Drinking, dancing and dressage (Jerez de la Frontera)

Member Name: caro

Product:	Jerez de la Frontera
Date:	26/07/01 (990 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty to see for a weekend, beach and mountains in easy reach, cheap Buzz flights

Disadvantages: Not overly welcoming, food isn't outstanding

Jerez is synonymous with (and is the Spanish word for) sherry. However, this town in Andalucia, Southern Spain, is the home not only of that fortified wine but also of flamenco, Spanish brandy and Andalucian horses. Cheap Buzz flights to the town’s airport have started to put it on the British tourist’s map, and it is within easy distance of the coast and the mountains.

HISTORY

Jerez de la Frontera dates at least from the time of the Phoenicians, but first rose to prominence under the Moors, who called it Xerix or Sherrich. ‘De la Frontera’ refers to Jerez’s position on the frontier of Moorish Spain, and the Alcazar (fortress) is a reminder of the town’s strategic importance. While the Reconquest under Alphonse X saw mosques converted to churches, many reminders of Moorish Spain remain.

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS

Jerez, thanks to its prominent sherry families, is considered home to some of the ‘aristocracy’ of Spain. It is perhaps this which makes it rather less friendly than neighbouring towns. While some people were charming and went out of their way to be helpful, attitudes to visitors were generally rather less positive. The tourist information centre in particular was far from welcoming. Also, be warned that English is not generally spoken, so a phrasebook is invaluable! Even an English website or menu does not mean that any of the actual staff speak the language. However, perhaps you can provide as much amusement to waiters as we did with our appalling Spanish accents!

Even without an overly warm welcome, the town is well worth visiting. Visually, it is attractive with lots of orange and palm trees; out of the centre are shady cobbled streets and beautiful churches. The area has over 300 days of sunshine a year, so you’re likely to be as lucky as we were and enjoy clear, deep blue skies. (Don’t forget suncream!).

PLACES TO VISIT


On our visit, we had two and a half days in which we made all the visits recommended here! I would recommend a little longer, however: we did find ourselves rushing around in the near-unbearable heat of the afternoon when all sane people were sat enjoying a leisurely lunch. Nonetheless, it won’t take all that long to explore Jerez. Most sights are within walking distance of each other.

THE ALCAZAR – the 12th Century Moorish fortress, later converted into a Christian stronghold. This complex covers a surprisingly small area, but manages to pack in a mosque (subsequently used as a church), Arab baths, several towers one of which is octagonal, gardens, the Palacio Villavicencio and a camera obscura. The compactness of the Alcazar makes a visit intimate rather than overwhelming. It has been fully restored, perhaps a little more than is preferred by British tastes.

The camera obscura is a definite highlight. Located in a tower, this offers a 360 degree view of the city projected through lenses and mirrors: it’s like looking at a photograph, but with movements visible (you see people and cars travelling through the streets, pigeons alighting on buildings, etc). The guide points out the landmark buildings and gives a little of their history, allowing you to get your bearings in the city. There are frequent visits with English commentary.

THE CATHEDRAL – This is rather strange to visit. It gives the very strong impression of being virtually unused as a local church. There is dust on the statues, and no candles are lit or even available to light. However, it is worth looking around and the atmosphere is certainly quiet and calm.

The cathedral was built on the site of a former mosque, and one tower remains from the earlier building, standing a little way apart. The cathedral itself is largely baroque, built between 1695 and 1778. The artwork inside includes ‘La Virgen Nina’, a p
ainting by notable Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbaran.

JEREZ ZOO AND BOTANIC GARDENS – considered one of the best in Spain, the zoo has a conservation programme and an impressive range of animals. Travelling with a botanist however, I was there mainly for the plants! The botanic gardens predate the zoo, and the collection is planted throughout the park, providing much-needed shade as well as a fascinating range of plants and trees. However, what really sticks in my memory from visiting here is the sound of the storks, who have nesting sites throughout the park.

ROYAL SCHOOL OF EQUESTRIAN ART – this school trains horses and riders in high dressage. There is a performance to music every Thursday at noon, which you must book in advance to be sure of getting a ticket. It’s memorable and very interesting, although a little too artificial for my taste. You can also wander around the stable and grounds, which is extremely pleasant. However, be warned that you will be turned out very promptly about half an hour after the performance ends.

BODEGAS

Jerez is the centre of sherry production (although not the only town involved: it is one point of the ‘sherry triangle’, the others being Sanlucar de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa Maria). A visit to one of the sherry bodegas is therefore an essential part of any visit to Jerez.

