Cádiz' White Towns
A path opposite the Hotel Arco de la Villa leads to Zahara's 12th-century castle keep (it's a steep, steady 10- to 15-minute climb). The castle's…
Must-see attractions in Cádiz Province
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
With its Barrio Alto 1821-founded bodega, Barbadillo was the first family to bottle Sanlúcar's famous manzanilla and also produces one of Spain’s most…
El Puerto de Santa María
Heavily restored in the 20th century and now owned by Bodegas Caballero, El Puerto's castle was constructed over an Islamic mosque by Alfonso X El Sabio…
Cádiz' White Towns
Perched on a crag at 623m high atop town is Olvera's late-12th-century castle, which later formed part of Nasrid-era Granada's defensive systems. Clamber…
Tarifa
This lookout with a tower atop part of the castle walls delivers spectacular views across Tarifa's rooftops and to Africa and 851m Jebel Musa, one of the…
Los Caños de Meca
Poised above the Atlantic, with a peaceful lookout point, this 16th-century tower is the highlight of the spectacular, 7.2km Sendero del Acantilado, which…
Vejer de la Frontera
Vejer's much-reworked castle, once home of the Duques de Medina Sidonia, dates from the 10th or 11th century. You can wander through the Moorish entrance…
Cádiz
Northwest of Plaza de Topete, the 18th-century Torre Tavira is the highest point in town, opening up dramatic panoramas of Cádiz. It has a camera obscura…
Vejer de la Frontera
Built atop an earlier mosque, this unusual church is 14th-century Mudéjar at the altar end and 16th-century Gothic at the other. In the late afternoon the…
Jerez de la Frontera
Three or four daily tours (no bookings needed) each in English, Spanish and German, and one in French, all including three-sherry tastings; the website…
Los Caños de Meca
At the western end of Los Caños de Meca, a side road (often half-covered in sand) leads out to an 1860 lighthouse on a low spit of land. This is the…
Vejer de la Frontera
If the door’s open, pop into this private 18th-century house to find two stunning flower-filled patios (home to 450 potted plants!) and one of just three…
Arcos de la Frontera
Containing a 16th-century main altarpiece said to be the oldest in Cádiz province, this Gothic-baroque confection contains one of Andalucía's most…
Grazalema
Grazalema centres on the 18th-century Plaza de España, overlooked by the Iglesia de la Aurora, begun in 1760 and completed 40 years later, and refreshed…
El Puerto de Santa María
Two blocks inland from Plaza Alfonso X El Sabio, this foundation has interesting, thoughtfully displayed exhibits on Rafael Alberti (1902–99), one of…
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Surrounded by Barbadillo bodegas, Sanlúcar’s restored 15th-century castle has sprawling views across the Guadalquivir delta from its hexagonal Torre del…
Jerez de la Frontera
Book ahead for the excellent-value, English- or Spanish-language tours of the handsome, vine-shaded Lustau bodega, founded in 1896. 'Standard' visits (€18…
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Within the old town's Bodegas Barbadillo complex, this 19th-century building houses a fascinating museum tracing the two-century history of Sanlúcar's…
Vejer de la Frontera
With its elaborate 20th-century, Seville-tiled fountain and perfectly white town hall, Vejer's palm-studded, cafe-filled Plaza de España is a favourite…
Southeast Cádiz Province & the Costa de la Luz
At the town-centre archaeology museum, you can see four well-preserved cryptoporticus and an underground Roman sewer gallery, plus the excavated 1st…
Cádiz
A stone’s throw east of Cádiz' cathedral, its museum is housed in the 16th-century Casa de la Contaduría, displaying an excavated medieval street,…
Cádiz
Glammed up for the 200th anniversary of the 1812 constitution, cafe-lined Plaza de San Juan de Dios is dominated by the grand, neoclassical ayuntamiento,…
Los Caños de Meca
Los Caños' main beach, ideal for watching skilled kitesurfers at work, is straight in front of Avenida de Trafalgar’s junction with the A2233 to/from…
El Puerto de Santa María
A 1.5km walk southwest of central El Puerto, pine-fringed Playa de la Puntilla is the town's most immediately accessible beach. Buses 1 and 2 (€1.20) run…
Southeast Cádiz Province & the Costa de la Luz
Around 3km west beyond Bolonia's Baelo Claudia, along the CA8202, a 1.5km dirt track leads down to the Faro Camarinal, from where you can access quiet,…
Jerez de la Frontera
Part of the famous Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre, Jerez' Horse-Carriage Museum includes an 18th-century Binder hunting break.
Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos' standout lookout point, on Plaza del Cabildo in the heart of the old town, has spectacular views over the Río Guadalete, which is flanked by olive…
El Puerto de Santa María
About 6km northwest of town, beyond the northwestern end of Playa de Santa Catalina, lies busy, gold-tinged Playa Fuentebravía, served by bus 6 from the…
Arcos de la Frontera
For more sprawling panoramas of Arcos, the Río Guadalete and the surrounding country, seek out this small viewpoint at the southeastern end of the old…
Tarifa
This broad snow-white sandy beach stretches for 7km northwest from Tarifa. The low dunes behind it are a paraje natural (protected natural area).
Tarifa
On the isthmus leading out to Isla de las Palomas at the southernmost tip of Tarifa town, tiny Playa Chica is more sheltered than other local beaches.
Tarifa
Guarding the entrance to the old town, the fortified Mudéjar Puerta de Jerez was built by the Moors and embellished after the Christian conquest.
Cádiz
Flanked by pastel-painted houses, Cádiz' curving malecón is eerily reminiscent of Cuba's Havana, which it's believed to have inspired.
Tarifa
Wind your way through the narrow streets of the old town to Tarifa's main (mostly 16th-century) church, with a soaring neoclassical facade.
El Puerto de Santa María
West of Puerto Sherry, 3km-long Playa de Santa Catalina has a few beach bars. It's served by bus 3 from the bullring bus stop.
Southeast Cádiz Province & the Costa de la Luz
One of three still-standing Moorish-era gates that guard the upper old town, dating from the 10th to 13th centuries.
Grazalema
One of several of its kind in Grazalema, this striking four-spouted fountain is of probable Visigothic origins.
Los Caños de Meca
Nudist beach-goers seek out secluded coves like this one at the eastern end of Los Caños' main beach.
Jerez de la Frontera
Founded by Alfonso X El Sabio, this 14th- to 16th-century Gothic church is one of Jerez' oldest.
Los Caños de Meca
Popular with nudists, this bleach-blonde beach sits immediately east of the Cabo de Trafalgar.
