Strong and Atlantic City, Jerez de la Frontera is a city that has always enjoyed a strategic geographic position. From the top of its Moorish castle and over the border during Middle Age, first resisted the Christians attacks and sieges and then the Moorish that tried to conquer the city again. After the Catholic Kings took over the Kingdom of Granada and the pacification of the peninsula, its economic and intellectual splendor returned, as it had also during the Moorish period.
Plaza del Arenal, “where Jerez dreams”
Bear in mind that the city has struggled historically for its current economic and cultural position, with hardly support from any institution, because, after decades of struggle for being capital between the two cities during century XIX, Cadiz got that title in the province. The traveler must not forget that the rivalry is very intense with Cadiz and many people in Jerez will not feel identified with the other city. The rivalry is mutual, although they are two cities required to understand each other.
Nowadays, few places in Spain can be said to enjoy the international renown of Jerez as, thanks to its sherry wines, the name of the city crossed international borders many years ago. But Jerez is not just a city of wines and beautiful buildings, it has much more to offer than that to the Tourism: home of the Carthusian horses, cradle of flamenco, capital of motorcycle racing and home to international sporting events, and on top of all that, declared to be of Artistic and Historical interest.
The results achieved by the city on its own through centuries has made Jerez a place ambitious, proud of themselves and with a great dynamism, despite of its relatively small size. Municipal institutions have always worked to balance those needs and give way to the dynamism of the city, while ensuring their growth.
The pride of being the city that it is has several spots. Among their achievements we could tell that Jerez was the first Spanish city to have street lighting and the Caja de Ahorros de Jerez was the first savings bank in Spain. It was also the first city in the province to ask for a University (but the request was denied from Madrid), and the oldest headquarters of the Provincial Institute. More recently, projects like the race track Circuito de Jerez or the National Flamenco Center (Ciudad del Flamenco) begun to be projects by local initiative, just later were welcomed by National Institutions.
When you visit Jerez, not remain on the surface and try to understand the city from a historical perspective. Some other places in the province may call Jerez as "Sir City" because of the middle-class families who developed the wine business and being the city that host the largest number of titles of nobility in the province. That is "a reality," but it is not "the reality." Jerez is more urban and diverse than it may seem at first sight.
If the traveler has no many days, most likely they will make the traditional tourist circuit: Horse, flamenco and wines. Surely it is quite interesting, as this little trilogy could be summarized as an essence of Andalusia and can largely explain the financial support to provide such a big city depiste of being no capital. But if you have more time, try to go further and go deep into the city. Enjoy some coffee or tapas in the coolest bars and at the most traditional ones, attend some theater play and wal around the food market, get information about activities and stroll through the old town. Sometimes it is enough to turn left or right in a main road.
Jerez is a large city where long-standing traditions coexist in perfect harmony with the modern: large shopping centres and wide avenues converge upon the historic, cheerful and bustling city-center, where shopping and tapas go hand in hand. All of these distinctive features, together with a privileged geographical situation and climate, an unique and distinct tourist attractiveness, and modern infrastructures, all make Jerez the perfect place to live in and to visit.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Jerez de la Frontera
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Jerez de la Frontera - updated May 2024
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Jerez de la Frontera Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
