Loop from Jerez de la Frontera

01 Castle

Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera

Alcázar de Jerez de la Frontera

In the south-west corner of Jerez's old walled enclosure, the Alcázar preserves one of the few Almohad complexes on the peninsula. Carry on to the mosque and the Arab baths, in the coolness of the stone, then look up at the octagonal tower. In the 18th century, a Baroque palace was set on the ruins of the Islamic residence.

02 Castle

Castle of Arcos de la Frontera

Castillo de Arcos de la Frontera

Take in the castle from the Plaza del Cabildo, at the top of the cliff where Arcos de la Frontera is perched. This former 11th-century Andalusian alcázar, remodelled in the 14th and 15th centuries, raises four crenellated towers at its corners. Privately owned, it can be viewed from outside, beneath the coat of arms of the Dukes of Arcos.

03 Castle

Castle of Zahara de la Sierra

Castillo de Zahara de la Sierra

At 600 metres, between the Zahara reservoir and the Sierra de Grazalema, this Nasrid castle keeps its tower and sections of wall. Climb up to see the village, the reservoir and, in the distance, Algodonales and Olvera. Retaken by the Nasrids in 1481, the stronghold fell two years later to Rodrigo Ponce de León.

04 Village

Grazalema

Backed against the Peñón Grande, source of the Guadalete, Grazalema stacks its white houses at 812 metres. This is the rainiest corner of Andalusia, where clouds from the Atlantic run up against the sierra. On 4 February 2026, 577 litres per square metre fell here in a single day, before the village was evacuated the following day.

05 Village

Setenil de las Bodegas

In Setenil, the Guadalporcun carved out a gorge into which the inhabitants slipped their houses, simply walling up the rock shelter rather than digging into it. Wander lanes where the cliff serves as a roof for the white façades. Higher up, the Nasrid fortress withstood several Castilian sieges before falling in 1484.

06 Monument

Puente Nuevo

Rising 98 metres, the Puente Nuevo links the two halves of Ronda across the gorge carved by the Guadalevín. Cut from stone quarried from the very bottom of the ravine, it blends into the cliff so well that it seems part of it. Head to one of the viewpoints on the edge of the gorge to judge this camouflage up close.

07 Monument

Plaza de Toros de Ronda

Real Maestranza de Ronda

Pass beneath the stone arcades of one of Spain's oldest bullrings, completed in 1785 to plans by Martín de Aldehuela. It belongs to the Real Maestranza de Caballería, founded by Philip II in 1572 to train horsemen. Pedro Romero, a major figure of bullfighting, fought here from 1782, even before the work was finished.

08 Castle

Castle of Castellar de la Frontera

Castillo de Castellar

Castellar Viejo fits entirely within the walls of a 13th-century Arab castle, on a peak in Los Alcornocales. Most of its residents left in 1971 for a new village, and the alcázar now houses a hotel. In autumn, you may hear the bellowing of stags rising from the cork oak forests.

09 Coast

Punta de Tarifa

At Tarifa Point, continental Europe ends to the south, on a former round islet linked to the town by a causeway. From this causeway, watch the Moroccan coast take shape on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar. A fort occupies the whole island, its lighthouse rising from an old tower.

10 Archaeology  · Family

Baelo Claudia

On the shore of the cove of Bolonia, Baelo Claudia lived on salted tuna and garum, facing Tangier. Walk on the original paving of its forum, between the basilica, the theatre and four temples, one of them dedicated to Isis. A tsunami devastated the town in the 2nd century AD, before it was abandoned in the 7th.

11 Village

Vejer de la Frontera

From the Barbate valley, look up at Vejer, whose white houses crown a 200-metre hill. The castle there keeps an 11th-century gate, a trace of five and a half centuries of Muslim presence. Off the Caños de Meca, once part of Vejer, the Battle of Trafalgar was fought in 1805.

12 Coast

Cape Trafalgar

Cabo Trafalgar

Off this cape, on 21 October 1805, Nelson's fleet defeated the Franco-Spanish squadron. The lighthouse of 1860 crowns an islet joined to the mainland by a double sand tombolo. Near it stand the remains of a watchtower ordered by Philip II against the Barbary pirates.

13 Church

Cádiz Cathedral

Catedral de Santa Cruz de Cádiz

Begun in 1722 and only blessed in 1838, Cádiz cathedral blends Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles according to its successive architects. It can be seen from almost everywhere in the city, its dome of golden tiles rising right by the shore. Its two towers, topped as observatories, are among the highest points in Cádiz.

14 Beach  · Family

La Caleta, Spain

Playa de La Caleta

Here you are on the smallest beach in Cádiz, a former natural anchorage where Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman ships moored. The castles of San Sebastián and Santa Catalina frame it, while the old bathhouse holds an underwater archaeology centre. An 1860 breakwater, the Paseo Fernando Quiñones, runs across the water to the castle of San Sebastián.