Seville’s best-known roof terraces belong to hotels, and every one on this list lets you in without a booking reference. The catch is not the room key but your age and the weather: Pura Vida Terraza turns away anyone under 21, the Hotel Inglaterra admits children only if they are staying there until 10pm, and Terraza Doña María shuts whenever it rains. La Terraza del EME is the rooftop bar closest to the Giralda, 75 metres away on Calle Alemanes. In July, AEMET puts the average high at 36.0 degrees, so in summer these are after-dark places, and all six keep serving until at least midnight.
Which Seville rooftop bar has the best view of the cathedral?
La Terraza del EME, on Calle Alemanes, is 75 metres from the Giralda and looks over the Cathedral and El Salvador church, open noon to 1am, cocktails 16 euros. Terraza Doña María, 86 metres away, opens 1pm to 1am with Cruzcampo at 4.50 euros. Both serve non-guests.
Which Seville rooftop bar for which view
Pick the view first and the bar follows. Six rooftop bars in the old town and Triana have an address, opening hours and a view their owners name, and three of them sit within 200 metres of the Giralda. Where a hotel names no monument, the list says so instead of guessing.
The Giralda up close. La Terraza del EME, on the roof of the Hotel EME Catedral Mercer and 75 metres from the tower, names the Cathedral, the Giralda and El Salvador church in a 360-degree view. The Hotel Doña María, on Calle Don Remondo 86 metres away, sells its terrace on the Giralda view. Pura Vida Terraza on Calle Segovias, about 170 metres away, calls the tower an ever-present guest. The river and the Torre del Oro. Level 5th, on the fifth floor of the Hotel Ribera de Triana, faces the Triana bridge, the Torre del Oro and the Cathedral from across the Guadalquivir. It is 1.3 kilometres from the Giralda and opens from spring to autumn only. A central roof without a named view. The Hotel Inglaterra rooftop on Plaza Nueva serves from 11am, and its website offers a 360-degree virtual tour to check the view before you go. Gourmet Experience, on the fifth floor of El Corte Inglés on Plaza del Duque, is a food hall rather than a hotel bar.
A ticketed walkway rather than a bar, Las Setas costs from 16 euros and closes at 1am; what that ticket covers is in Las Setas tickets and the Antiquarium.
Who gets in, from non-guests to under-21s
All six rooftops serve people who are not staying at the hotel, so the question for most visitors is age and booking, not a room key. The strictest rule is at Pura Vida Terraza, where the booking conditions set a minimum age of 21 and a booked table costs 15 euros a head with one drink, held for two hours.
The EME needs no booking for the open terrace. Its reserved tables are prepaid and spent on drinks, from 200 euros for up to four people, non-refundable, and under-16s cannot sit there; the house may refuse entry for unsuitable clothing. At the Hotel Inglaterra, children may use the rooftop only if they are staying at the hotel until 10pm, and after that only over-12s with an adult. Doña María opens to everyone, recommends booking a table on its website and seats walk-ins in order of arrival, but its pool is for hotel guests only. Level 5th seats up to 170 people and allows smoking.
Families with young children have one easy option: Gourmet Experience, with no hotel and no published age limit, and the TB1 bus stop at Plaza del Duque 15 metres away.
What a drink costs on a Seville rooftop, VAT and tipping
A cocktail costs 12 euros at Doña María and Pura Vida Terraza, while the EME charges 16 euros, on the menus each one publishes. A Cruzcampo runs from 4.50 euros at Doña María, for 30 centilitres, to 6 at Pura Vida and 7 at the EME.
