Jerez de la Frontera – Stuff to See

I’ve had a long standing obsession with Jerez, particularly for its brandy of which I am an aficionado, but also for sherry (which derives its name from the town) and vinegar. So in Feburary 2015 when my employer decided to send me to nearby Cádiz (the provincial capital, see separate posts), I took the opportunity to have three days holiday in this historical town before I started work.

I’ve written many other posts on Jerez, the index is here and my Google map is here.

I stayed at the lovely La Fonda Barranco at 12 Barranco www.lafondabarranco.com It’s a renovated old town house with an interior courtyard and characterful rooms, each different to the other. Alejandro the manager is super helpful and very welcoming. He really puts the hours in as I think it’s a bit of a financial struggle to keep the place going. The breakfast is okay but you might want to eat out after a couple of days. Definitely recommended (B+).

Jerez became rich due to its wine industry and proximity to the ports of Seville and Cádiz. Consequently there are many beautiful palaces and churches dotted around the town.

 

 

I particularly like the baroque doorway of Palacio de Bertemati in Plaza Arroyo, built in 1785.

Plaza de la Asuncion has some beautiful features.

 

 

As does the Plaza del Mercado. The market is no longer here but the square has retained the name.

 

The Catedral de San Salvador in Plaza Encarnación www.diocesisdejerez.org is definitely worth a look. It has so many flying buttresses it looks as if it’s about to take off!

Make sure you check out the gargoyles along the sides of the Cathedral.

The Alcazar is what it is, an old Arabic fortress. I didn’t get to go inside as it was closed.

A lot of the time I got intentionally lost and just wandered around the winding streets.

And constantly stumbled upon visual gems.

 

There’s a fair bit of dereliction around and not much seems to be being done about it.

For example, Plaza San Lucas was supposed to be redeveloped as a centre for flamenco but the money has disappeared due to corruption and the square remains boarded off. Naturally some people aren’t too happy about it. The sign reads ‘We want more flamenco and less speculation’.

I also visited the Museo Arqueológico Municipal www.museoarqueologico.webjerez.com which is in Plaza del Mercado. It opens 10am-2pm and 4-7pm Tuesday-Friday, 10am-2.30pm at weekends. There’s not that much to see (the museum in Cadiz is better apparently) but there are a few nice exhibits.

My favourite pieces were the prehistoric icons that people in these parts once worshipped.

The origins of the city’s name, and perhaps its viticulture, comes from the Phoeneicans who called it ‘Sèrès’ (spelt Xera). This became ‘Sherish’ (spelt Xeres or Xerez) during the Muslim occupation which is the name that ‘sherry’ originates from. It stopped being a border town between the Moorish and Christian kingdoms after the reconquest in 1492 but has retained the name Frontera.