Famous/beautiful stairs or steps in London, Madrid or Seville?

October 22, 2014 5:05 PM

I'm looking for suggestions for some lovely steps/stairs. April 3rd next year will be the 25th anniversary of the day my husband and I first met on the TownHall Steps here in Sydney and I want to go to some other steps to mark the occasion.

On the day, we'll either be in London or Spain (planning to go to Madrid & Seville) and I'd like to go somewhere with him, some other special steps, where we can just sit and have a photo and smile at each other for a bit, maybe pop a piccolo if drinking is okay.

To give you an idea of what I'm hoping for, we were originally going to Italy so I had planned to have this moment at the Spanish Steps but plans changed so I'm looking for something similarly special.

I'm am open to other places in the UK but not for Spain. I know the UK quite well so I'm comfortable negotiating trains etc, but have never been to Spain and don't want to have to work out how to get around.

Thanks.

posted by stellathon to Travel & Transportation around London, England (12 answers total)

The Alhambra has lots of steps! If you are going to Spain you should really go there. Here's a review that mentions all the steps.

It is a truly beautiful amazing place.
posted by mareli at 5:43 PM on October 22, 2014

Best answer: The Alhambra is wonderful, I agree, but it's a good long drive (or train trip) from Seville.

I'm going to suggest the Plaza de Espana in Seville, which is flipping gorgeous. There's a footbridge in the middle with steps you could sit on to survey the whole area, and which would also position you for great photographs with the main building behind you.
posted by something something at 6:04 PM on October 22, 2014

Saint Paul's in London has a very popular set of steps :)
posted by TrinsicWS at 6:51 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Not necessarily famous, but I love the stairs inside the Natural History Museum in London in the main hall.
posted by troytroy at 8:08 PM on October 22, 2014

I've never heard of an exact parallel for meet-me-on-the-steps steps in London. Trafalgar Square has step options, but they're busy and touristy, likewise the British Museum portico. But how about the ones wrapped around the old Round Reading Room?
posted by holgate at 8:13 PM on October 22, 2014

In London, near Trafalgar Square, but much less busy, are the steps from the Mall to the The Duke of York's column. They're not massive, but it's quite a nice spot that looks out over the Mall to St James's Park.
posted by ComfySofa at 1:43 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Oh, and the new steps by the canal in King's Cross are quite cool too.
posted by ComfySofa at 1:47 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

To see the Sabatini gardens in Madrid, you go down some stairs from the street level and they are right next to the Royal Palace, so you have a nice view. Pic 1 and Pic 2. The stairs themselves aren't famous or very wide, but the views are pretty neat.
posted by soelo at 7:26 AM on October 23, 2014

The Grand staircase at St. Pancras Hotel is pretty impressive (they have rooms too ;))
posted by Middlemarch at 11:47 AM on October 23, 2014

The Grand staircase at St. Pancras Hotel is pretty impressive (they have rooms too ;))

And (pre-renovation) they were in the first Spice Girls video! If you care...
posted by Dan Brilliant at 7:49 AM on October 24, 2014

Best answer: Perhaps the Metropol Parasol in Seville? It has steps all over, although the view is more notable than the steps themselves.

(For what it's worth, the Alhambra was the highlight of my trip to Spain this spring; there are 4 direct trains a day from Granada to Seville and 2 a day to Madrid.)
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:05 AM on October 24, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Some great suggestions. Beautiful suggestions.
posted by stellathon at 1:33 AM on October 31, 2014