2 Getting there is now simpler with Aer Lingus (www. aerlingus. com) flying direct from Dublin from 26 March. Flights are three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays making it ideal as a shortbreak destination. Ryanair (www. ryanair. com) flies from London Stansted into Jerez de la Frontera, about an hour or so away from Seville.

3 Seville comes into its own at Easter when Semana Santa . . . Holy Week . . . sees the city put on the most extraordinary processions, especially the Good Friday parade . . . a solemn affair with a sea of religious 'brotherhood' banners and huge floats with statues of the Virgin and Christ. The Resurrection procession on Easter Sunday is also wonderful . . . it's always jammed outside the cathedral as crowds gather to see the processions entering. Position yourself instead at the rear, under the Giralda tower, and you'll get a good view of the processions as they leave the cathedral. And remember, if you're in the city on Maundy Thursday or on Good Friday you are expected to dress respectfully . . . no skimpy shorts or low-cut t-shirts.

4 If you want to party, head to Seville for the city's annual Feria de Abril . . . April Festival . . . a week-long party, scheduled from 25 to 30 April this year. An incredible extravaganza, the men and women dress in traditional costume and the bars and clubs stay open from dusk until dawn. The main event takes place on the west bank of the river where a tented 'town' springs up but the partying actually spreads right across the city. The festival marks the start of the bullfighting season.

5 Ah yes, bull-fightingf. the Maestranza bull ring in Seville is one of the most famous in the world. It's certainly very beautiful and even if you're not up to witnessing an actual bullfight, you can still do the tour of the immaculate ring and museum. This is the bullring that featured in Bizet's Carmen and there's a monument to her erected outside . . . it's across the road, beside the river.

6 Seville sits on the Guadalquivir river and a great way to see the city from a different perspective is to take a boat trip. Lasting about an hour, it's a pleasant way to see the sites.

Cruceros Turisticos is a reliable operator and not mad money (about 12/ 14).

They have an office on the quays.

7 The Moorish legacy is everywhere . . . in the architecture of the city's three main monuments, the Giralda tower, the cathedral and the Alcazar palace . . .and even in the Arab influences of the local dialect. The 100metre-high Giralda (formerly a minaret and now the bell-tower of the Christianised cathedral) is the city's most beautiful monument and offers lovely views from the top.

8 If you like tapas, you'll love Seville. Whether or not it was here that they were invented, as the locals claim, the quantity and quality are superb. Fried fish is a speciality, as is revueltos (scrambled eggs with asparagus or maybe garlic or mushrooms) and rabo de toro . . . bull's tail. One of the best tapas bars is Bar Giralda, once an old Moorish bathhouse and still really atmospheric. Go early if you want a seat.

9 You can take a package to Seville (with Abbey Travel or Arrow Tours) or you can do your own thing. For hotels, try the Alfonso XIII (very pricey), the Inglaterra (quite pricey), Las Casas de la Juderia (middling and very atmospheric) or Hotel Simon (doubles under 100).

10 Seville is famous for its oranges, for Carmen (she was a cigar maker in the tobacco factory near the Alfonso hotel), for Don Juan and for Christopher Columbus, allegedly buried here in a tomb in the cathedral f or is he still in Havana? It's one of those ongoing Spanish mysteries.