Things To Do in Chiclana de la Frontera

Foodies should head to the covered market in the town centre which does a good line in local produce – things like prize hams and sausages, Andalusian honey and sherry. It’s open every day bar Sunday. For handmade gifts, try the open-air Tuesday market next to the Puente Azul, otherwise known as the Blue Bridge. Bags, textiles, shoes – you’ll find the lot here.

With lots of local cheeses, just-off-the-boat seafood and plenty of good wine, fine dining is easy in Chiclana’s tapas joints. You’ll find them clustered around the centre, mostly decked out in traditional wood cladding. Andalusian sausages – butifarras, longanizas and chicharrones – have a starring role on the menu, both on their own and in delicious bean-and-marrow stews.

Wander up to the northern end of Playa de la Barrosa to find Sancti Petri. It’s a 2-kilometre sweep of sand, in front of a luxury resort. There’s a busy marina at one end, with a smattering of bars and restaurants. From here, you can try sailing and windsurfing at one of the 2 schools.

This hip bar halfway to Sancti Petri is decked out Arabian-style, with wrought ironwork and a sprawling terrace outside. Once you get in, it’s all drapes and slouchy floor cushions. The sound system is mostly set to chillout, which complements the cocktails, wine and iced tea nicely.

There’s a dinky island floating just opposite the beach at Sancti Petri. According to local legend, General Franco used it as a private holiday retreat. After Franco, the place fell into disrepair and all the buildings were abandoned. There’s a huge Moorish castle to explore, and an ancient temple to Hercules – apparently Julius Caesar once visited. You can catch a water-taxi from the marina for around 10 euros.

There’s a twice-weekly covered market in the town hall square, right in the middle of town. You’ll see bunches of aromatic herbs, wild asparagus and snails, along with local wine and sausages. Souvenir wise, there are lots of local crafts. Chiclana is known for making furniture, too, and some sellers will ship internationally for you.

There’s enough sand for everyone along this 8-kilometre ribbon of coastline. The section nearest La Barrosa prom is the liveliest – it’s got the bulk of bars and restaurants, and loads of watersports on offer. But if you want to leave civilisation behind, there’s plenty of space southwards from the prom, with just a solitary chiringuito in the dunes serving up drinks and Spanish snacks.

Playa La Barrosa is the life and soul of the party in Chiclana de la Frontera. Seek out the bars along the prom – they usually have live flamenco artists or DJs. After 1am people start queuing to get into the clubs on the strip. But the chiringuitos on the beach are just as popular, especially on Sancti Petri Beach – because they’re out on a limb, you can make as much noise as you want here.

By day, this sleek lounge bar on the prom is place to escape the sun. By night, it has a complete set change and it packs out with a mix of Spanish and international holidaymakers who come to dance to the local DJs. You get the odd live music act thrown in, too. And the glamorous bar staff keep pouring the drinks ‘til 4am.

You’d be mad to come to Chiclana and miss out on a taste of the local food. The best places to go are the seafood restaurants that line the seafront from Calle de Atun right down to Calle de las Dunas. They serve everything from steaming bowls of mussels and lobster in fragrant saffron rice, to grilled tuna. Team your main with a bottle of fino or muscatel from the local vineyards, and an almond tart to round things off.

This restaurant was set up by a family of local fishermen, so you can guarantee the seafood will be top-notch. Seabass, flounder, white tiger prawns and lobster all feature heavily on the menu. The rice and lobster – or arroz con bogavante to the locals – is the pick of the lot. And as an extra bonus you get widescreen views of Barroso beach from the terrace.

This beachfront seafood place has people queuing way down the prom, so you’re wise to book ahead. The name means octopus corner, so the signature dish – fried calamari – should come as no surprise. Eat it at a table on the covered outdoor terrace, or at one of the cosy banquettes inside. You can order shellfish individually too, so it’s easy to get round to tasting everything.

There aren’t any full-on clubs here, but Chiclana puts on a lively-enough bar scene that suits post-tapas revellers. Head to the Playa de la Barossa area, where most of the venues are dotted along the prom or on the street behind it. Some places offer salsa shows, as well as lessons with the experts – ask behind the bar for details.

The island of Sancti Petri, which you can see from the beach, was once General Franco’s holiday home, but these days is completely abandoned. Boat trips will take you here from the port in Sancti Petri. You can clamber up the 13th-century castle and get widescreen views of the Bay of Cadiz. And buried underneath the castle is the ancient Temple of Hercules, where the remains of this Greek superhero are said to lay.

Everyone in Chiclana puts their glad rags on for this annual town celebration. The smallest girls to the oldest abuelitas – or little grandmothers – wear long, ruffled Andalusian dresses, and the whole town congregates at the fair for flamenco dancing, horse shows and the supersized fairground rides that light up the night sky. Not to be missed.