El Cortijo Barranco

Piazza del Cabildo

by bugalugs

This main square which is surrounded by the church of St Mary, the Town Hall, the Mirador, Parador hotel and Castle is now a car park!

However in years gone by it has been used as a market, a place where soliders marched and even for bull fights.

Tourist Information

by bugalugs

You will find the tourist information office in Piazza del Cabildo.
There is quite a good map you can get for free, plus other books about Arcos and the surrounding area. The usual souvenirs are on sale.
You can even access the internet here. The computer which is actually on the counter is available for internet use by anyone.
50 cents for 15 minutes
l euro for 30 minutes
2 euros for an hour
The tourist office is open daily 10-2pm and 3.30-7.39pm
weekends 10-2pm
The photograph shows the row which the tourist office is in.

If you are facing the Church of Saint Mary the tourist information office is on your left hand side.

Convento de la Encarnacion

by Carmela71

Walking back to the car, we got lost in the streets (on purpose lol), to enjoy the old town, we walked cross a few of other tourist like us, just wandering around and crazy motorbikes...

But that’s the only way to enjoy this little cute place, as when you do not expect you find something else like this convent

The gateway to the Pueblos Blancos

by puerto_lover

"The way to the white villages"

If you are in Jerez tasting the sherries and watching the horses, the hills and forests of the wonderful Cadiz province are only minutes away. Going by car is so easy because of the new dual carriageway road that whisks you from the outskirts of Jerez to Arcos in 20 minutes - toll free !
Or if you do not have a car, go to the Jerez bus station (next to the railway station) and take the first bus ! It's only 30 minutes and costs a couple of Euros or so.
The first glimpse of Arcos coming from the Jerez direction is of the sheer cliff = the Peña - that has provided protection to the inhabitants for centuries. The views from the famous mirador on the main square at the top of the cliff called Plaza del Cabildo are worth the climb. this is where you find the Tourist office which is opposite the Parador hotel.

Arcos de la Frontera

by ramblingrose

Arcos, one of the Pueblo Blancos, it sits high on a hill with sheer cliffs on two sides. Driving into and through the old town is quite fun as some of the streets are not much wider than the car. If you follow the signs to the center of town at one point you will drive through an archway created by a church buttress. There are two wonderful churches, and at night you can watch the bellringer at the Santa Maria Church from the Plaza de Cabildo. There is an artisans shop on Maldonado that has left the rock exposed inside the shop that shows how some of the houses are built right into the hillside.

The views from the plaza and from our hotel were amazing. I didn't realize until 1am of the last night of our stay ( when the lights went out) that the sides of the cliffs are lit up at night - that would have been worth a long walk or a drive around to see.