Sevilla, Spain

Sevilla is the capital of Andalusia in southern Spain, home to roughly 690,000 residents along the Guadalquivir River and founded by the Romans as Hispalis. The city's cathedral, built between 1402 and 1506, is the largest Gothic church in the world and holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus, with its 104-metre Giralda bell tower originally serving as the minaret of a 1184 Almohad mosque. Nearby, the 913 Alcázar remains a working royal palace decorated with Mudéjar plasterwork. In Maria Luisa Park, the 1929 Plaza de España curves as a half-moon of tiled bridges mapping Spain's provinces. It was from this river port that Magellan set sail in 1519.