Guadalquivir River: large and millennium, romantic and legendary, the river of the discoverers of America, the only navigable river in Spain.

The Guadalquivir springs from the Cazorla mountains, in the province of Jaén. It crosses the provinces of Cordoba and Seville, and joins the Atlantic Ocean at Sanlucar de Barrameda in the province of Cadiz

The river is approximately 650 km long, and is navigable for 100 km from Seville to Sanlucar de Barrameda
The river has played a role very importantly in Seville's history.

Guadalquivir is the Arabic name for the river, which means Big River.Its Roman name was Betis, which is the name of the street that runs parallel to the river on the Triana side.

Seville was the departure point for Christopher Columbus´s fleet in his voyage to discover America, in fact, the explorer spent much time planning his trip in the Monastery of St. Mary of the Caves on the Cartuja Island.

With the discovery of the New World, Seville became an important strategic point due to the river. During the Indies Routes the merchant boats docked in the port of Seville with their cargoes of gold, silver, spices and tobacco brought from the Americas.Seville was also the departure point for the first round the world trip between 1519 and 1522 under the orders of Magellen, and from which only one ship returned, governed by the sevillian captain Juan Sebastian Elcano.

Seville and its river has inspired many legends and classical works. Prosper Merimée based his mythical Carmen on his observations of the “cigarreras”, the women who made cigarettes, as they crossed the river every day from Triana to the Golden Tower to go to work in the tobacco factory.

The river also forms part of the legend of Don Juan Tenorio, who kidnapped the innocent novice, Doña Inés, taking her in a rowing boat from the Convent of St. Clements to his castle in San Juan de Aznalfarache.

Today we can relive these experiences and feel Seville´s history, seeing the historical monuments from a privileged perspective, sailing comfortably under the awnings or on the air conditioned decks of one of vessels of Cruceros Torre de Oro.