Jerez

 
Located inland, 20 km from Sanlúcar, Jerez holds worldwide acclaim for its sherry and brandy production. Jerez is the Spanish word for sherry, but the city is equally famous for its fine horses as well as Flamenco music and dance.

The town dates back to Moorish times and possesses a charming old town, casco antiguo, with beautiful palm lined squares. The 11th century Moorish fortress, or Alcazaba, has been partially restored. Of special interest is its church, originally built by the Arabs as a mosque. The Sacristy of the Cathedral del Salvador is home to a lovely painting by Zurbarán, The Sleeping Girl. Today the city of Jerez has a remarkably aristocratic air with wide streets, squares and magnificent rows of jacaranda trees during spring.

Sherry

The sherry production houses are located, surprisingly, in the centre of the town of Jerez and are generally associated with an element of snobbery and aristocratic pride even to this day.

The Spanish word bodega means "cellar", but its generic meaning is "wine manufacturer". Visitors take guided tours of the many Jerez bodegas, such as Gonzalez Byass, Pedro Domecq and Sandeman. British winemakers have been active here for centuries, which is why many of the names have an Anglo-Saxon ring to them. Tours of the cellars take place on week days, followed by sampling of the various types of wine produced.

Horses

The Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art , Avda. Duque de Abrantes s/n (tel. 956 319 635) – this is famous for its dancing horse shows, typical of Jerez, where the famous Andalucian thoroughbreds are trained to perform high precision ballet “dances” to music. Visitors may either watch a show which takes place twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon or watch training taking place on other days of the week. Tickets for mid range seats cost around 17 euros each.

Horse Fair (Feria del Caballo)

Jerez celebrates its famous annual Horse Fair at the very beginning of May and visitors from all over the world flock to this prestigious event each year, which also doubles up as an agricultural fair. The fair has various shows and competitions with prizes that take place in key picturesque locations throughout the town. The next horse fair is scheduled for 7 th to 14 th May 2006.

The fourth World Equestrian Games took place in Jerez from the 10th to 22nd September 2002 and was the largest event ever organised in the equestrian world. It included all six equestrian disciplines including classical dressage, show jumping, three-day-eventing and carriage-driving. Over one thousand horses and riders took part from at least 50 countries around the world. The world wide television audience was over 1.000,000 viewers.

The games were accompanied by an international fairground with 25.000 m2 of stands. Almost all of the events took place in the site called Chapin which is located just to the east of the town only 3km from the old town itself.

Flamenco

Jerez is famous for its long - standing Flamenco tradition, making it an excellent place to watch this great art . The Flamenco festival of Jerez (24 Feb-11 Mar, www.festivaldejerez.com) is one of the most important in the world, with two weeks of phenomenal music and dance from internationally renowned performers

Flamenco dancing is centred around the Barrio de Santiago which faces the cathedral. On the Plaza de San Juan, the Andalucian Flamenco Foundation can be found within a stylish eighteenth century mansion, the Palacio de Pemartín. Here you can learn something of this Andalucian dance form and visit the museum with audiovisual presentations. Flamenco can also be seen at Bar Arco de Santiago, Calle Barreras, 3 or La Taberna Flamenca, Angostillo de Santiago, 3, Jerez de la Frontera.

Jerez Tourist Information Office is located at Alameda Cristina - Edificio Los Claustros - 11403 Jerez. Tel. 956 324 47. The office is open from Monday to Friday, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and from 5:00 pm.