Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city of 68,000 people (2018) in Cadiz province, where the Guadalquivir river flows into the Atlantic. It is also a gateway to Parque Nacional de Doñana, right across the Guadalquivir river. Sanlúcar de Barrameda forms the "sherry triangle" with Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa María. Sanlúcar is famous for the manzanilla variant of sherry. It is internationally renowned for beach horse-racing and flamenco music.

Understand
Located in the mouth of Guadalquivir River, Sanlúcar was already inhabited during Phoenician times. The town was particularly prominent from the 15th to the 18th century, when a great deal of the ship traffic between Spain and the Americas passed through town. Columbus started his third voyage from here in 1498, as did Magellan's circumnavigation in 1519.

Fishing, farming, wine production, salt production and tourism are the most important businesses of the town nowadays.

Sanlúcar is a summer tourist destination famous for its cuisine, especially manzanilla (a variety of fino sherry) and prawns. Less well known but equally important are the historical archives of the House of Medina Sidonia (Archivo de la Casa de Medina Sidonia); the major part of the patrimony of the House of Medina Sidonia is in the palace of the same name. The patron saint of the city is Our Lady of Charity, to whom it was dedicated in 1917.

The city is part of the tourist area known as the Costa de la Luz (Coast of the Light), about 44 km from the provincial capital of Cádiz. This includes the marshes of the Pinar de la Bonanza Algaida and the marshes of the Guadalquivir, part of the Doñana Natural Park.

Climate
The climate is Mediterranean with more than 300 sunny days yearly. The coast is somewhat more humid than locations inland. Rain generally is concentrated to during spring and fall.

Get in
Access is in general by road only, although you can likely get in by boat too.

By plane
The closest passenger airport is in Jerez de la Frontera. Other major airports nearby are in Seville and Malaga.

By rail
The train will take you only to Jerez.

By bus
There are buses from Jerez and Seville.

By car
Freeway A-480 connects from Jerez, highway A-2077 from Rota and A-2001 from El Puerto de Santa Maria. Sanlucar is 126 km from Seville and 44 km from Cadiz.

Eat
Sanlúcar is known for its seafood. Like in most of the Andalusian coast, fried fish is the main specialty. Tortillas de Camarones (Shrimp fried tortillas) and Sanlúcar's King Prawns are the most famous local specialties. Local vegetables and sandy soil grown potatoes are also worth tasting.