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Andalusia is perhaps Spain’s most well-known region. Famous for the historic towns of Granada, Seville, Cadiz and Cordoba as well as for its wonderful coastline and sandy beaches along the Costa del Sol and the Costa de la Luz.
It is however also home to a large number of less well-known towns which also merit a visit. Jerez de la Frontera, Baeza and Ubeda and Italica are just some of these.
Jerez de la Frontera is an elegant city with attractive buildings and squares lined with palm trees but it is for its sherry, horse festivals and flamenco that it is particularly worth visiting. Jerez is famous for its sherry and there are many bodegas where you can see sherry production and indulge in a little tasting. However to really see Jerez at its best visit either in Feb/March for the Flamenco festival when you can watch world class flamenco singers and dancers perform, or during May for the Horse fair when horses and carriages take to the streets bedecked in flowers and locals dress in traditional costumes and colourful flamenco dresses.
Ubeda and Baeza are both fabulous Renaissance towns with UNESCO World Heritage Status. Baeza has lots of fine Renaissance mansions as well as an impressive cathedral and a university which was one of Spain’s main universities in the 16 century to early 19th century. Ubeda is only 11 km away and has an equally stunning collection of Renaissance buildings. In Ubeda many of the buildings were designed by Andres de Vandelivre who was one of Spain’s foremost Renaissance architects. The main square of Ubeda is thought to be one of the finest Renaissance squares in Spain.
If you are looking for something completely different then head to Guadix. This is a town where half of its inhabitants live underground in troglodyte houses. The earth in the area is a rich reddish country and contrasting to this are whitewashed chimneys of the troglodyte houses which almost look like weird rock formations. Dominating the scenery is the ancient Alcazaba and behind the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. It is like stepping back a few centuries in time.
With olive groves, mountains and beaches as well as historic towns of Renaissance, Roman, Moorish and many other influences it is hard not to find something to everyone’s taste in Andalusia.
