Things to do in Andalusia and Gibraltar
The sunny southern region of Andalusia - eight provinces in an area about the size of Indiana - has come to symbolize Spain for much of the world. The home of flamenco also boasts three of the country's greatest architectural treasures: the fairytale Alhambra palace in Granada, Cordoba's Mezquita (Great Mosque), and the massive Gothic cathedral and evocative Santa Cruz quarter of Seville. Beyond these three queen cities are provincial capitals such as windwhipped Cadiz, where every street leads to the sea, and Jaen, spreading like a white fan at the foot of an awesome fortress.
With coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, this fabled land claims some of Europe's most popular beach resorts. Overbuilding in these areas has become a real problem, but devotees maintain that the coast is still a little piece of earthly paradise.
The history of Andalusia
Andalusia bears evidence of many great civilizations that settled along its shores. Phoenicians founded Malaca (Malaga) and Gadir (Cadiz), and Romans built major cities along the Rio Guadalquivir (Guadalquivir River) valley and the coast. The center of the centuries-long Moorish occupation that began in 711, Granada was the Moors' last stronghold until it fell to the Reconquest in 1492.
All this history has left its mark, turning Andalusian cities and towns into vast museums of art and architecture. Outside the population centers, the terrain consists of both arid desert and lovely, rolling hills. There are plenty of dull towns and villages, too, as well as dirty beaches, barren and ugly stretches of countryside, and urban purse snatchers. However, the selective traveler will discover a seemingly endless variety of delights.
Driving tour of Andalusia
The driving route outlined below begins at Cordoba, gateway to Andalusia, and continues southwest through the Guadalquivir river valley farmland for the most part and brutally hot in summer to Seville, which is the capital of the region. It then traverses horseand sherry country around Jerez de la Frontera and makes its way to Cadiz, on the Atlantic coast, from which it heads southeast, skirting white villages and the Mediterranean coast before arriving at the Rock of Gibraltar, one of the world's great natural landmarks and site of one of the last remaining British colonies.
After turning inland to visit the gorge split town of Ronda, it drops down to the coast again to pass through the touristy Costa del Sol. The route leaves the coast for good near the village of Salobrefia, climbing rugged mountains en route to magical Granada, and finally heads north to the lesser known towns of Jaen and Ubeda, almost untouched by tourism and well worth a visit.
Total highway driving for the route is approximately 612 miles (980 km). Fortunately, major highway improvements were made prior to Expo '92 in Seville, vastly improving driving conditions. Including two nights each at the three major cities (Cordoba, Seville, and Granada), the minimum time to allow for the full tour is 15 days.Keep in mind when planning your itinerary that churches, museums, historic sites, and other places of touristic interest usually open from 9:30 or 10 AM to 1 or 2 PM, and then again from around 4 or 5 PM to 7 or 8 PM; some hours change with the seasons. Many museums are open mornings only; closing days tend to be Sundays or Mondays. Furthermore, many places close during July and/or August.
Carmona things to do
Still partially surrounded by ancient Roman walls, this town has one of the richest histories in Andalusia. Known as Carmo to the Romans, the town straddled the famous Via Augusta, the Roman road that stretched from Cadiz to the north of Spain. In 206 BC, the Roman general Scipio crushed a Carthaginian army nearby. The road into town passes beneath the remnants of a 14th-century fortress - the Alcazar cleverly transformed into an excellent parador, and through the 17th-century Puerta de Cordoba (Cordoba Gate), built into the Casco Viejo (Old Town) walls. Once inside, go left up the hill to the parador (follow the signs) or follow Calle Santa Maria de Gracia to the center.
A town of about 23,000 residents, Carmona is just the right size for strolling alone through quiet, whitewalled streets or with everyone else out for the evening paseo in the circular Plaza de San Fernando, the town's nucleus. The plaza is lined with wrought-iron lampposts and centuries-old buildings, including the present and former town halls.
Within walking distance is the double-arched Puerta de Sevilla (Seville Gate) from Moorish times; outside stands the Iglesia de San Pedro (Church of St. Peter; on Calle San Pedro), with a 17th-century bell tower modeled after the famous Giralda in Seville.
The Gothic Iglesia de Santa Marla (on Calle Martin Lopez) contains the oldest calendar in Spain (6th century), carved on an arch in the Patio de los Naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard).The necropolis romano about half a mile (1 km) outside town (off the Seville road) shelters several hundred tombs from the Roman imperial period 2,000 years ago. The Tumba del Elefante (Elephant Tomb), named for a statue at its entrance, features dining rooms and a kitchen that once had running water; historians believe that priests must have held some kind of banquet in honor of the deceased here. The Tumba de Sevilla (Seville Tomb) is the size of a villa and has its own pool.