| Rooftop | Cocktail | Cruzcampo | Google rating | Might not suit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Terraza del EME | 16 euros, any on the menu | 7 euros | 4.1, over 3,300 reviews | Anyone wanting quiet: a resident DJ plays Fridays and Saturdays |
| Pura Vida Terraza | 12 euros, premium 15 euros | 6 euros | 4.2, over 1,900 reviews | Groups with anyone under 21 |
| Terraza Doña María | 12 euros, mojito or Aperol spritz | 4.50 euros for 30 cl | 4.4 for the hotel, over 3,000 reviews | Rainy evenings, when it closes |
| Level 5th | Not published | Not published | 4.5, over 500 reviews | Non-smokers and winter visitors |
| Hotel Inglaterra rooftop | Not published | Not published | 4.3, over 900 reviews | Anyone wanting prices before sitting down |
| Gourmet Experience | Puerto de Cuba bar, not published | Varies by counter | 4.2, over 3,600 reviews | Anyone after a hotel-bar setting |
One round of a beer and a cocktail comes to 16.50 euros at Doña María, 18 at Pura Vida and 23 at the EME, so the dearest Giralda view costs 6.50 euros more per person.
Two things on the bill surprise visitors from the US and the UK. Prices already include tax: the EME prints that VAT is included on every page of its menu, and no service-charge line appears on it or on the Doña María and Pura Vida menus, so the figure listed is the figure paid and a tip is your choice. Size is the second: Doña María lists its cheaper Cruzcampo as 30 centilitres, about 10 US fluid ounces, against 6 euros for a 50-centilitre glass.
Opening hours through the year, and the rain rule
La Terraza del EME opens every day from noon to 1am, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Doña María opens every day of the year from 1pm to 1am and closes temporarily when it rains. Pura Vida Terraza starts at 4pm and closes at midnight Monday to Wednesday, 1am on Thursdays and Sundays and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Hotel Inglaterra opens its rooftop from 11am, the earliest hotel roof on the list, and closes at 1am or 2am depending on the day. Gourmet Experience serves from 10am to midnight daily, with its Puerto de Cuba cocktail bar open to 1am Thursday to Saturday. Level 5th runs from 5pm to 2am on weekdays and from 4pm to 3am at weekends, from spring to autumn only.
Winter barely closes anything; rain does. December is Seville’s wettest month, with 99 millimetres on AEMET’s long-term average, and that is when Doña María’s rain rule bites. On a wet winter night, the EME keeps its hours and Gourmet Experience is under a roof.
Getting there from the old town and Triana
The three Giralda rooftops are a short walk from the Archivo de Indias stop on TUSSAM’s T1 tram, 267 metres from the EME, 283 from Doña María and 382 from Pura Vida. A single ticket costs 1.40 euros according to TUSSAM and is paid on board; fares for longer rides are in Seville’s transport fares.
The Hotel Inglaterra is 269 metres from the San Pablo (Zaragoza) stop of buses 43 and C5. Level 5th is in Triana, 73 metres from the Plaza Chapina (Castilla) stop of the C3, and a 17-minute walk from Plaza de Cuba metro, so it fits after a walk through Triana’s streets and riverside. Gourmet Experience has the TB1 at Plaza del Duque 15 metres from the door.
The Giralda rooftops work best after the last visit of the day: what is inside is covered in Seville Cathedral inside, what to see, and the palace next door in what to see at the Real Alcázar. For dinner first, see where to eat in Seville, and for the full city plan by day, what to see in Seville in one to three days.
Frequently asked questions about rooftop bars in Seville
Can you visit a Seville hotel rooftop bar without staying there?
Yes. La Terraza del EME, Terraza Doña María, the Hotel Inglaterra rooftop and Level 5th at the Hotel Ribera de Triana all serve non-guests. What stays private is the pool: at Doña María it is for hotel guests only, from 15 April to 30 September, 11am to 8pm.
Which rooftop bar in Seville is closest to the cathedral?
La Terraza del EME, on Calle Alemanes, is 75 metres from the Giralda and names the Cathedral, the Giralda and El Salvador church among its views. Terraza Doña María is 86 metres away and Pura Vida Terraza about 170. All three are in the Santa Cruz quarter.
How much is a drink at a rooftop bar in Seville?
On the menus each bar publishes, a Cruzcampo costs 4.50 euros at Terraza Doña María, 6 at Pura Vida and 7 at La Terraza del EME. Cocktails are 12 euros at Doña María and Pura Vida and 16 at the EME, where the menu states that VAT is included.
In Seville the room key opens nothing on the roof; your age and the forecast decide where you drink.