Pick Carmona as the day trip if you have done Seville’s cathedral and Alcázar and wants something older and quieter: a walled town on a ridge, a Roman cemetery cut into the rock, and nuns who still sell cakes through a revolving hatch. The ticket prices are small, 1 to 3 euros each, and the whole old town is walkable. What decides the trip is the calendar, not the distance.
The Roman Necropolis of Carmona is a burial ground from the 1st and 2nd centuries with rock-cut tombs and a small museum, on Avenida de Jorge Bonsor. Its autumn hours, according to the Junta de Andalucía, apply from 21 September to 31 December, run 9am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday and 9am to 3pm on Sunday, and it is shut on Mondays.
Is a Carmona day trip from Seville worth it? Yes, from Thursday to Saturday, when all six paid sights open. Carmona is 30 km from Seville by the M-124 bus, about 73 minutes. A full day pairs the Roman Necropolis, free for EU citizens and 1.50 euros for others, with a 2.9 km old-town walk; all entries total 13 euros.
Is a Carmona day trip from Seville worth it?
A day in Carmona pays off for travellers who like archaeology and walking, and who have at least three days in Seville. It suits couples, solo travellers and families with older children, who can climb the tower of the Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla and walk between the tombs.
It suits people less well if they want a white-village postcard or a lot of shopping. The old town sits on a ridge, the streets climb about 28 metres from the Alcázar gate to the Parador, and the day is about walking between monuments. Visitors with reduced mobility can book an electric vehicle through the tourist office inside the Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla, on +34 954 19 09 55.
Carmona or Italica if you only have one day
Choose Italica for a half day and Carmona for a full day. Italica, the Roman city in Santiponce, is free for EU citizens and 1.50 euros for others, and the M-170A from Plaza de Armas gets there in about 30 minutes.
Italica’s draw is one big amphitheatre you can walk into. Carmona offers more variety, tombs, churches, convents and views, but takes the whole day. The two buses leave from different Seville stations, which is why combining them rarely works; compare both in Italica from Seville by bus and in day trips from Seville without a car. For the other towns in the province, see which town near Seville suits your plan.
Getting from Seville to Carmona without a car
Line M-124 runs from the San Bernardo stop, next to the metro and Cercanías stations, to Paseo del Estatuto in Carmona in about 73 minutes. A single ticket bought on board costs 3.00 euros, the fare the Consorcio charges for the four zone jumps. The last bus back leaves at 9pm Monday to Saturday and 8:30pm on Sunday.
Stops, timetables and the travel card are covered in the M-124 bus guide from Seville to Carmona.
By car, take the A-4 motorway. The Junta names Paseo del Estatuto as the nearest public car park to the Necropolis, and there is a second public car park beside the Parador at the top of town, reached through the Puerta de Córdoba gate and Calle Calatrava. Park low for the Necropolis, high to skip the climb.
What to see in Carmona, in walking order
Start at the Roman Necropolis at 9am, an hour before anything else opens, then walk 1,040 metres to the Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla for a 2,883-metre old-town loop, about 38 minutes on foot without stops.
Counted from the Alcázar gate, the loop reaches Plaza de San Fernando at 321 metres, El Salvador at 437, Santa María at 624, Santa Clara at 876, the Parador at 1,337 and the Puerta de Córdoba at 1,928.
Roman Necropolis. The free route runs from the museum and its terrace, which overlooks the amphitheatre, past the Elephant Tomb and the Tomb of Servilia, the largest, with a 24-metre courtyard. Last entry is one hour before closing. The amphitheatre itself opens only on guided tours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, except in July, August and September; book on +34 600 14 36 32, maximum 8 people per booking.
Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla. The western gate of the walls costs 2 euros, 1 euro for children, students and seniors, and opens 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 3pm on Sunday. Climb the tower; the tourist office downstairs hands out the town map.
El Salvador and Santa María. El Salvador charges 1 euro and opens only 10:30am to 2pm, closed Wednesdays and Sundays. Santa María, the main church, charges 3 euros, 1.80 euros for seniors, and closes on Mondays and from 1:30pm to 6pm. The town museum, 42 metres away in the Marqués de las Torres mansion, opens daily 11am to 7pm for 2.50 euros, free on Tuesdays.
Santa Clara convent. The convent tour, with its 18th-century lookout tower, costs 3 euros, 2 euros for students and seniors, from 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 7pm, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Parador and Puerta de Córdoba. The Parador fills the ruins of the upper fortress, the Alcázar del Rey Don Pedro, and its café looks over the plain from 11am to 10:45pm. From there the walk drops 591 metres to the Puerta de Córdoba, a Roman gate seen from the street at no charge.
