Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza, Seville
Written by official guides
The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, known as the "Cathedral of Bullfighting", is, alongside Las Ventas in Madrid, the most prestigious bullring in the bullfighting world. A listed heritage site since 1984, it seats 12,500 and has 260 years of history.
It belongs to the Real Maestranza de Caballería, a noble corporation founded in 1670 by Charles II, whose senior member has been the King ever since.
A one-of-a-kind ring: 30 sides and 120 years of building work
The late-Baroque main façade, with Solomonic columns and the Maestranza's coat of arms, dates from 1765. Construction began in 1761 on the site of the old wooden bullring and wasn't finished until 1881, resulting in an irregular 30-sided polygonal shape unique in the bullfighting world: each master builder who joined the project over 120 years added their own section, adapting to the available land between the walls and the river.
Architect Rafael Moneo described it this way: "The bullfighter feels the roundness of the Earth."
The Bullfighting Museum and Goya's 33 etchings
The museum brings together bullfighting art from the 18th to the 20th century: oil paintings from the Romantic period by Gutiérrez de la Vega, Eugenio Lucas — whose "Death of Pepe Hillo" is striking — the Domínguez Bécquer brothers and John Philip, plus an 1852 painting of the Dukes of Montpensier presiding over a bullfight.
The star pieces are 33 original etchings by Francisco de Goya from his "Tauromaquia" series (third edition, Paris 1876), one of the museum's most valuable collections. They're kept alongside print series dating back to 1790, with works by Antonio Carnicero, Victor Adam and Gustave Doré, and the earliest known bullfighting image, "Corrida caballeresca" from 1578.
Also on display are historic bullfighter's outfits — including that worn by Joselito el Gallo in his last fight in Talavera (1920) — posters dating back to the 1881 opening, and bronzes by sculptor Mariano Benlliure.
The Patio de Caballos, the Chapel and the ring
In the Patio de Caballos, the teams wait before the opening parade. The Bullfighters' Chapel, presided over by the Virgen de la Caridad, holds dozens of votive offerings — donated bullfighting outfits, muletas, prints — and it's been tradition since the 18th century to pray here before fighting.
The ring is 63 metres in diameter and has seen the likes of Pedro Romero, Pepe-Hillo, Cúchares, Lagartijo and Manolete fight. The Puerta del Príncipe, through which triumphant bullfighters who cut two ears are carried out on shoulders, faces the Guadalquivir and the Torre del Oro: only around 200 bullfighters have gone through it in 260 years. Sevillian bullfighter Curro Romero holds the record, with 42 exits.
The stands hold 12,500 seats on granite terraces, with the Royal Box under a canopy and an upper neo-Mudéjar arcade added in 1914.
Bullfighting season and visiting hours
The bullfighting season runs from Easter Sunday to October, centred on the Feria de Abril (15–20 consecutive fights), plus the Feria de San Miguel in late September and a fight on Corpus Christi. Outside the season, only tourist visits are available.
On fight days, visiting hours are reduced until 15:00 due to the evening's activity. Outside those days, the ring and the museum can be visited freely.
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