Parque de María Luisa, Seville

The Parque de María Luisa (María Luisa Park) is a public park that stretches along the Guadalquivir River and serves as Seville's principal green area. The lovely park is full of monuments and museums, has a charming Lions fountain (Fuente de los Leones), and is very popular among locals and tourists.

Most of the grounds that were used for the park were formerly the gardens of the Palace of San Telmo. They were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, for use as a public park.

Starting in 1911, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier redesigned the gardens into their present shapes. In 1914 the architect Aníbal Gonzalez began construction for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, which was held partly within the park.

The new buildings of the Plaza de España, a semi-circle on a plaza, were used as the offices of the fair. They have been used as settings for filmed scenes, including in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).