When it comes to sightseeing in Andalucia, there are so many great places to see, so why should you make a beeline for Jerez de la Frontera?
We could cite many reasons to make a visit to this city and municipality within the Cadiz province a key part of your itinerary on your next trip to Spain. But let’s cite just five sights in and around the locality that will help give you a sense of what makes Jerez so fascinating.
Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral
Jerez is blessed with beautiful and enchanting religious buildings, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Asidonia-Jerez occupies a prime position among these.
Although only elevated to the rank of cathedral in 1980, the structure was constructed in the 17th century, and sports elements of Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical style.
Archaeological Museum
Otherwise referred to as the Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Jerez de la Frontera, this archaeological museum on the Plaza del Mercado occupies an 18th-century building that has been on Spain’s Bien de Interés Cultural (literally, ‘good of cultural interest’) register since the 1960s.
The institution itself showcases items including Roman ceramics and an extremely rare Corinthian helmet.
Circuit of Jerez
The mere mention of the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – to give its current full name – is highly evocative to motorsport fans. Today, the FIA Grade 1 circuit located close to the city of Jerez is largely associated with motorcycle racing, including MotoGP.
But the track has also hosted Formula 1 Grands Prix on a number of occasions. The last of these was the 1997 championship-concluding race that saw the title fight between Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Williams’s Jacques Villeneuve decided in highly controversial circumstances.
González Byass
Even many people who have never visited Jerez know it as the world capital of sherry wine. The city is certainly not short of wineries, or bodegas, with one of the best-known being González Byass, which was founded in the 1830s by Manuel María González Angel. He was joined in this endeavour by his English agent, Robert Blake Byass.
Not only is the firm today known for its production of the fino sherry Tio Pepe, but it is also apparently at this winery that the world’s largest weathervane can be found.
Domecq Palace
The Jerez area is not exactly short of captivating old palaces and manors, so in many ways, it is a major task to pick out just one! We therefore settled for the purposes of this article on the late-18th-century Domecq Palace, otherwise known as the Palacio del Marqués de Montana.
This stately home at Marqués de Casa-Domecq was constructed in an Andalucian Baroque style, and is considered an excellent example of this type of Spanish civil architecture.
Would you like to get suitably ‘up close and personal’ with many of the fine sights in and around Jerez or elsewhere in southern Spain? If so, the Simply Shuttles team stands ready to assist you with the highest standard of Malaga airport private transfers.
