Jerez de la Frontera

South of Seville, Jerez de la Frontera is best known for the famous sherry wine produced there, which the Spanish call simply Jerez. Bodega tours show how it’s made and include samples of the many varieties. A good choice is Bodegas Valdivia, at Villa del Duque Winery, where the tour ends with an excellent multimedia show about Jerez and the surrounding region. At noon on Thursdays (and Tuesdays from May through October) the famous Andalusian thoroughbreds at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art perform their precision dances in the stables of a villa designed by the great renaissance architect, Andrés de Vandelvira. The town’s old ...

South of Seville, Jerez de la Frontera is best known for the famous sherry wine produced there, which the Spanish call simply Jerez. Bodega tours show how it’s made and include samples of the many varieties. A good choice is Bodegas Valdivia, at Villa del Duque Winery, where the tour ends with an excellent multimedia show about Jerez and the surrounding region. At noon on Thursdays (and Tuesdays from May through October) the famous Andalusian thoroughbreds at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art perform their precision dances in the stables of a villa designed by the great renaissance architect, Andrés de Vandelvira. The town’s old Gypsy quarter is the place to find real flamenco singers, guitarists and dancers who keep the art alive. For performances that are authentic, not a made-for-tourists folkloric show, visit Centro Cultural Flamenco Don Antonio Chacón. The old streets of Jerez are lined with beautiful homes and palaces whose walls are often decorated by traditional tiles, part of the region’s Islamic heritage. See more from this long period when Arab caliphs ruled Andalusia at the mosque and the Alcazar. The Archaeological Museum reaches back to the earliest settlement, when the Costa de la Luz was a Phoenician trading port. The nearby UNESCO-acclaimed La Doñana National Park is known as “Europe’s Everglades” for its rich birdlife.

About the Expert

Lura Seavey is the author of Fun with the Family in Vermont and New Hampshire and she has contributed to several Thomas Cook guidebooks, including Drive Around Catalonia, Travellers Mallorca, and Travellers Barcelona.