The necropolis, which also contains a museum filled with Roman pottery, mosaics, busts, and glass vials, is closed Sunday afternoons and Mondays; admission charge. For further details, contact Carmona's Oficina de Informacion TUrlstica, Plaza de las Descalzas
Arcos de la Frontera car hire
Arcos (de la frontera is tacked onto the names of many towns that once stood along the Christian-Moorish boundary) sits on a lofty hill hemmed in on three sides by the Rio Guadalete (Guadalete River) and is the perfect place to explore by hire car from the airport at Malaga, Jerez or Seville. One of its attractions for visitors is its spectacularly situated government parador, perched along the edge of a cliff.
Arcos is also among the most picturesque of a dozen or so whitewashed Andalusian hill towns known as the pueblos blancos (white villages) and is included on the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos (Route of the White Villages), a popular driving itinerary in the region.
The town has impressive Semana Santa (Easter Week) processions, including the singing of piercing melodies called saetasa kind of Easter flamenco and the running of a lone bull on Domingo de la Resurreccion (Easter Sunday).Legend has it that Arcos was founded by King Brigo, a grandson of Noah. Known as Medina Arkosh in Moorish times, this seemingly impregnable site was captured by Alfonso X in 1250. The Plaza de Cabildo (also known as Plaza de Espana) is the town's main square and the site of both the parador and a hair-raising terrace overlooking a valley of neat green fields and orchards.
Also on the square is the old Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) and the Iglesia de Santa Maria (St. Mary's Church). Climb the 386 feet to the top of the church's bell tower, but try to avoid arriving at the stroke of 12. The vIews from on high are spectacular: Look for the 18th-century tower of the glesia de San Pedro (St. Peter's Church; Plaza de Cabildo) at the other side of the hilltop and for the former castle of the Dukes of Arcos, below and to the right, now occupied by an English aristocrat.
Jerez de la Frontera things to do
Jerez is the home of Spain's distinctive fortified wine sherry, in fact, is an English corruption of the name of the town, from which English, Scottish, and Irish shippers began buying wine as early as the 16th century. Although Jerez, the main production center and a fairly large town of about 200,000 people, does have other points of interest, most visitors get into the spirit of things by touring one of the sherry wineries, or bodegas, that are the prime local attraction.
Jerez has some 100 bodegas; Among them are the Harvey, Gonzalez Byass, and Sandeman bodegas, but perhaps the best of the bunch belongs to the Domecq family, where visits can be arranged through the public relations department. Here visitors see the fermentation rooms, mixing tanks, warehouses for aging, and bottling lines, then sample one of the four main sherry varieties of fino (extra dry), amontillado (dry with fuller body), oloroso (medium dry with golden color), and dulce (sweet). The Domecq bodega is closed weekends during August; no admission charge.
The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art Jerez
The outstanding Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art), a rival to Vienna's renowned Spanish Riding School, is Jerez's second major attraction. Although the school has only been open since 1973, horse breeding and training has been an Andalusian enterprise since Moorish times, and it was the ancestors of the Hispano-Arab stallions strutting their stuff in Jerez that sired the famous Lippizaners. The Dancing Horses of Andalusia perform every Thursday at noon at the school's 1,450-seat arena; admission charge. Practice sessions are held at the area on other days of the week (except Sundays) between 11 AM and 1 PM, and visitors may watch free of charge.
The Wine Festival Jerez
In early September, Jerez hosts the Fiesta de la Vendimia, an annual wine harvest festival. An even better time of the year to be in town is during the week-long Feria del Caballo (Horse Fair) in May, when aloof aristocrats, the senoritos, gather to show off their steeds and horsemanship. Each day begins with a promenade of riders, followed by a procession of ornate carriages.
There are dressage and jumping competitions, a horse auction, and special rejoneo bullfights, when a man or woman on horseback faces the bull. Visitors can test their stamina at scores of casetas - open booths overflowing with wine and the seductive rhythms of improvised flamenco.
Jerez has its fair share of historical monuments and churches. Among the best are the 11th-century Alcazar, with Moorish baths, located off a large square called the Alameda Vieja. The baths can be visited every day (closed Sunday afternoons; admission charge), but much of the building is off limits to visitors.
Nearby, on the Plaza de Arroyo, is the 18th century Baroque Catedral de San Salvador, also called La Colegiata, built above an old mosque. Other notable churches include the late Gothic Iglesia de San Miguel (on Calle San Miguel, near the Plaza del Arenal) and the Iglesia de Santiago (on the Plaza de Santiago), each with finely carved portals.
