El Garlochi, one of the city's popular destination for visitors and locals, has a kitsch Catholic motif. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Play the market

Dating from the early 18th century, the picturesque Feria Market, one of the city's oldest, comprises two light-flooded buildings separated from the 13th-century Omnium Sanctorum Church by a narrow alleyway.

Greengrocers and butchers conduct business out of white-tiled booths, while fishmongers sell an array of briny, fresh-caught seafood in an open space as shoppers stream in through wide arched entryways. Make like a local and grab lunch at the market's own excellent tapas bar, La Cantina, known for its fresh seafood offerings like grilled sardines, bacon-wrapped prawns and fried chocos, Spanish for cuttlefish and a Sevillian favorite. Lunch is about 20 euros.

Shopping regina

Just north of the Metropol Parasol, in the newly revitalized Regina Market neighborhood, you'll find some of the city's best new independent boutiques lining Calle Regina. Pick up local produce and Andalusian artisanal products such as olive oil and bitter orange marmalade at La Despensa Ecologica, an eco-friendly food shop that opened last March. Verde Moscu, a shop specializing in certified organic, fair-trade clothing, opened in 2013 and carries everything from athletic shoes made by local designers to organic wool sweaters knitted by a women's co-op in Nepal.

Then browse through the colorful trove of art books, experimental Spanish novels and Marxist theoretical tomes at Un Gato en Bicicleta, a left-leaning bookshop that also hosts art exhibitions, talks and concerts.

21st-century tapas

Tapas doesn't have to mean traditional. At La Azotea, families and off-the-clock professionals pack into the small, modern dining room to sample tasty cross-cultural concoctions like soy-marinated tuna belly topped with black olive tapenade, and pork cheek in red wine sauce with sharp goat cheese gratin.

Since opening on Calle Mateos Gago in 2009, La Azotea has added two more central locations and a scaled-down abaceria (food shop) with drinks and cold tapas. Lunch for two, about 40 euros.