Plaza de España

You have reached Seville's great postcard. Before you take the photo, pause for a moment and look: this square was designed to be explored slowly, detail by detail.

1A square for a whole country

Aníbal González designed it for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition as a tribute to the whole of Spain. Around the semicircle run 48 ceramic benches, one for each province of the time, each with its coat of arms, a map and a tiled scene from its history. Many visitors hunt for their favourite province to pose for a picture.

2Canal, bridges and towers

The canal that hugs the square is about 500 metres long and can be explored by rowing boat. It is crossed by four bridges dedicated to the old kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon and Navarre, with glazed ceramic balustrades. The top of the staircases gives the best view of the whole ensemble.

If it looks familiar, there's a reason: scenes from «Lawrence of Arabia» and «Star Wars: Episode II» were filmed here.

All around stretches María Luisa Park, named after Infanta María Luisa Fernanda, who gave much of these gardens to the city in 1893. It was redesigned by the French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier.

3What to look for

• The province benches, arranged in alphabetical order.
• The ceramic balustrades on the bridges.
• The arcaded gallery, perfect for escaping the sun.