Better known are the city's secular monuments. The Palacio Domecq, on Alameda Cristina (across from the tourist office), was the home of the Ponce de Leon family, built by the explorer in 1557 (still a private residence, it is not open to the public). The Renaissancestyle Casa del Cabildo, the old Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) on the Plaza de la Asuncion, today houses a library and an archaeological museum.
With coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, this fabled land claims some of Europe's most popular beach resorts. Overbuilding in these areas has become a real problem, but devotees maintain that the coast is still a little piece of earthly paradise.
The history of Andalusia
Andalusia bears evidence of many great civilizations that settled along its shores. Phoenicians founded Malaca (Malaga) and Gadir (Cadiz), and Romans built major cities along the Rio Guadalquivir (Guadalquivir River) valley and the coast. The center of the centuries-long Moorish occupation that began in 711, Granada was the Moors' last stronghold until it fell to the Reconquest in 1492.
All this history has left its mark, turning Andalusian cities and towns into vast museums of art and architecture. Outside the population centers, the terrain consists of both arid desert and lovely, rolling hills. There are plenty of dull towns and villages, too, as well as dirty beaches, barren and ugly stretches of countryside, and urban purse snatchers. However, the selective traveler will discover a seemingly endless variety of delights.
Driving tour of Andalusia
The driving route outlined below begins at Cordoba, gateway to Andalusia, and continues southwest through the Guadalquivir river valley farmland for the most part and brutally hot in summer to Seville, which is the capital of the region. It then traverses horseand sherry country around Jerez de la Frontera and makes its way to Cadiz, on the Atlantic coast, from which it heads southeast, skirting white villages and the Mediterranean coast before arriving at the Rock of Gibraltar, one of the world's great natural landmarks and site of one of the last remaining British colonies.
After turning inland to visit the gorge split town of Ronda, it drops down to the coast again to pass through the touristy Costa del Sol. The route leaves the coast for good near the village of Salobrefia, climbing rugged mountains en route to magical Granada, and finally heads north to the lesser known towns of Jaen and Ubeda, almost untouched by tourism and well worth a visit.
Total highway driving for the route is approximately 612 miles (980 km). Fortunately, major highway improvements were made prior to Expo '92 in Seville, vastly improving driving conditions. Including two nights each at the three major cities (Cordoba, Seville, and Granada), the minimum time to allow for the full tour is 15 days.Keep in mind when planning your itinerary that churches, museums, historic sites, and other places of touristic interest usually open from 9:30 or 10 AM to 1 or 2 PM, and then again from around 4 or 5 PM to 7 or 8 PM; some hours change with the seasons. Many museums are open mornings only; closing days tend to be Sundays or Mondays. Furthermore, many places close during July and/or August.
Carmona things to do
Still partially surrounded by ancient Roman walls, this town has one of the richest histories in Andalusia. Known as Carmo to the Romans, the town straddled the famous Via Augusta, the Roman road that stretched from Cadiz to the north of Spain. In 206 BC, the Roman general Scipio crushed a Carthaginian army nearby. The road into town passes beneath the remnants of a 14th-century fortress - the Alcazar cleverly transformed into an excellent parador, and through the 17th-century Puerta de Cordoba (Cordoba Gate), built into the Casco Viejo (Old Town) walls. Once inside, go left up the hill to the parador (follow the signs) or follow Calle Santa Maria de Gracia to the center.
A town of about 23,000 residents, Carmona is just the right size for strolling alone through quiet, whitewalled streets or with everyone else out for the evening paseo in the circular Plaza de San Fernando, the town's nucleus. The plaza is lined with wrought-iron lampposts and centuries-old buildings, including the present and former town halls.
Within walking distance is the double-arched Puerta de Sevilla (Seville Gate) from Moorish times; outside stands the Iglesia de San Pedro (Church of St. Peter; on Calle San Pedro), with a 17th-century bell tower modeled after the famous Giralda in Seville.
The Gothic Iglesia de Santa Marla (on Calle Martin Lopez) contains the oldest calendar in Spain (6th century), carved on an arch in the Patio de los Naranjos (Orange Tree Courtyard).The necropolis romano about half a mile (1 km) outside town (off the Seville road) shelters several hundred tombs from the Roman imperial period 2,000 years ago. The Tumba del Elefante (Elephant Tomb), named for a statue at its entrance, features dining rooms and a kitchen that once had running water; historians believe that priests must have held some kind of banquet in honor of the deceased here. The Tumba de Sevilla (Seville Tomb) is the size of a villa and has its own pool.
