Iglesia de San Luis de los Franceses

If you can visit only one Baroque church in Seville that is not the cathedral, make it this one. The Iglesia de San Luis de los Franceses was built between 1699 and 1731 by Leonardo de Figueroa — the same architect responsible for the San Telmo portal — and it is considered his masterpiece. The facade is impressive enough, but it is the interior that makes jaws drop: a centralized Greek-cross plan beneath a soaring dome, every surface covered in gilt stucco, polychrome marble, carved wood, and frescoed ceilings that create a total work of Baroque art.

The church was commissioned by the Jesuits, who spared no expense. The retablos — the massive carved altarpieces behind each altar — are considered among the finest in Andalusia, dripping with gold leaf and populated by expressive painted saints. The main retablo rises the full height of the apse, a golden cliff face of twisted Solomonic columns and sculptural figures. Look up and the dome fresco shows Jesuit saints ascending to heaven in a swirl of clouds and divine light.

When the Jesuits were expelled from Spain in 1767, the church passed through various hands and eventually fell into serious disrepair. It served as a seminary, a hospice, and at one point was nearly demolished. A major restoration completed in the early 2000s brought it back to its original splendor, and today it functions as a cultural center and exhibition space with free entry.

The church sits on Calle San Luis, a street that most tourists never walk because it heads away from the historic center toward the Macarena neighborhood. That is precisely why it remains uncrowded. On a quiet afternoon, you can stand beneath the dome and have this Baroque masterpiece entirely to yourself.