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Cádiz province throughout the year
From the White Villages Route to the ones which are in the border, from the
Iberoamerican legacy to the mixture of Campo of Gibraltar. The province of Cádiz is
so special due to its different landscapes and environments, which are very
different in summer and quite appealing when autumn comes. Cádiz throughout the
year.
1- Where the horses dance
Jerez is the home of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art where you
can see how the horses dance. The show starts at noon every Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturdays with special galas.
The School puts on shows for groups and you can also watch training sessions.
Once there, do not miss the chance to visit the Carriage Museum.
On Saturdays you can also catch the show performed at the Cartuja de Jerez
Stud. Take a break to enjoy the shows as well as exploring how this institution has
been devoted to improving the Cartujan horse breed since the Middle Ages.
2- The astonishing wineries are waiting for you
The Marco de Jerez embraces much more than wineries, you will find authentic
Wine Museums full of history, tools from the nineteenth century and such a superb
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air of legend that you will feel like if you were in a movie. The main cellars are in
Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar. All of them have a special charm.
For example, Tío Pepe winery owned by González Byass houses more than
100,000 casks, with the oldest dating back well over 350 years. Leading figures
from all walks of life have visited the winery, including the writer Leopoldo Alas
"Clarín", Harold Lloyd, Jean Cocteau, Winston Churchill, Ayrton Senna, Roger Moore
and Steven Spielberg. The list is endless.
The casks in some Jerez wineries bear famous quotes written on them by
their illustrious visitors, such as the inventor of penicillin, who wrote: "my medicine
cures the sick but this wine raises the dead".
The Valdivia winery has set up some guided tours that include special
activities for children, while the tradition winery is home to one of the best
collections of paintings in Spain, with works by Zurbarán, Velázquez, Madrazo and
Lucas Villamil.
The White Villages Route
A huge variety of white villages are waiting for you to discover them. Arcos,
Grazalema, Setenil de las Bodegas, El Bosque, Olvera. Zahara de la Sierra. Take a
short break and see them. If you decide to stay, there are dozens of small hotels
and charming country guest houses.
You can visit lots of fascinating places on your way: watch blankets being
made by hand at the factory in Grazalema, find out how olive oil is produced at the
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Zahara de la Sierra de Oleum Viride olive oil mill, and drop in on leather craftsmen
at work in Ubrique.
There is nothing like bread
In la Sierra it is also possible to take part on the elaboration of bread in an old mill
from the eighteenth century at the Molino de Abajo located in El Bosque.
La Sierra Green Way
The Green Way follows the route taken by the old railway line for 36
kilometres, passing through 30 tunnels, 4 viaducts and 5 disused stations.
This is a beautiful trail for walking, cycling or gazing at "Chaparro de la
Vega", a venerable holm oak tree of 700 years old standing over 13 metres tall that
has been declared in 2002 a national monument of Andalucía. It is located 1,5 km
from Coripe’s station.
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The Foundation has restored many resorts to provide accommodation to the
travellers.
Luxury leather
Halfway the White Villages Route is located Ubrique, whose surrounding area is
famous for leather goods sold by prestige brands.
In Ubrique it is worth to visit the factories, the Leather Museum and of course the
shops, where you can buy designer articles with the highest quality.
Crossing the bay
Crossing the Bay of Cádiz is something you simply have to do. A busy
schedule of catamaran trips is available. This lovely trip leaves the capital and runs
to both Puerto de Santa María and Rota.
The best Swing
According to the golf experts, the province of Cádiz is the home of first-class
golfing facilities. Cádiz has 23 golf courses attracting thousands of golfers keen to
play on the same courses as the world's top players.
Leading names such as Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Olazábal, Sergio García,
etc, have made their mark on these courses of southern Andalucía. Some of them
have designed and promoted signature courses, others have played in memorable
tournaments.
