Arcos de la Frontera is built on a cliff. The town, the whitewashed houses of the old Arab medina, the red-tile roofs, and the churches that replaced the mosques, clings to the edge of a 100-metre limestone ridge above the River Guadalete, and the view from the Plaza del Cabildo (the square at the top of the town, the Parador, the state-run hotel in the former palace, and the balcony, the mirador, the view of the valley, the river, and the mountains of the Sierra de Grazalema) is the most beautiful in the white villages of Andalusia. Arcos is a pueblo blanco (the white villages of the Sierra de Cádiz, the hills of the frontier between the Christian and the Moorish kingdoms of medieval Spain, the “de la Frontera” in the name, the frontier that shifted south for 250 years until the fall of Granada in 1492), and the town, the steep streets, the hidden courtyards, and the sense of a place that was built by the Arabs in the 11th century, conquered by the Christians in the 13th, and has been preserved, almost perfectly, by the geography (the cliff, the inaccessibility, and the roads that are too narrow for the coaches), is the most beautiful, the most authentic, and the least spoiled of the white villages. Here is your guide.

Arcos de la Frontera

• The Plaza del Cabildo and the Parador: The Plaza del Cabildo is the heart of Arcos: the square, the plane trees, the café tables, and the Parador de Arcos de la Frontera, the Casa del Corregidor, the 18th-century palace, the courtyard, the tiles, and the view of the valley from the breakfast terrace that is the best view of any hotel in Andalusia. The Parador is a hotel, the rooms from ~€100/night, and the essential experience is the drink on the terrace (the manzanilla, the dry sherry of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and the view of the valley. ~€4, and the best €4 in Andalusia. The terrace is open to non-guests, and the hour before sunset is the essential Arcos experience). The Basílica de Santa María: the church on the site of the former mosque, the Gothic-Mudéjar architecture (the pointed arches, the Islamic decorative elements, and the fusion of the two cultures that defined Andalusia), the altarpiece, and the view from the bell tower, the town, the valley, and the mountains. ~€2 for the tower. More Spain →
• The streets of the old town, the labyrinth: The old town of Arcos is a maze of streets so narrow that the cars are excluded, the donkeys (the 1960s, the last donkeys of Arcos carried the water to the houses) are gone, and the geraniums, the red, the pink, the white, spill from the pots on the whitewashed walls. The essential walk: the Calle Deán Espinosa (the street from the bottom of the town to the Plaza del Cabildo, the steepest and most beautiful ascent in Andalusia. The climb is hard, the view at the top is the reward, and the alternative, the road that winds around the cliff, is the easier and less beautiful route. Walk up the Calle Deán Espinosa, and earn the view). The essential stops: the Mirador de la Peña Nueva (the viewpoint on the Calle Marqués de Torresoto, the valley, the river, and the white houses of the lower town), the Iglesia de San Pedro (the church on the site of the former Arab castle, the Baroque interior, and the view from the terrace), and the Callejón de las Monjas (the “Nuns’ Alley,” the narrowest street in Arcos, the arch, the stairs, and the most beautiful photograph in the town)
• The food, the sherry and the tapas: Arcos is in the province of Cádiz, the sherry triangle (Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María, the 30 km between the three towns that produce the finest fortified wine in the world), and the sherry, the fino (the pale, the dry, the almond taste, and the essential sherry of the region) and the manzanilla (the sherry of Sanlúcar, the slight saltiness, and the perfect accompaniment to the fish), is the essential drink. The essential tapas: the Bar La Cárcel (the café on the Plaza del Cabildo, the tapas, the jamón, the cheese, and the tortilla, and the best bar in the town for the view. ~€3 for a tapa and a glass of sherry), the Mesón Don Fernando (the restaurant on the Calle Deán Espinosa, the rabo de toro, the oxtail stew, the essential Arcos dish, and the best lunch in the town. ~€18 for a main), and the Taberna Jovenes Flamencos (the flamenco bar on the Calle Corredera, the music, the sherry, and the best night in Arcos)