Less well-known is that Jerez is also an important centre of Spanish brandy production.

We visited the Gonzalez Byass bodega, and I would strongly recommend it. First, it is the oldest bodega in Jerez; second, it features both brandy and sherry production; third, you do not need to pre-book, and there are about six English tours every day. Most importantly, it is very interesting, including a building designed by Gustav Eiffel (best known for his tower in Paris), barrels signed by famous visitors (though they forgot to ask me to sign…), sherry-dri
nking mice, and best of all, generous samples of sherry at the final tasting. Much of the tour is in a ‘train’, no small consideration in the overpowering heat; there is also an audiovisual presentation. The shop has an excellent selection of sherries and brandies alongside some fabulously tacky souvenirs.

FLAMENCO

Flamenco is a form of music and dance whose origins are obscure, but is particularly associated with Spain’s gypsies. Jerez’s flamenco is thus centered in the gypsy barrios of Santiago and San Miguel. We visited a flamenco bar in Santiago, and although apparently one of the more ‘touristy’ ones, we found it very interesting and not particularly tourist-orientated. Our only complaints were the short performance (half an hour) and the high – and unadvertised – cover charge.

A must to visit is the flamenco centre. A library of books and videos is available to serious students of this music and dance. However, the centre is also worthwhile for the casual visitor. It has a programme of videos shown hourly every weekday morning: these are a free and interesting introduction to flamenco. In addition, the centre is housed in the Palacio Pemartin and worth a visit for the building alone.

EATING OUT

Spain does not offer great cuisine for vegetarians. After three days of Spanish omelette, I felt that I’d happily never eat an egg again! Most local specialities are meat (particularly ham and offal) and fish/seafood. The best way of sampling these is as tapas, available at most bars for very reasonable prices.

We did want to try a more upmarket eating experience, and went to Gaitan, a restaurant uniformly recommended by the guidebooks. Sadly, this was rather disappointing. Service was good, and we got to try a local wine. Our starters were also delicious (mushrooms in sherry sauce for me: hurray, no eggs!). However, the main courses (fish
for my friend, a wildly exciting mixture of, er, carrots, celery and beans for me) were rather too salty and really not what you’d expect of supposedly the best Spanish restaurant in town.

In summary, food is good enough (for non-veggies, anyway) but not outstanding. You can eat well in Jerez, but don’t go for the cuisine.

NOTES ON GUIDEBOOKS

We mainly relied on two guidebooks: Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, both covering the whole of Andalucia. At first sight, Rough Guide is more comprehensive and offers fuller coverage. However, we found various inaccuracies and inexplicably poor recommendations in this book, and would not recommend it unless you want to spend half your visit searching for bars whose location is wrongly given and the other half eating microwaved tapas. Lonely Planet has its faults, but is definitely more reliable for Jerez and its recommendations are less dubious.

TRIPS OUT OF TOWN

We took two trips out of town (both in the same day! I wouldn’t advise this, though). The first was to Puerto de Santa Maria, ten minutes away by train in a journey costing about £1.20 return. Santa Maria is a lovely seaside town, justly renowned for its seafood and fish which are freshly caught by local fishermen. (Me, I had … guess what … egg and chips).

However, be warned that the beach is a good walk out of town. Given the heat, I’d strongly recommend taking a taxi from the station. It only costs a couple of pounds, and lets you arrive at the beach in a condition to enjoy it. The seaside is lovely here: pale golden sand with seashells, warm sea sloping out gently, and a little rocky area with pools full of fish, shrimp and hermit crabs. There are a few seafront bars, but this place has the feel of somewhere for local people rather than a tacky tourist trap.

Arcos de la Frontera is a 45-minute bus trip from Jerez, and is the first of the ‘Pue
blas Blancas’ (‘white towns’ in the mountains). The bus journey lets you enjoy scenery, first of fields of sunflowers, and later of the mountains and the old town of Arcos perched high above you.

Note the word ‘high’. Sadly, the bus station is at the bottom of the town so you have to walk uphill for a kilometre to get to the old town. (In our case, march – we only had an hour there before the last bus left, and I never thought I’d live to see the walk down!). However, it’s worth the climb both for views back across the countryside and for its lovely narrow streets, churches and castle. This is the storybook Spain you won’t see in Jerez.

WEBSITES

There are several good websites. These are a few of my favourites:
www.webjerez.com
www.jerez.org
www.renfe.es (train information)
http://www.hotel-torres.es.org/jerez_en.htm (all these links and more; it’s also the site for a very nice hotel!)

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