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Flying through the air
There are 31 surfing and kite surfing schools in Tarifa. This is a thrilling and
extreme experience. After 15 hours of tuition, you could be flying over the waves
and getting hooked on this exciting sport. Tarifa is the Europe's windsurfing and
kite surfing Mecca. Young people from all over Europe come here to enjoy the
town's sporting activities, fashion and great atmosphere.
The sweetest Museum
Sweet, mild, aromatic, wonderful with pine nuts or walnuts, made from
rosemary tree, strawberries... and highly nutritious. We're talking about honey
from Rancho Cortesano in Jerez, where they've been keeping honey bees for 30
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years and where there's an extremely sweet Museum open to the public. The
Museum is aimed at adults and children of all ages, who will have a great time
watching how the bees work and dressing up as beekeepers.
Rancho Cortesano has around 2,000 hives spread across the province of
Cádiz, especially in the Grazalema and Alcornocales nature parks. They normally
produce between 30,000 and 40,000 kilos of honey per year.
The Museum offers a wide variety of products to try and buy, including jars
of Thousand Flower honey, Holm Oak honey, Eucalyptus honey, Orange Blossom
honey, honey confectionery, "meloja" (made from honey yeasts), pollen, royal jelly
and honey soaps.
The Museum displays illustrate the vital role bees play in pollination and in
the production of fruit and seeds. In fact, Rancho Cortesano also has an organic
orchard with a huge variety of fruit trees, namely mangos, custard-apple, pears,
apples, almonds, oranges and olives.
Rancho Cortesano makes its own organic honey, bearing the Nature Park quality
mark awarded by the Government of Andalucía Department of the Environment and
its products are sold in gourmet stores in Spain and Germany.
www.ranchocortesano.net
The Time Palace
The Time Palace in the centre of Jerez seems to have come from one of Jules
Verne's journeys. Step inside and you're plunged into a fantasy world of clocks,
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precious stones, special effects and a master clockmaker in 18th century dress who
amazes visitors with his knowledge.
The Time Palace (the new clock museum) is based in an old palatial home
inside La Atalaya theme centre and houses an extensive collection of more than
300 working clocks, Bohemian and Baccarat crystal, noble wood, mother of pearl
and ivory, all displayed in a fantasy setting. You can also hear some of the most
famous clock chimes in the world, including Big Ben.
These time-measuring machines come from France, England, Italy,
Switzerland, Austria and Germany, and include curious items such as a sun dial
shaped like a cannon, a ship that sways and measures time, and a clown juggling
cups.
www.elmisteriodejerez.org
Come into Doñana
From Sanlúcar de Barrameda, you cross the Guadalquivir on board the Real
Fernando to venture into Doñana. The boat moors at various points so passengers
can see and enjoy the National Park and the nature park that surrounds it. A guide
is with you for the whole trip.
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The boat is berthed in Bajo de Guía, opposite the old ice factory, which houses a
very interesting exhibition on the rich wildlife and landscapes in Doñana.
www.visitasdonana.com.
Although the best option to explore the national park is be accompanied by
the guides who will show you the park by 4x4.
www.donanavisitas.es (4X4)
The Two Towers
Tavira Tower (Torre Tavira) stands on the highest point in the old quarter of
Cádiz. It used to be one of the lookout towers used for spotting ships, from which
you will be amazed by the beautiful views over Cádiz and the sea in all of its
fullness
Inside the Tower you will find an obscure chamber, a curious artefact that
enables you to see what's happening in real time and watch both passers-by and
local people outside the Tower and on Cádiz's rooftops.
There are spectacular views from the West Tower of the Cathedral too, once
you've climbed the spiral staircase hewn from local sedimentary rock that runs up
from the cathedral to the bell tower.
www.torretavira.com
www.monumentosalavista.com
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A Place to Relax
For people who prefer a quieter kind of break, Cádiz offers a wide range of
hotels where water is the main source of health and relaxation. There has been a
spa complex in Chiclana since 1803. Try out the saunas, jacuzzis, hydro massage,
Turkish baths, heated pools... just let your troubles melt away.
