Sanlúcar de Barrameda holidays

Holidays to Sanlucar de Barrameda showcase Spain’s laidback side, where cracker-coloured beaches pair up with a first-class food scene.

Under the radar Andalucia

This seaside town doesn’t get the limelight that some of its Andalucian amigos like Seville and Cadiz do, but it’s got a fair few highlights of its own to crow about. If you’re after a fly-and-flop, you can take your pick between four swathes of powder-soft, cracker-coloured sand, while culture vultures can amble between the town’s 15th-century castle and a scattering of ancient churches. And we haven’t even started on the food scene.

Seafood and sherry

When it comes to food and drink here, this place is so on the money that it was named Spain’s capital of gastronomy in the not-too-distant past. And when it comes to signature staples, it’s a straight fight for top spot between sherry and seafood. Not that there’s much battling going on – the two are usually paired together. Manzanilla wine is the speciality tipple here, with its dry, slightly salty tang, while fresh seafood isn’t hard to come by either. The langostino de Sanlucar is the go-to – alongside the sherry, this prized king prawn has helped put the town on the map.

The sound of hooves

Every August, riding boots replace flip-flops on the seafront as the town’s beaches are transformed into a racecourse. This annual event’s been a fixture in the calendar since 1845, and it attracts riders and punters from all over Spain and beyond. Don’t worry about it interfering with your tan top-up though – the races take place in the evenings, so you’ll still have all day to sprawl out on the sands.

Daytrips on the doorstep

If you fancy venturing out of town on a daytrip, it’s just a 40-minute drive along the coast to the ancient city of Cadiz. Its mix of canary-coloured and whitewashed buildings give it top marks for looks and it’s one of the oldest cities in Europe, so there’s plenty of history to dig into. It’s a similar distance to Jerez de la Frontera – a city famous for its sherry production, flamenco clubs and 900-year-old Alcazar Fortress.