Things to do
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Waterfront
Bajo de Guía
The old fishermen's quarter on the riverbank is now a row of seafood restaurants with terraces facing the Doñana shore. Langostinos, the town's sweet local prawns, come grilled or boiled, with a glass of chilled manzanilla. Tables fill for the sunset over the river mouth, and weekend tables are booked ahead. The Real Fernando and the river ferry both leave from the beach here.
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Other
Bodegas Barbadillo
The biggest of the manzanilla houses fills a run of whitewashed cellars below the castle, among them a high-arched hall of stacked barrels. Its Manzanilla Museum explains how a layer of yeast keeps the wine pale and salty, and ends with a tasting. Guided tours run every day late in the morning, with one in English from Tuesday to Saturday, and fill up, so they are booked ahead.
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Event
Carreras de Caballos de Sanlúcar
Racehorses gallop along the sand at low tide on two sets of three evenings each August, as they have since the nineteenth century. The course runs between Bajo de Guía and Las Piletas, with Doñana across the river behind it. Watching from the beach is free, and children run their own betting stalls on the sand. The dates are set each year from the tide tables.
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Castle
Castillo de Santiago
A late-Gothic castle on the edge of the Barrio Alto, built by the dukes of Medina Sidonia on the bluff above the river. The terrace of the keep looks over the rooftops and the bodegas to the Guadalquivir, Doñana and the Atlantic. Inside, rooms around the parade ground cover the castle and the voyages that sailed from this port.
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Park
Doñana National Park
Across the river from Bajo de Guía lie the dunes, pine woods and marshes of one of Europe's largest wetland reserves, home to the Iberian lynx and great flocks of wintering birds. A flat ferry crosses in daylight to a wild beach on the far bank, with no timetable and cash fares. Going further into the park takes a guided visit, by the Real Fernando or by 4x4.
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Other
Fábrica de Hielo
The old ice factory on Bajo de Guía, which once froze the catch for the fishing fleet, sells tickets for the Real Fernando and houses a small Doñana exhibition. The boat spends about three and a half hours on the Guadalquivir, with a guided stop at the village of La Plancha inside the national park. Tickets are best bought a day or two ahead. Binoculars help with the flamingos and herons.
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Tower
Faro de Chipiona
Spain's tallest lighthouse stands on the point at Chipiona, a short drive west along the coast, and still guides ships into the Guadalquivir. A spiral stair of 344 steps climbs to the gallery, with a view from Doñana to the Bay of Cádiz. The climb is only by guided tour, booked through the Chipiona tourist office, and fills early in summer.
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Hotel
Hotel Palacio de los Guzmanes
The palace foundation rents a handful of rooms in an old wing of the ducal palace, furnished with pieces from the house. Guests keep the shaded courtyards and gardens after the day visitors leave, and the castle and the Iglesia de la O are a few steps away. Rooms are few, and August and the June fair book up early.
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Church
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la O
The main parish church of the town stands beside the ducal palace in the Barrio Alto, with a carved Mudéjar doorway facing the square. The interior is open around the services, so the door is most often open in the early evening before Mass. The doorway alone is worth the climb from the Plaza del Cabildo, and the castle is a short walk on.
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Monument
Las Covachas
A row of thirteen pointed Gothic arches runs along the wall below the ducal palace on the Cuesta de Belén, once a merchants' arcade of the old riverside market quarter. A carved serpent crouches over each pier, which gave the arcade its other name, the Tiendas de las Sierpes. It takes a few minutes on the way up to the Barrio Alto.
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Market
Mercado de Abastos
The covered central market in the lower town is busiest in the morning, when the fish stalls lay out the catch from the boats at Bonanza: langostinos, sole, cuttlefish and the tiny shrimp for tortillitas. The bars around it fry fish to eat standing up. Most stalls close in the early afternoon.
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Palace
Palacio de los Duques de Medina Sidonia
The dukes of Medina Sidonia have owned this rambling palace on the bluff since the Middle Ages, and a family foundation still runs it. Guided tours show the paintings, the Baroque furniture and the family archive, and finish in gardens of palms and roses. Tours run on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings only. The courtyard café opens in the afternoon, except on Mondays.
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Palace
Palacio de Orleans-Borbón
A nineteenth-century summer palace in neo-Mudéjar style, built for a royal duke and duchess and now the town hall. The rooms open only to groups by arrangement, but the gardens are open in the mornings, with dragon trees, palms and tiled paths. The palace stands at the foot of the Cuesta de Belén, the climb from the lower town to the Barrio Alto.
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Park
Pinar de La Algaida
A stone pine forest on the edge of the Doñana marshes, north of the fishing port of Bonanza, with sandy tracks for walking and cycling and picnic areas in the shade. The Tarelo lagoon at the entrance and the salt pans beyond draw flamingos, storks and kites. It is a short drive or bike ride from town, and there are no shops inside.
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Landmark
Plaza del Cabildo
The palm-lined square at the centre of the lower town is where the bars serve tortillitas de camarones, thin crisp fritters of tiny shrimp, with manzanilla poured from the barrel. Orders go in at the counter and the terraces stay busy until late. In August and on feast days the counters are three deep, but the queue moves quickly.
