After the Sherry Maratón: Sanlúcar de Barrameda
The Route: Jerez → Sanlúcar de Barrameda → Jerez → Jerez or Seville airport Logistics: Bus M-971 from Jerez, about 30 to 40 minutes. One night, then back to Jerez for the train or airport. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night
Jerez bus station ──(30-40 mins bus M-971)──> Sanlúcar de Barrameda
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Jerez Airport (XRY) ◄──(taxi or bus via Jerez)───────┘
The Sherry Maratón finishes with a glass of sherry in Alameda Vieja. Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 23 km away at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, makes the third point of the Sherry Triangle and its own wine, manzanilla, a pale, dry sherry that the local bodegas say takes a salty edge from the sea air. It is also one of the best places in Spain to eat shellfish.
April in Sanlúcar is quiet and mild. In most years the days are in the low twenties and the evenings cool, and the town is calm before the summer, when the horse races on the beach in August bring the crowds. The river mouth faces west, so the sun sets over Doñana.
There is no train to Sanlúcar. The Consorcio de Transportes bus M-971 runs from Jerez bus station, next to the railway station, in about 30 to 40 minutes, several times a day; check the timetable at siu.cmtbc.es. A taxi takes about 25 minutes.
Night One: Sanlúcar
The town has two levels. The Barrio Bajo, the lower town by the river, holds the bodegas, the main square, Plaza del Cabildo, and the waterfront district of Bajo de Guía. The Barrio Alto, the upper town with the castle of Santiago and the palace of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, is reached by steep streets and steps. Stay low.
The primary recovery asset is the riverfront at Bajo de Guía, a flat promenade along the Guadalquivir with the forests and dunes of Doñana National Park on the far bank. At the end of the day, sit here and watch the light go.
The bodegas in the lower town, among them Barbadillo, run visits and tastings of manzanilla; check days and book, since many are closed on Sunday afternoons and Mondays. The visitor centre at Bajo de Guía, the Fábrica de Hielo, explains Doñana. Boat trips up the river into the park leave from the quay beside it at set times; check the April schedule and book, since boats sell out.
Plaza del Cabildo, the square at the centre of the lower town, is flat, lined with orange trees and café tables, and the obvious place to start the evening. The Mercado de Abastos a few streets away is where the town's fish and shellfish are sold in the mornings; it is busy, noisy and worth a look before lunch, and closed on Sundays.
Where to stay. Hotel Posada de Palacio, a converted eighteenth-century house in the lower part of the upper town, has patios and period rooms; ask for a room reached without stairs. Hotel Barrameda, on the lower town's main shopping street near Plaza del Cabildo, is a practical modern choice a short walk from Bajo de Guía.
Where to eat. Casa Balbino on Plaza del Cabildo is known for its tortillitas de camarones, lacy fritters of tiny shrimp, eaten standing at the bar with a glass of manzanilla. For a seated dinner, the restaurants along Bajo de Guía serve the famous langostinos de Sanlúcar, the local prawns, grilled or boiled, with the river in front.
Getting to Jerez Airport
Take the bus back to Jerez, about 30 to 40 minutes, then a taxi or train to Jerez Airport (XRY), about 8 km from the city. For Seville Airport (SVQ), continue from Jerez by train to Seville, about an hour, then the airport bus. A taxi from Sanlúcar to Jerez Airport takes about 30 minutes.