For one week life in Seville revolves around this fiesta. The music, food, dancing and general joy create a very special atmosphere. The April Fair is one of the most international and popular of Seville's fiestas. It was created in 1847 as a cattle fair, and over time the festive atmosphere that had grown up around the occasion took over the business aspect, and it became a permanent fixture in Seville's social calendar. For a week more than a thousand "casetas" or tents installed in the fairground area become the second home of the city's inhabitants, a place where people come together to have fun and share experiences until the early hours of the morning.

The fiesta officially begins at midnight on Monday with the "lighting test", the illumination of the thousands of multi-coloured light bulbs in the fairground and adorning the main gateway, which is almost 50 metres high and has a different motif every year. Once inside the gate you come to the "casetas", and it is here where you really experience the fair. These tents belong to groups of friends and associates, and are a family space where acquaintances, relations and guests are welcomed in and plied with delicious food and wine; there is singing, good conversation and of course, "sevillanas", the local version of flamenco dancing. The lively and festive atmosphere spills over into the area outside the tents: people usually dance in the street, and the friendly personality of the Sevillian people will entice passers-by into the celebration. You should bear in mind that most of the stalls are privately owned and can be entered only by invitation from the members or their friends. There are however public tents which are open to all. The information office at the entrance to the fair will tell you which they are.

Throughout the fair, people wear typical Andalusian dress: the men wear the typical outfit of the farmworker, and the women wear flamenco or gypsy dresses. By day the fair is filled with horsewomen, riders and richly festooned carriages. This is what is known as the horse and carriage parade, in which you can take part by renting a buggy with a driver from the regular service. Next to the fairground is the Calle del Infierno (Hell's Street), a lively recreational area with a host of attractions for children and adults, and stands selling cold drinks and snacks. Another vital component is the bullfight: every afternoon people crowd into the Plaza de la Maestranza bullring to see the day's bullfight (tickets and passes can be bought in advance by telephone or on the Maestranza bullring's own website). And after a week of merrymaking there is a spectacular fireworks display at midnight on Sunday to send off the April Fair for another year.

Seville is a city steeped in history. Throughout the narrow streets and main avenues - in fact, virtually everywhere you cast your eye, there are magnificent monuments and buildings which stand as a legacy to this city's fascinating heritage. Many of these date from the time of the Moorish conquest (712), such as the Giralda, the Alcazar, and the Cathedral which was originally built as a mosque by the Almohads in the late 12th century, and later became the largest Gothic church in the world.

One of the richest areas of the city, in terms of the sheer number of monuments, is the Barrio Santa Cruz which is very much in character with Seville's romantic image, its streets narrow and torturous to keep out the sun, with houses brilliantly whitewashed and barricaded with iron grilles behind which girls once kept chaste evening rendezvous with their novios. Almost all the houses have patios, often surprisingly large and in summer these become the principal family living room.

As you arrive in the city, look out for remnants of ancient stone walls marooned in the centre of busy roads, plus an impressive, well-preserved 400-metre section in Macarena, near the Andalucian parliament building. These are the remains of the city walls, or murallas, dating from the 12th century - Seville was once the most strongly fortified city in Europe.

It was the Romans, probably under Julius Caesar, who constructed the first city defences. But the Almoravids, Moors who ruled Andalucia in the 11th and 12th centuries, were responsible for the simple but effective 6km-long walls. They were designed to defend the city against both enemy attacks and frequent floods from the river Guadalquivir.

The murallas had 166 watchtowers and nine gates, with a sentry path along the middle. Today only three gates remain: Puerta de Córdoba, Puerta Macarena and Postigo del Aceite, while towers you can see include the Torre de Oro (Golden Tower), by the river, the Torre de Plata (Silver Tower) and the Torre Blanca (White Tower).

The visitor will also discover the immense natural wealth of this region, which sits halfway between two continents, in natural treasures such as the Doñana Nature Reserve, declared a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and the Sierra Norte Nature Reserve. But Seville's appeal does not end there, as the city is also the starting point for the many cultural routes the province offers, such as the Roman Bética Route or the Washington Irving route.