Giralda Tower

Built as the minaret of Seville's 12th-century Almohad mosque and topped since 1568 with a Renaissance belfry and the bronze Giraldillo weathervane that gives it its name, the Giralda rises about 104 metres over Seville Cathedral. Instead of stairs, 35 gently sloping ramps, wide enough for guards to ride up on horseback, lead to a viewing gallery below the bells. From there the view runs over the Cathedral's flying buttresses and the terracotta rooftops of the Barrio Santa Cruz toward the Guadalquivir.