home and in equal fashion, their colossal centrepiece of concrete size is met by the Estadio Benito Villamarín. A green and white piece of structural (though weathered) perfection. Most joyously though, the outside in parts, is similar to many of the bullfighting rings that dot around Seville. Spanish style reigning supreme, it's an Instagram playground as much as an all-encompassing sporting metropolis. Subtly done though, it's not a place that shouts about its beauty. It's more natural, an organic place that says ‘this is a cool place to be’ without literally saying it.
Other sites include the Plaza de Espana (a location used in Star Wars Episode 2 ― just sayin') and the Barrio Santa Cruz paint a snapshot of this beautifully diverse environment. Orange trees with a striking zest and shopping available in equal measure it's the palm trees that seal the deal. Driven to the game and finishing a weekend having experienced a fresh offering from the European scene, it's worth looking for a fixture, a club you've never seen and giving it a day either side. Not simply a city break but a sizeable intake of football. While Sevilla have wrapped up the UEFA Europa League Final, the party in this city has only just begun and football runs right into the summer, sun shining on command. Drive on in.
Find out more about the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Europa League journey, here.
