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Begin your tour at the impressive alcázar, with its many Moorish remains, including restored gardens, a mosque and a hammam (baths), as well as a camera obscura providing views of the city and beyond. Beside it is the stunningly decorated cathedral, extravagantly rich inside and out. Note the fine painting of The Sleeping Girl by Zurbarán in the sacristy.

Next take the tour – with tastings – of the González-Byass bodega, featuring possibly the oldest cellars in Jerez, with one designed by Gustave Eiffel. Don’t miss the many signatures of famous people on the barrels (called “butts”), including Queen Victoria, Cole Porter, Martin Luther King and General Franco, among others.

Continuing on north, the Pedro Domecq bodega also offers tours and is distinctively Moorish in style. A block further north, pop into the Museo Arqueológico to see the prized Greek bronze helmet from the 7th century BC, and then enter the Barrio de Santiago. This gently dilapidated neighbourhood of maze-like alleyways is home to a sizeable gypsy community and numerous flamenco venues.

To cap off your walk, continue straight out of the barrio to the east, past the Church of San Juan, to Restaurante Gaitán (C/Gaitán 3 956 34 58 59 €) for a lunch of excellent Andalucían and Basque food.

The only links course in Spain opened in 1992, designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark.

Jerez’s Moorish fortress was originally part of a 4-km (2.5-mile) wall. A well-preserved mosque, now the Santa María La Real chapel, features an octagonal cupola over the mihrab (prayer niche).

Although the town of Algeciras is industrial and polluted, its port is the best in Spain; it is from here that you can catch the ferry to Morocco. It is fun to peruse the Moorish bazaars while waiting for the boat to take you across to the real thing.

So ancient that even the Romans called it Antiquaria, this market town presents a wonderfully condensed architectural history of the entire area, beginning with Neolithic dolmens dating from between 4500 and 2500 BC. In addition, there are significant Roman ruins, including villas with outstanding mosaics, a Moorish Alcazaba (closed to the public), the 16th-century Arco de los Gigantes, and fine Renaissance palaces and churches to explore. Many treasures originally found in the town – including the exquisite Ephebe of Antequera, a rare, life-size Roman bronze of a young boy – are displayed in the Municipal Museum, housed in an 18th-century palace.

The city’s oldest taberna , dating from 1840. Some 20 barrels of local wine line the bar. The steamed mussels (mejillones ) are great.

The city’s premier fish restaurant. Fritura malagueña (fish-fry Málaga-style) is a popular choice.

Top spot in the port. A large club with a spacious outdoor terrace and tropical ambience. Smart dress.

Another town built atop a sheer cliff, this is probably the most dazzling of the pueblos blancos and the one situated furthest west. As ancient as any town in the region, little remains of the period before the reconquista , when it received its “de la Frontera” appellation, meaning it was a bastion “on the frontier” between Christian and Moorish Spain. The Galería de Arte Arx-Arcis crafts museum and shop displays locally fashioned carpets, blankets, baskets and pottery (see Traditional Textiles).