Sanlucar de Barrameda Travel Guide

This port where the Rio Guadalquivír meets the Bay of Cádiz may have lost its deep harbor of ages past, but its sandbars and silted beaches make it a playground of the south. Well-off Spaniards flock here around Easter to bask in the sun, walk or ride horses on the beach, and eat mounds of fresh seafood in the restaurants. Sanlúcar also produces manzanilla sherry, a delicate style that can only be obtained by aging in the salt air by the ocean.

A bit of background: Sanlucár’s harbor at the mouth of the Guadalquivir was once so deep that Columbus launched his third voyage to America here. But centuries of silting have made the river shallower, creating lovely in-town beaches and protecting the upstream wetlands of Parque Doñana. The healthy estuarine system is a fisherman’s delight. Look for extraordinary shrimp, king prawns, and rock lobster on restaurant menus. Most visitors gravitate to the sandy strand at Bajo de Guia or to restaurant-lined Plaza del Cabildo.