Seville

Seville's whitewashed houses bright with bougainvillea, ocher-color palaces, and baroque facades have long enchanted both sevillanos and travelers. Lord Byron's well known line, "Seville is a pleasant city famous for oranges and women," may be true, but is far too tame a comment: yes, the orange trees are pretty enough, but the fruit is too bitter to eat except as Scottish-made marmalade. And as for the women, stroll down the swankier pedestrian shopping streets and you can't fail to notice just how good-looking everyone is. Aside from being blessed with even features and flashing dark eyes, sevillanos exude a cool sophistication that seems more Catalan than Andalusian.