Sevilla - D36: Mushrooms!

Known locally as Las Setas (the mushrooms) de la Incarnación, the Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Incarnación Square, in the old quarter of Sevilla. It’s 100m x 70m and reaches 28m high and claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world. The structure consists of six parasols in the form of giant mushrooms, whose design is inspired by the vaults of the Cathedral of Seville and the ficus trees in the nearby Plaza de Cristo de Burgos.

There are four levels. The underground level (Level 0) houses the Antiquarium, where Roman and Moorish remains discovered on site are displayed in a museum. Level 1 (street level) is the Central Market. The roof of Level 1 is the surface of the open-air public plaza, shaded by the wooden parasols above and designed for public events (that area was closed when I visited today). Levels 2 and 3 are the two levels of the panoramic terraces (including a restaurant), offering some of the best views of the city centre. If you’re visiting Seville, I might suggest you start off there as you’ll get a very quick orientation to where all the main monuments are located from that viewpoint! 

And there you have it: a quirky structure that is well worth the 3 euros admission’s fee (it gets you one euro off a drink at the upstairs restaurant) ;)

The complete set of pix is on my blog.