One of the inducements of Sanlucar d is its fiestas.
Its Holy week, which has been declared to be of national
Historic Interest in Andalusia, is an explosion of
fervour expressed through its twelve brotherhoods,
which conduct a procession bearing a collection of
beautiful baroque images of saints and which enwrap
the alleys and hillsides if the historic centre city
in a mystic spirit. The manzanilla Fair, held in honour
of the celebrated local wine is more cheerful.
Flamenco, seafood and fried fish washed down with
good manzanilla await you. Take the opportunity to
visit the barbadillo manzanilla Museum, which in its
800 square metres offers wine tasting areas, a screening
room and theme rooms for the traveller to learn about
the grape harvesting process. They will also tell
you there about a fabulous route that runs through
the historic city centre for visiting numerous wine
cellars that are scattered through that area.
Sanlúcar is divided into two clearly differentiated
parts: the upper neighbourhood and the lower neighbourhood.
Its important historic-artistic collection, located
in the ravine that overlooks the mouth of the River
Guadalquivir, is composed of palaces, churches, lordly
houses and fortresses such as the castle of Santiago.
Sanlúcar is world famous, though, for the
horse races on the beach, a true visual spectacle,
they are considered the most ancient horse races in
Spain and have their origin in informal contests organised
by the owners of the horses that transported fish
and seafood on the beach of Bajo de Guía along
the first decades of the nineteenth century. They
are now held in August in two cycles of three days,
depending on the low tide that leaves run on the fine
sand. The fiesta has been designated of International
Tourist Interest. As a complement, Sanlúcar
also offers some of the best seafood in the world,
its Exaltation al Rio Guadalquivir Fiesta and the
patron saint fiestas if the Virgen de la Caridad in
which the main streets of the city are covered with
carpets of dyed salt.
