What to see and do

▪ Walk through history

START your visit by going on a walking tour with Sherry Tour ( freetour.com). It is tip-based, so bring cash — £8.50 to £17 pp is the average. English tours run from Plaza del Arenal, Jerez’s main square, and offer a glimpse into the city’s intriguing past — from its links to the Phoenicians, Arabs and English to its sherrymaking heritage.

▪ Go sherry tasting

IT WOULD be unthinkable to visit Jerez and not do a sherry-tasting tour — Jerez, after all, means sherry in Spanish. Try the one by Lustau ( tastings from £16 pp, Monday to Saturday, lustau.es). Information on this tour is easy to digest, and you’ll get to taste six different types of sherry as you wander the shadowy, cool winery.

▪ Experience flamenco

FLAMENCO runs through the veins of natives here, many of whom claim it originated in Jerez (though Seville, Cordoba and Granada might have something to say about that).

Visit Tabanco El Pasaje ( tabancoelpasaje.com), a rustic little tabanco. Or try Damajuana ( damajuanajerez.com), which hosts flamenco shows in an old palace courtyard.

▪ Taste market delights

ACT like a Jerezano by browsing the Mercado Central de Abastos, the city’s central market. Here, vendors swig cold sherry as locals haggle for meat, fish and vegetables. For an authentic experience, take the first right through the main door and buy yourself a bag of golf ball-sized olives and some jamon, then enjoy them over an ice-cold Cruzcampo beer.

▪ Watch dancing horses

VISIT Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (£18, realescuela.org) for a proper Jerez experience. Take your seat in the grand auditorium and watch as pristinely groomed horses do elegant can-can kicks to classical music under the expert steer of smartly attired riders. Then drift around the training areas and the Recreo de las Cadenas Palace with its exotic, technicoloured gardens.

▪ Explore Moorish architecture

THE Moors left beautiful architectural imprints on lots of Andalusian towns, including Granada (the Alhambra) and Seville (La Giralda), so it is hardly surprising that Jerez has its own ancient Arabic buildings.

The most notable is the Alcazar (£4.50), an 11th or 12th-century Almohad fortress, which was heavily restored in the 17th and 18th centuries. Walk around the botanical gardens, see former noblemen’s baths and head up the octagonal watchtower to dine out on city views.