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Arcos

Arcos - Things to do

Any visitor to Arcos heads up the long hill to the enchanting old town. The whitewashed and honey-stoned houses, festooned with blood-red geraniums, are reason enough but once you start wandering through the winding, Moorish streets you discover all manner of sights. The Plaza del Cabildo is the heart of the casco antiguo, with the castle on one side (tucked behind the town hall), the church of Santa María on another, the wonderfully located Parador Hotel on a third and a jaw-dropping mirador looking out over the cliff on the fourth side. From here, the cobbles lead along the spine of the ridge, past tiny squares and sharply-falling passageways, to the southern end of the town. En route there are stunning vistas everywhere you look, a new and very tranquil Andalusian garden, a museum dedicated to Arcos myths and a visitor centre for the Roman sites in the countryside around the town.

Arcos Gardens, a championship standard golf course, is on the outskirts of town and has quickly built an enviable reputation; a number of national federations base their young golfers here for winter training. The club is based around Cortijo Fain, a lovely old country manor house which has served as a hotel and restaurant for some years.

The town has its own reservoir, which is also a centre for water sports. There's a hotel with a large swimming pool on the western side, and other activities include sailing, water skiing and canoeing. The lake is also popular with carp fishermen and regularly stages championships.

Arcos is less than half an hour from the beautiful mountain landscapes of the Sierra de Grazalema - a haven for climbers, walkers, bird watchers, paragliders and anyone who loves nature at its best. There are trails throughout the region and white villages such as Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema make perfect stopping off places for lunch or an overnight halt.

The city of Jerez is 20 minutes away; sherry, horses, flamenco, shops - everything's there, and if the beach is calling, then that's just a further 15 minutes down the road.

Arcos has a hefty programme of celebrations throughout the year. Carnival is, of course, the big winter party and hard on its heels comes Easter, with its week of religious processions followed by a running of the bulls on Easter Sunday and a huge party to follow. Summer brings the carpas festivities to the town every night for the whole of July and August with live music at least once a week. A regular programme of flamenco concerts also takes place in the summer but the main focus for locals is the San Miguel feria at the end of September, when the whole town celebrates for almost a week. Details from the tourist office in Plaza del Cabildo (0034 956 702 264; www.ayuntamientarcos.com).