Semana Santa in Seville

How the week runs

Semana Santa follows Easter, so its dates move every year. Easter Sunday is 28 March in 2027, which puts Palm Sunday on 21 March and the main week from 21 to 28 March. Vigil processions start earlier, on the Friday of Sorrows and the Saturday of Passion, 19 and 20 March. Each day brings several brotherhoods: Wikipedia counts nearly 70 in all, each with its own images and floats. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays in Andalusia, and idealista expects heavy crowds on both.

A procession is led by nazarenos in habits and pointed hoods who carry candles, and by pasos, the floats, which are carried from inside by teams of 24 to 54 men called costaleros. Most weigh over a tonne. People in the crowd or on balconies sing saetas, improvised flamenco-style songs, as the images pass.

Each year's timetable is set by the brotherhoods and the Consejo de Hermandades y Cofradías, and it changes. In 2026 the Madrugá began 15 minutes earlier than in previous years, Tuesday's running order was rearranged and roadworks altered some routes. The 2026 times quoted below show the pattern. Do not treat them as the 2027 schedule.

The Carrera Oficial

Every brotherhood must use the Carrera Oficial, the shared route to the cathedral. It runs from Plaza de la Campana through Calle Sierpes, Plaza de San Francisco and Avenida de la Constitución, and ends at the cathedral and Plaza Virgen de los Reyes. Its timing sets the pace of each day, and the paid viewing is concentrated here.

Watching from the street is free. Chairs are another matter. Idealista reports that most chairs on the Carrera Oficial are sold as annual subscriptions through the Consejo de Hermandades y Cofradías. Holders renew each January, and new applications open only when seats become vacant, so a visitor cannot count on buying one for a given day. The Consejo General puts the most expensive chairs on Seville's route at about €200, according to Euronews in March 2026. The same article reported balcony rentals from about 80 euros to 9,000 euros at strategic points, and idealista lists typical private balconies at 80 to 200 euros a day.

La Madrugá

The Madrugá is the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Six brotherhoods process: El Silencio, El Gran Poder, La Macarena, El Calvario, La Esperanza de Triana and Los Gitanos. In 2026 La Macarena and El Silencio left at midnight, El Gran Poder at 1:00am, La Esperanza de Triana at 1:35am, Los Gitanos at 2:30am and El Calvario at 4:00am. The 2027 times will differ.

Neighborhood processions

Visit Sevilla's own guide steers visitors to the processions that leave from neighborhood churches outside the center. It features 26 brotherhoods across the neighborhoods, and notes that El Cerro is on the street for more than 14 hours. Processions wind through narrow local streets, bars serve Lenten specialties and neighbors decorate balconies with flower altars. Because they start and end at home churches, they are a way to see a brotherhood without joining the crowd on the Carrera Oficial.

In 2026 San Gonzalo, from Triana, left at 3pm on Holy Monday and crossed the Puente de Triana, and La Estrella left San Jacinto in Triana at 4:30pm on Palm Sunday.

Where to sleep

Choose the neighborhood by the procession you want to see. A room near the cathedral and Santa Cruz puts you at the end of the Carrera Oficial. Triana, across the river, is home to La Esperanza de Triana, San Gonzalo and La Estrella. La Macarena is the starting point for the Macarena brotherhood on the Madrugá. Streets around Plaza de la Campana, where the Carrera Oficial begins, close and fill for every procession.