Which day to go, and what closes on Mondays
Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the only days when all six paid sights in Carmona open, and Saturday adds the guided amphitheatre tour. The week, ranked for a first visit:
- Saturday. Everything open, plus the amphitheatre tour if booked.
- Thursday or Friday. Everything open, and more buses than at the weekend.
- Sunday. The Necropolis and the Alcázar gate shut at 3pm, Santa María shuts from noon to 6pm, and El Salvador stays closed.
- Tuesday or Wednesday. Santa Clara is closed; on Tuesday the town museum is free.
- Monday. The Alcázar gate is free, but the Necropolis and Santa María close, and those are the reasons to come.
| Sight | Adult ticket | Closed on | Autumn hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Necropolis | €1.50, free with EU ID | Monday | Tue-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-3pm |
| Santa María priory church | €3 | Monday | Tue-Fri 10am-1:30pm and 6pm-8pm |
| Santa Clara convent | €3 | Tuesday, Wednesday | 11am-2pm and 5pm-7pm |
| Town museum | €2.50, free Tuesday | Never | Daily 11am-7pm |
| Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla | €2, free Monday | Never | Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-3pm |
| El Salvador church | €1 | Wednesday, Sunday | 10:30am-2pm |
Summer changes the plan. From 21 June to 20 September the Necropolis closes at 3pm every day, and in July and August the tourist office keeps 9am-3pm hours on weekdays. In that heat, Carmona is a morning trip; the reasoning is in what to visit hour by hour in the Seville summer.
How much a Carmona day costs
Six paid sights cost 13 euros for an adult from outside the EU, and the return bus bought on board adds 6 euros, so a full day costs 19 euros before food. EU citizens get into the Necropolis free and pay 17.50 euros.
If the budget is tight, the Necropolis and the Alcázar gate explain Carmona for 3.50 euros between them, and that day fits easily into a three-day Seville budget, ticket by ticket.
Eating in Carmona on Spanish hours, and the nuns’ cakes
Spanish meal times run late, and Carmona keeps them: at the Parador de Carmona, lunch is served from 1:45pm to 4pm, with spinach and chickpeas on its menu; book on +34 954 14 10 10. For tapas, Plaza de San Fernando and the arcaded Plaza de Abastos hold the bars of the old town, 151 metres apart.
The local cooking, as the tourist office lists it, is market-garden food: spinach, alboronía, a vegetable stew, and toast with red pork lard called tostá con manteca colorá. Leave room for the convent. The Santa Clara nuns sell through the turntable at Calle Torno de Santa Clara 1, 11am to 1:30pm and 4:30pm to 6:45pm: torta inglesa, the town’s signature cake, for 8.00 euros, and a dozen tortas de Carmona for 6.00 euros. They take cash only.
FAQ about a Carmona day trip from Seville
Is Carmona worth visiting from Seville?
Yes, for travellers who have already seen Seville and want Roman ruins and a walled hilltop town without crowds. Carmona is 30 km away, the M-124 bus takes about 73 minutes, and six paid sights cost 13 euros in total. It is a poor choice on a Monday, when the Necropolis and Santa María close.
How long do you need in Carmona?
A full day covers everything: the Roman Necropolis, which opens at 9am, and a 2.9 km loop of the old town past the Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla, Santa María, Santa Clara and the Parador. A morning is enough for the old town alone, if you skip the Necropolis.
Is the Roman Necropolis of Carmona free?
It is free for citizens of the European Union who show an ID card or passport, and costs 1.50 euros for everyone else, on the Junta de Andalucía tariff. No booking is needed for the tombs. The amphitheatre is only open on guided weekend tours, booked by phone on +34 600 14 36 32.
What is closed in Carmona on Mondays?
The Roman Necropolis and the Santa María priory church close on Mondays, unless the Monday is a public holiday or the eve of one. The Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla stays open and is free that day, and the town museum and the Santa Clara convent also open.
Can you do Carmona and Italica in one day?
Not comfortably without a car. The buses leave from different stations in Seville, the M-124 from San Bernardo for Carmona and the M-170A from Plaza de Armas for Italica, and both sites close at 3pm on Sundays and in summer. Each is better as its own trip.
Carmona rewards the traveller who checks the weekday before the bus timetable.