Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos (feminine form: Sevillanas) or Hispalenses. The population of the city of Seville was 699,759 as of 2008 (INE). The population of the metropolitan area (urban area plus satellite towns) was 1,450,214 as of 2009 (INE estimate), ranking as the fourth largest metropolitan area of Spain.

Semana Santa and the Seville Fair, La Feria de Sevilla (also Feria de Abril, "April Fair") are the two most well-known of Seville's festivals. Seville is internationally renowned for the solemn but beautiful processions during Holy Week and the colourful and lively fair held two weeks after. During Feria, families, businesses and organizations set up casetas, marquees, in which they spend the week dancing, drinking, and socializing. Traditionally, women wear elaborate flamenco dresses and men dress in their best suits. The marquees are set up on a permanent fairground in which each street is named after a famous bullfighter.

Seville is a gastronomic centre, with a cuisine based on the products of the surrounding provinces, including seafood from Cádiz, olive oil from Jaén, and sherry from Jerez de la Frontera.The tapas scene is one of the main cultural attractions of the city: people go from one bar to another, enjoying small dishes called tapas (literally "lids" or "covers" in Spanish, referring to their probable origin as snacks served in small plates used to cover drinks.)

Local specialities include fried and grilled seafood (including squid, cuttlefish, swordfish and dogfish), grilled meats in sauces, spinach and chickpeas, Andalusian ham (Jamón ibérico), lamb's kidneys in a sherry sauce, snails, and gazpacho.Typical sweet cakes of this province are polvorones and mantecados from the town of Estepa, a kind of shortcake made with almonds, sugar and lard; Pestiños, a honey-coated sweet fritter; Torrijas, fried slices of bread with honey; Roscos fritos, deep-fried sugar-coated ring doughnuts; magdalenas or fairy cakes; yemas de San Leandro, which provide the city's convents with a source of revenue, and Tortas de aceite, a thin sugar-coated cake made with olive oil.Except for polvorones and mantecados, which are traditional Christmas products, all of these are consumed throughout the year.The Seville oranges that dot the city landscape, too bitter for modern tastes, are commonly used to make marmalade.