Update: This year’s Noches en Los Jardines de Los Reales Alcazares run from June 14th to September 8th, 2017

Despite the heat there are lots of good reasons to come to Seville in the summer time, and plenty of things to see and do when you’ve finished lounging by the pool or sitting in pavement cafes with a cold drink watching the world go by. And it’s a particularly good time to be here if music in the open air and beautiful gardens are your thing, because from the 14th of July to the 30th of September the Alcázar Palace will be hosting the 19th edition of its annual summer season of concerts, Nights in the Gardens of the Royal Palace.

The setting could not be more perfect. The gardens of the Royal Palace are among the most beautiful in Spain, full of colour, fountains and shady grottoes and pavilions where the elite of Spanish society once amused themselves. The concerts themselves take place against the backdrop of the Wall or Gallery of Grotesques, a part of the old city wall whose upper part was converted into a covered walkway for viewing the gardens, and decorated with stones, shells and carvings. As night falls the air cools and the lights come on to magical effect.

The concerts feature top class performers, and a range of styles, classified under five headings to help you find what you’re looking for – flamenco, música antigua (old music), música clásica (classical music), músicas del mundo (music of the world), and other music. The full programme can be found here.

Tickets cost 6 euros at the box office in the apeadero of the Palace in the Patio de Banderas (open Mon-Fri 10.00-13.00 and 19.00-20.30), or 7 euros by telephone or online, and are available a week in advance. Entrance to the concerts, which start at 10.30 pm, is through the Puerta de la Alcoba, on the corner of Calle San Fernando and the Murillo Gardens, though the doors open at 9.00 pm, giving you time to enjoy the gardens before the concert.

The concerts are one of our favourite things to do in Seville during the summer, and if you’re here you should take the opportunity to enjoy an enchanted evening in the beautiful city of Seville.