11 Best Sights in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia

Tucked away on the north side of the old quarter and founded in 1998, this is one of the city's youngest bodegas, but it has the oldest sherry. The five types sit in the casks for at least 20 years—most for longer. Visits (book in advance by phone or email) include a tour of the winery, a lesson in how to pair each sherry type, and a tour of the unique Spanish art collection that includes works by El Greco, Zurburán, Goya, and Velázquez.

Here on one of Jerez's most intimate squares you can find the Mudejar church of San Dionisio (open 10–noon, Monday–Thursday), patron saint of the city, and the ornate cabildo municipal (city hall) with a lovely plateresque facade dating to 1575.

This prestigious school operates on the grounds of the Recreo de las Cadenas, a 19th-century palace. The school was masterminded by Álvaro Domecq in the 1970s. At noon every Tuesday and Thursday (Thursday only in January and February), as well as each Friday August through October, the Cartujana horses—a cross between the native Andalusian workhorse and the Arabian—and skilled riders in 18th-century riding costume demonstrate intricate dressage techniques and jumping in the spectacular show Cómo Bailan los Caballos Andaluces (roughly, The Dancing Horses of Andalusia).  Reservations are essential.

The price of admission depends on how close to the arena you sit; the first two rows are the priciest. At certain other times you can visit the museum, stables, and tack room and watch the horses being schooled.

Once the residence of the caliph of Seville, the 12th-century alcázar and its small octagonal mosque and baths were built for the Moorish governor's private use. The baths have three sections: the sala fría (cold room), the larger sala templada (warm room), and the sala caliente (hot room) for steam baths. In the midst of it all is the 17th-century Palacio de Villavicencio, built on the site of the original Moorish palace. A camera obscura, a lens-and-mirrors device that projects the outdoors onto a large indoor screen, offers a 360-degree view of Jerez.

Across from the alcázar and around the corner from the González Byass winery, the cathedral has an octagonal cupola and a separate bell tower, as well as Zurbarán's canvas La Virgen Niña Meditando (The Virgin as a Young Girl).

Home of the famous Tío Pepe, with its signature logo of a sherry bottle dressed as a man with a guitar, this is one of the most commercial bodegas, dating back to 1835. The tour (in English) is well organized and includes La Concha, an open-air aging cellar designed by Gustave Eiffel.

One block from the Plaza del Arenal, near the alcázar, stands the church of San Miguel. Built over the 15th and 16th centuries, its interior illustrates the evolution of Gothic architecture, with various styles mixed into the design.

Diving into the maze of streets that form the scruffy San Mateo neighborhood east of the town center, you come to one of Andalusia's best archaeological museums. The collection is strongest on the pre-Roman period, and the star item, found near Jerez, is a Greek helmet dating from the 7th century BC.

The Sandeman brand of sherry is known for its dashing man-in-a-cape logo. Tours of the sherry bodegas in Jerez (Thursday at 2 pm) give you some insight into his history and let you visit the cellars. Some visitors purchase tapas to have with their sherry tastings. There is also a museum and shop on-site.

This farm just outside Jerez de la Frontera specializes in Carthusian horses. In the 15th century, a Carthusian monastery on this site started the breed for which Jerez and the rest of Spain are now famous. Visits are on Saturday at 11 am, April to November, and include a full tour of the stables and training areas and a show (allow two hours). Book ahead.

Just west of the town center, the Jerez zoo is set in lush botanical gardens where you can usually spy up to 33 storks' nests. Primarily a place for the rehabilitation of injured or endangered animals native to the region, the zoo also houses white tigers, elephants, a giant red panda, and the endangered Iberian lynx (the only place where you can see the lynx in captivity).