Jerez
is the Flamenco
capital of the world, and famous for it’s
equestrian events, dancing horses, sherry wine,
sherry wine making bodegas, and its unique blend
of elegance and charm. Jerez's best features are
the endless days of sunshine even during the winter
months temperatures rarely fall below 20 degrees.
With more than three thousand hours of sunshine,
and the fine sandy beaches, blue sea, of
El Puerto de Santa Maria
on the Costa de
la Luz (the Coast of Light)it is an ideal
holiday location.
For the nature lovers Jerez is situated in the
middle of the Parque natural Bahia de Cádiz
There are two hundred hectares of pine forest
which form one part of the three ecosystems in
the area. The endangered species of the chameleon
along with other reptiles and birds of immense
variety can be found in the forest. Andalusia’s
wildlife is the most varied in Europe, with fauna
and flora in protected areas. The area boasts
of two Natural parks, the Sierra
de Grazalema and El Coto
Donaña, both within driving distance
and well worth a visit.
Jerez
de la Frontera is 15 minutes by
car from the beaches of El Puerto. Jerez is a
large town 36km north east of Cádiz famous
world wide for it’s sherry made from grapes
grown on the chalky soils surrounding the area.
The bodegas where the sherry is made are a popular
tourist attraction. Jerez has loads of nice shops
with spacious streets and beautiful old buildings
and churches. Jerez is an interesting town to
spend an enjoyable afternoon watching the world
go by. Jerez is also famous for it’s motorcycle
events the most famous being the World
Motorcycling Championships which
is held in the first week of May every year and
is one of the biggest sporting events in Spain
attracting round 150,000 spectators.
One of the biggest attractions in Jerez are the
dancing horses which can be seen in the Real Escuela
Andaluz del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalucian School
of Equestrian Art on the Avenida Dugue de Abrantes.
There are shows open to the public bookings have
to be made in advance and can be made over the
internet:
CÓMO BAILAN LOS CABALLOS ANDALUCES
THE
REAL ESCUELA ANDALUZA DE ARTE EQUESTRE
Time schedule
Tuesdays ( from 1st March to 15th December ),
Thursdays and Fridays ( only Fridays in August
) at 12.00 hours.
Ticket office timetable: From 09.30 a 11.45 hours.
Well worth a visit if you are in
the region during these dates.The
Feria de Jerez is a week of fiesta
with music, and lots of dancing especially Flamenco
and Sevillanas and lots of sherry drinking .
Jerez de la Frontera Jerez's Feria
del Caballo Jerez horse fair is celebrated annually
in May each year is one of the largest Ferias
in Andulacia apart from that of Seville, when
the town comes to life with lots of dancing, music
fino drinking and colourful traditional costumes
as everyone dresses up in flamenco dresses from
the tiny tots to ancient grannies.
For flamenco there is a 2 week event
which is held annually evey year normally in late
February called the Festival de Jerez which celebrates
Flamenco dance and flamenco songs, live events
are held daily at the Villamartin theatre and
various other venues. If you visit at other times
of the year there are several bars in the Barrio
de Santiago which have regular Flamenco performances
or ask in the local tourist office where the venues
are being held as this normally varies every month.
You may even see on the spot flamenco performers
as you never know who will break into a flamenco
song in Jerez. From young children to pensioners
everyonn in Jerez seems to be able to sing Flamenco
with passion and emotion.
