Most beautiful towns in Cadiz

It is very easy to introduce most beautiful villages of Cadiz. The difficult part is choosing which localities we should include and which ones should be left out. Because the entire province of Cadiz is a marvel with white villages of enormous beauty.

Some are in the Costa de la Luz and they offer you dream beaches. Others, on the other hand, are in the interior and have beautiful monuments and a wonderful natural environment made up of mountains such as the one in Grazalema, parks such as the cork oaks and marshes like those of Bonanza, integrated in Doñana. If to all this you add the beauty of the capital itself, the historic Cadiz, you will have plenty of reasons to get to know this wonderful province. But, without further ado, we are going to propose our most beautiful towns in Cádiz.

Grazalema

You will find this town in the northeast of the province, precisely in the mountain range of the same name and almost a thousand meters high. The custody of Big Rock, where the Guadalete river is born and belongs to the beautiful route of the White Towns of Cádiz.

You will be fascinated by its narrow streets of whitewashed houses adorned with flowers. But you should also visit the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation, a well-restored XNUMXth-century temple. And, above all, get closer to the Spain Square, the nerve center of the town where the Town Hall and the Aurora church are located, built in the XNUMXth century following Renaissance canons. Regarding religious constructions, we also advise you to visit the churches of San Juan de Letrán, a small temple with Mudejar ornamentation, and San José, inside which you will see a carving of the crucified Christ from the XNUMXth century.

On the other hand, on Las Piedras street you will see XNUMXth century manor houses, with its large porticoes and pediments. You can also go up to the Los Peñascos, Asomaderos or El Tajo viewpoints, which offer wonderful views of the mountains and the Guadalete valley. But, if you like to walk, you can do one of the marked hiking trails in the area. For example, you can go up to the hermitage of Calvario, a small baroque temple in ruins and appreciate the views from the Mirador del Santo.

To conclude your visit to Grazalema, walk along the medieval road that runs alongside the river and which was the continuation of another Roman road that linked this beautiful town with that of ubrique.

Weighs de la Frontera

It is also part of the route of the White Villages and it is on a mount of about two hundred meters of altitude. It will draw your attention for its network of streets that resembles a Muslim medina and its walls that protected it from any attack.

Be sure to visit its no less imposing castle and towers like the Mayorazgo. And likewise, visit the Roman aqueduct of Santa Lucía, the Baroque Palace of the Marquis of Tamarón, which houses a small history and archeology museum, and the San Francisco hospice convent. But we also recommend that you visit the church of the Divine Savior, which combines Gothic and Mudejar styles, and the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Oliva, inside which you will see paintings by the Mexican Juan Correa.

On the other hand, do not forget to enjoy the surroundings of Vejer. Mainly from beaches like the one in El Palmar, with its coastal watchtower, and spaces such as the Natural Park of La Breña and Marismas de Barbate. But also from the open-air museum NMAC Foundation, which combines modern art with Mediterranean forest.

Olvera, a city among the most beautiful towns in Cádiz

Located in the foothills of the Sierra de Cádiz, it has held the title of city since 1877, when it was granted by the King Alfonso XII. It is surrounded by a wonderful natural environment in which the Zeframagón rock reserve, sighting area for griffon vultures, and the Sierra Greenway, an old 38-kilometre railway line converted into a hiking trail.

But Olvera stands out, above all, for its monuments. In fact, it has been declared Artistic Historical Ensemble. She is dominated by her imposing castle Arabic from the XNUMXth century, elevated on a hill. The preserved remains of the old wall belong to the same period, including a hollow tower, the so-called Mirador del Duque. This is in the House of the Cilla, an old barn that today houses the museum called La Frontera y los Castillos.

But we also advise you to see the La Villa neighborhood, which, precisely, is at the foot of the castle and was the old Arab almedina. In it, in addition to typical streets and white houses, you can still see the Torre del Pan, an old bakery.

On the other hand, the main religious monument of the town is the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation, built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in neoclassical style on top of a previous one, of which the apse is preserved. It stands out for its two slender and tall towers and for the white marble inside.