The province has more than 30 spa complexes, all with their own distinctive
features, ranging from Arab-style baths to those inspired by Asian culture or by the
area's major activity, wine production which is deeply-rooted to this land. For that
reason you cannot miss the wine therapy that Spa Club Jerez offers.
The Provincial Council of Tourism has published a handbook with all the
offers which can be delivered home free of charge. You just have to send an email
to [email protected] or ask for it through the web
www.cadizturismo.com in the Publication section.
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Venturing the parks
Many enterprises provide information as well as a wide range of ways to
venture the natural scenario of Cádiz and practising bird watching or studying the
local flora. The province of Cádiz has six nature parks: the parks of Los
Alcornocales and Grazalema inland, while along the coastline the parks of Breña,
Marismas de Barbate, Parque del Estrecho and Bahía de Cádiz cover the
countryside around Doñana. Together, these areas make Cádiz the province with
the greatest number of protected land in the whole of Andalucía.
With Dolphins and Whales in the Strait
Incredible but true. Several companies based in Tarifa run whale and dolphin
spotting trips. You'll have a great morning out on the Strait of Gibraltar, with views
of the African continent. Whales and dolphins have always come here; in fact, a
whaling factory was based in the Bay of Getares in Algeciras in the early 20th
century. The area is visited by killer whales in the summer, but you can see
dolphins all year round because they are residents of this stretch of sea connecting
southern Europe with northern Africa.
www.firmm.org
www.turmares.com
www.whalewatchtarifa.net
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The enterprise AlBarco has an extensive experience in organizing coast trips in
the area of Sancti Petri and Chiclana. Since people were very interested in these
trips because of its historical background, the enterprise decided to offer its
services in Cádiz on occasion of the bicentenary of Cádiz Constitution.
www.albarco.com
Feel like a Roman
One of the province's most outstanding attractions is the archaeological site
of Baelo Claudia, a Roman town founded in the 2nd century BC near the Bolonia
inlet. This is the most complete Roman town on the Iberian peninsula and draws
over 100,000 visitors every year.
The Baelo Claudia site was discovered by George Edward Bonsor Saint
Martin, a French painter, archaeologist and historian, who was born in England and
then settled in Spain. The guide published by the Regional Government of Andalucía
Department of Culture tells how, from the 7th century AD, the Bolonia inlet had
been more or less abandoned. It also describes how, between 1700 and 1900,
scholars and travellers suggested that Roman ruins might be found there. However,
it was not until 1917 that the site was fully investigated in four separate digs
carried out by the French Hispanist Pierre Paris, who excavated most of the town's
basic structure, while George Bonsor excavated the eastern necropolis. In 1966, a
series of geophysical surveys carried out by Professor Pellicer established that
"nowhere else on the Iberian Peninsula is it possible to obtain such a complete
overview of Roman town-building as in Baelo Claudia, and this is what makes it so
interesting".
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Its origins are closely linked with north Africa, but the town's economic
wealth was tied into the fishing industry and garum, a fish sauce that was
extremely popular throughout the Roman Empire.
The town fell into decline following a tidal wave thought to have devastated
it in the 2nd century AD, but Baelo was still inhabited until the 7th century, when it
was finally abandoned.
Nowadays it is one of the province's biggest attractions, both for its
archaeological value and its beautiful setting, the stunning beach of Bolonia.
The Phoenicians were here
Another of the province's archaeological treasures is the pair of Phoenician
sarcophagi housed in Cádiz Museum.
Only ten of these sarcophagi have ever been found in the world: on the
coastline of Tyre and Sidon (now Lebanon), in Carthage and in Cádiz. Only three of
them belong to women and are kept in the museums of Beirut, Carthage and in the
Louvre. The two sarcophagi found in Cádiz have the most Greek features of all and
are the only two items made by Phoenician craftsmen ever to have been found on
the peninsula.
But apart from their historical value, an even more remarkable story
surrounds them. Almost a century elapsed between the discovery in Cádiz of the
first sarcophagus and the second. The second was found in 1980, right underneath
the house occupied by Pelayo Quintero, who was director of the Museum for many