Triana Street

Look above the shop signs. In the early 20th century the well-off families of Triana rebuilt their houses as a mark of standing, and the decorated modernista facades they left still run along Calle Mayor de Triana and into the streets that cross it. At street level it is shops, cafés and restaurants, and with no traffic you can stop wherever a balcony catches your eye.

The street is older than its fronts. Settlers from Seville named the district in the 15th century: the Guiniguada ravine split the new town the way the Guadalquivir splits theirs, and this side became Triana. Each end has its landmark. The Teatro Pérez Galdós and the Military Government building (Gobierno Militar) went up in the late 19th century, and the San Telmo chapel (Ermita de San Telmo) by the northern end is the last trace of Triana's seafaring past. Benito Pérez Galdós and the poet Tomás Morales both lived in the district.

• The modernista facades carry on into the side streets, so turn off Calle Mayor de Triana now and then.
• Two tourist information offices are close by; the Central Tourist office is about 40 m away.
• The nearest free public toilet is about 160 m away; a paid one stands at about 150 m.
• The car parks closest to the street are private. Come by bus or on foot.

The street is walked end to end, and there are two ways in. From Vegueta, the old town, you reach the southern end at the Guiniguada ravine, now covered by the GC-110 road, where the wooden Puente de Palo once linked the two districts. From the north you arrive at Parque de San Telmo, where Calle Mayor de Triana meets Calle Bravo Murillo and Calle León y Castillo, the long avenue that continues towards Parque Santa Catalina.

Buses stop by Parque de San Telmo: the Triana (Parque San Telmo) stop is about 85 m away. The two car parks nearest the street are private, so the bus or your feet are the simpler way in.

Best: early morning, before the shops open, or the evening, when the cafés fill. The facades read best on an empty street, and the street is at its liveliest once the day's walking and shopping turn to eating out.

Avoid: the middle of a busy shopping day if you came for the architecture. The crowd at shop level pulls the eye down and away from the fronts above.