We also recommend that you see the churches of La Victoria and El Socorro in Olvera, the first modern and the second from the XNUMXth century with a Gothic-Mudejar style. Also, in the surroundings, you have the convent of Caños Santos, built in the sixteenth century and classicist, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies, from the XNUMXth century and which houses the image of the patron saint of the town.

Setenil de las Bodegas

In addition to the white tone typical of the towns in the area, the great peculiarity that includes it among the most beautiful towns in Cádiz is the existence of cave houses. They are located under the huge rock that is in the middle of the town and they were not built drilling into the mountain, but taking advantage of the rocky outcrop to close it.

Setenil is located next to the Trejo River at an altitude of about six hundred and forty meters and has been declared a Historic-Artistic Site. In it you must visit the castle, a Nasrid fortress from the XNUMXth century with its wall and its network of medieval streets. The tower through which the fortress was accessed was the old Town Hall and today serves as a tourist office. The new town hall, in a XNUMXth century house, is also pretty.

But you can also see different religious constructions in Setenil. For example, the hermitages of San Sebastián, Nuestra Señora del Carmen or San Benito. And also the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation, built between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. Although, really, it consists of two temples, one Gothic and the other Mudejar.

Finally, visit the La Mina neighborhood, where there is the spectacular corach made in the wall to protect the arrival of water to the town. With thirty meters, it was divided into three heights. But the lower one, where the internal galleries that carried the liquid are located, has given rise to numerous legends.

Arcos de la Frontera

It is the most populated of the towns in the mountains of Cadiz. The first thing that will catch your attention when you arrive is the imposing Rock of Arches, 185 meters high and cut on the Guadalete River. The town still preserves the Muslim walls and urban layout. However, it was founded by the Romans, as evidenced by the Sierra de Aznar site, although it was previously inhabited. In the Higueral de Valleja cave prehistoric burials have been found.

Arcos de la Frontera joins numerous monuments to its natural beauty. You can start your visit by castle, a spectacular Andalusian fortress that is a Site of Cultural Interest and has been restored. Then, we advise you to follow the parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, a temple built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries and that combines Mudejar, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements.

The churches of San Francisco and San Pedro, both completed in the XNUMXth century, are also very beautiful. The religious heritage of the town is completed by the convent of San Agustín and the Hospital de la Caridad. On the other hand, the Palace of the Earl of the Eagle, built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, is in the Mudejar Gothic style and the Mayorazgo is from the XNUMXth century, as is the Town Hall.

Finally, the San Miguel bridge It was built at the beginning of the XNUMXth century and, with its wide metal latticework, it is a good example of industrial architecture. You will find it on the road that goes to El Bosque and other towns in the mountains of Cadiz.

Medina Sidonia, another of the most beautiful towns in Cádiz

We end our tour of the most beautiful towns in Cadiz in this town, which is the capital of the region of La Janda. In this case, it preserves its medieval structure, with its wall and entrance gates such as those of Belén or La Pastora, but also with its narrow streets and its castles. These are two the one from Medina Sidonia y Torrestrella's, both from the XNUMXth century.

However, you can also see in the town a Roman site from the XNUMXst century with its bridges, its road and its sewers. For its part, the Stables of the Duke, the Town Hall and La Alameda are from the XNUMXth century, while the Tower of Doña Blanca is from the XNUMXth.

As for the religious architecture of Medina, highlights the Major Church of Santa María la Coronada, built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in the Gothic style. Be sure to see its imposing polychrome main altarpiece, considered the best in the entire Diocese of Cádiz. Other churches such as Santiago, San Juan de Dios and La Victoria are also very beautiful; the Convents of San Cristóbal and Jesús, María y José; the ruined monastery of El Cuervo and the hermitages of Santa Ana, Cristo de la Sangre and Santos Mártires, the latter from the Visigoth period.

In conclusion, we have shown you some of the most beautiful villages of Cadiz. But there are so many that it has been impossible for us to tell you about all of them. For this reason, we will mention in passing other equally beautiful towns such as Zahara de la Sierra, Chipiona, Alcala de los Gazules o Conil de la Frontera. Don't you want to know them?