01 Real Alcázar
From €32, and the only ticket in Seville that reliably sells out: timed entry goes days ahead from March to June and again in September. The gardens are half the visit and most people ration the wrong half — allow two hours. The upper royal apartments are a separate ticket bought on site.
02 Seville Cathedral & the Giralda
One ticket covers both, and the Giralda is a ramp rather than stairs, which is why it is the tower climb people with knees actually do. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in the world and reads as a series of dark chapels; a guide is what turns it into a building. Free on Monday evenings, and busy accordingly.
03 Plaza de España & Parque de María Luisa
Free, open, and the best hour of the day here is the first one after sunrise or the last before sunset — the tiled alcoves face east and west. Nothing to book. Guided walking tours include it, and that is the only reason to pay anything for it.