| JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA
First, an explanation of its name: like many towns in this area,
Jerez has ‘de la Frontera’ after its name, because
it once stood on the frontier between the Moorish and Christian
kingdoms. And the Jerez bit is after the drink that made its fortune…
only the British, who have been importing the stuff since the
16th century, couldn’t pronounce Jerez so they called the
tipple ‘sherry’ instead.
Today, with 185,000 inhabitants, Jerez is a busy and cosmopolitan
city and the largest in the Cadiz province. It’s a beautiful
and charming town which teems with local life. And perfectly located
for the most beautiful beaches and towns in the province, and
with its own airport, it’s rapidly becoming a focus for
foreign buyers.
With stacks of barrels all over town and the big sherry names
such as Domecq, Tio Pepe, Sandeman and Gonzalez Byass emblazoned
across buildings everywhere you look, you can’t come here
without at least tasting some sherry. Even if you don’t
like the stuff, the bodegas are architecturally beautiful places,
some on the outskirts of town but most in the centre.
Jerez’s central streets are rich in history and tradition,
best appreciated in the attractively shabby old quarter and the
gypsy area – one of the oldest in Andalucia. In the maze
of narrow backstreets and old squares you will stumble across
churches and renaissance palaces among the rundown buildings.
And where you find Andalucian gypsies, you find flamenco. If it’s
not of the spontaneous in-the-middle-of-the-bar variety, then
you will certainly see it at the Andalucian Flamenco Foundation
in town.
Besides sherry, Jerez is famous for being home to the Royal Andalucían
School of Equestrian Art – go on Thursday mornings for a
spectacular dressage display - and to the Speed Circuit where
the world’s top Formula 1 drivers train. There’s also
an excellent new golf course called Sherry Golf Jerez, just 1.5km
from the city and 10 minutes from the coast.
Jerez has a French feel in parts, including wide avenues inspired
by Domecq and a train station built by Eiffel (he of the Parisian
tower). There are salubrious residential areas where a four-bedroom
family house with a swimming pool within walking distance of the
centre (and near Jerez’s international school) will cost
around 425,000 euros. Rustic houses with enough land to keep a
horse or two within half an hour’s drive of Jerez cost about
the same amount.
A two-bed apartment near the centre of town costs about 250,000
euros. New developments on the outskirts of town have townhouses
from 200,000-400,000 euros, some near the golf course. Or for
the adventurous buyer, you can find the odd sherry bodega for
sale in town.
Take a look at this site for details of hotels in Jerez
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