The necropolis, which also contains a museum filled with Roman pottery, mosaics, busts, and glass vials, is closed Sunday afternoons and Mondays; admission charge. For further details, contact Carmona's Oficina de Informacion TUrlstica, Plaza de las Descalzas
Arcos de la Frontera car hire
Arcos (de la frontera is tacked onto the names of many towns that once stood along the Christian-Moorish boundary) sits on a lofty hill hemmed in on three sides by the Rio Guadalete (Guadalete River) and is the perfect place to explore by hire car from the airport at Malaga, Jerez or Seville. One of its attractions for visitors is its spectacularly situated government parador, perched along the edge of a cliff.
Arcos is also among the most picturesque of a dozen or so whitewashed Andalusian hill towns known as the pueblos blancos (white villages) and is included on the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos (Route of the White Villages), a popular driving itinerary in the region.
The town has impressive Semana Santa (Easter Week) processions, including the singing of piercing melodies called saetasa kind of Easter flamenco and the running of a lone bull on Domingo de la Resurreccion (Easter Sunday).Legend has it that Arcos was founded by King Brigo, a grandson of Noah. Known as Medina Arkosh in Moorish times, this seemingly impregnable site was captured by Alfonso X in 1250. The Plaza de Cabildo (also known as Plaza de Espana) is the town's main square and the site of both the parador and a hair-raising terrace overlooking a valley of neat green fields and orchards.
Also on the square is the old Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) and the Iglesia de Santa Maria (St. Mary's Church). Climb the 386 feet to the top of the church's bell tower, but try to avoid arriving at the stroke of 12. The vIews from on high are spectacular: Look for the 18th-century tower of the glesia de San Pedro (St. Peter's Church; Plaza de Cabildo) at the other side of the hilltop and for the former castle of the Dukes of Arcos, below and to the right, now occupied by an English aristocrat.
Jerez de la Frontera things to do
Jerez is the home of Spain's distinctive fortified wine sherry, in fact, is an English corruption of the name of the town, from which English, Scottish, and Irish shippers began buying wine as early as the 16th century. Although Jerez, the main production center and a fairly large town of about 200,000 people, does have other points of interest, most visitors get into the spirit of things by touring one of the sherry wineries, or bodegas, that are the prime local attraction.
Jerez has some 100 bodegas; Among them are the Harvey, Gonzalez Byass, and Sandeman bodegas, but perhaps the best of the bunch belongs to the Domecq family, where visits can be arranged through the public relations department. Here visitors see the fermentation rooms, mixing tanks, warehouses for aging, and bottling lines, then sample one of the four main sherry varieties of fino (extra dry), amontillado (dry with fuller body), oloroso (medium dry with golden color), and dulce (sweet). The Domecq bodega is closed weekends during August; no admission charge.
The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art Jerez
The outstanding Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art), a rival to Vienna's renowned Spanish Riding School, is Jerez's second major attraction. Although the school has only been open since 1973, horse breeding and training has been an Andalusian enterprise since Moorish times, and it was the ancestors of the Hispano-Arab stallions strutting their stuff in Jerez that sired the famous Lippizaners. The Dancing Horses of Andalusia perform every Thursday at noon at the school's 1,450-seat arena; admission charge. Practice sessions are held at the area on other days of the week (except Sundays) between 11 AM and 1 PM, and visitors may watch free of charge.
The Wine Festival Jerez
In early September, Jerez hosts the Fiesta de la Vendimia, an annual wine harvest festival. An even better time of the year to be in town is during the week-long Feria del Caballo (Horse Fair) in May, when aloof aristocrats, the senoritos, gather to show off their steeds and horsemanship. Each day begins with a promenade of riders, followed by a procession of ornate carriages.
There are dressage and jumping competitions, a horse auction, and special rejoneo bullfights, when a man or woman on horseback faces the bull. Visitors can test their stamina at scores of casetas - open booths overflowing with wine and the seductive rhythms of improvised flamenco.
Jerez has its fair share of historical monuments and churches. Among the best are the 11th-century Alcazar, with Moorish baths, located off a large square called the Alameda Vieja. The baths can be visited every day (closed Sunday afternoons; admission charge), but much of the building is off limits to visitors.
Nearby, on the Plaza de Arroyo, is the 18th century Baroque Catedral de San Salvador, also called La Colegiata, built above an old mosque. Other notable churches include the late Gothic Iglesia de San Miguel (on Calle San Miguel, near the Plaza del Arenal) and the Iglesia de Santiago (on the Plaza de Santiago), each with finely carved portals.
Better known are the city's secular monuments. The Palacio Domecq, on Alameda Cristina (across from the tourist office), was the home of the Ponce de Leon family, built by the explorer in 1557 (still a private residence, it is not open to the public). The Renaissancestyle Casa del Cabildo, the old Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) on the Plaza de la Asuncion, today houses a library and an archaeological museum.
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