Planning a Weekend Break in Jerez

Jerez has its own airport which is a just 6km and adancing is centered around the Barrio de Santiago
bus or taxi ride away from the city center. Jerez dewhich faces the cathedral.
la Frontera is a great place for a weekend break andThere is also flamenco featured at the Bulería
if often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor,festival which kicks off the Jerez Autumn Festival
Seville. It offers a very traditional and attractive old(Festival de Otono) which takes place from 4th-19th
quarter, some excellent tapas bars and restaurantsSeptember 2010 and is a time to bless the grape
and is famed for its flamenco, Andalucian dancingharvest, dance flamenco, sing and drink sherry like
horses and namesake sherry.there's no tomorrow.
Jerez sherry has been exported internationally forJerez is also famous for its cartujano dancing horses
hundreds of years and is drunk as thewhich are Andalucían thoroughbreds trained at
accompaniment to tapas, or a chilled glass of the palethe Royal Riding School (Real Escuela Andaluz del
and dry fino variety is very refreshing on a hotArte Ecuestre). They present daily synchronized
summer's day. To find out more about the differentshows and even the training sessions, which are also
types of sherry you can take a tour of the largeopen to the public, are fascinating to watch.
bodegas in the town centre where the wines areThe real horse lovers should make their visit to Jerez
aged and bottled. These include Pedro Domecq andduring the annual Horse Fair (Feria de Caballo) which
González Byass who is the maker ofruns from 2nd-9th May next year.
Tío Pepe: the world's best selling dry sherry.Jerez's main shopping street is Calle Larga, which can
You can sample a light hazelnut flavored amontillado,be found inside the ruins of the 12th-century Moorish
or a heavier raisin tasting oloroso.walls. It leads south to the streets around Plaza del
Jerez is the home of flamenco -- especially the fastArenal where there are occasional horse races and
and furious bulería style. The city has one ofthe best tapas bars. Just to the south is the
the largest gypsy populations in Andalucía;12th-century Alcazar which has a mosque which has
living in the white washed neighborhoods of Santiagobeen converted into a chapel and a bathhouse with
and San Miguel. In Santiago you can visit the Centrostar-shaped skylights.
Andaluz de Flamenco which is a museum, gallery andIf you want a short trip away from Jerez during your
cinema in one.weekend then take go the bus station in the city
Jerez's main flamenco dates are the Internationalcenter and take the 30 minute bus journey inland to
Flamenco Festival (27th February -14th March 2010)Arcos de la Frontera which is a pueblo blanco (white
which is one of the most important flamenco eventstown) built on the tip of a sheer cliff. It has a
in the world with two weeks of amazing music andtraffic-free center, with dozens of of narrow
dance from international performers. The flamencoalleyways to explore.