Arcos de la Frontera

The House

Activities and Fiestas

Surrounding area

Getting there

Rates and availability

Activities and Fiestas

On Easter Sunday, Arcos has its own celebrated bull run—el Toro de Aleluya—where locals and the odd foreigner demonstrate their bravery (see right).

The weekend following Easter is the Moto Grand Prix of Jerez, where Arcos plays host to many of the competitors and fans.

and long lines of people in traditional costumes (above left and right).  Each float depicts a scene from the bible from holy week, and is carried between the ancient churches.  There is a great view from the house, and you can watch several of the processions from the balcony as they pass by on the street below, the scent of jasmin and incense rising up into the warm evenings.

Arcos has its own carnival celebrations in February – one of the parades passing directly in front of the house.  For those wanting to continue the fiesta, Cadiz offers 10 days of non-stop revelry.

Come springtime, the warm evenings see the local people dining out on the terraces long into the evening. 

Take a drive around the countryside as the Sierras begin to bloom.  Flower pots line the newly whitewashed houses in Arcos making for picturesque streets (see left, where the house is located).

There’s plenty to do in and around Arcos all year round.  A few minutes’ drive from Arcos, you will find Arcos Gardens which boasts a championship 18-hole golf course.  It is versatile enough to challenge top level amateur and professional players yet can also accommodate novices and has its own practise area.  Visit www.arcosgardens.com to find out more.

Close by, you can also try horse riding through the Andalusian countryside. The Centro Las Nieves offers lessons and excursions. For more details see www.centrohlasnieves.blogspot.com.es.  But there are plenty of other opportunities in the Sierras if you feel like exploring further afield.

Arcos has events and fiestas throughout the year.  The most original in the region is the week before Christmas, when the old town is transformed into ancient Bethlehem as Arcos stages its own nativity play—the Belen Viviente—on a gigantic scale (right).  Pilgrims, wise men, Roman soldiers and the odd donkey, stroll through the squares and alleyways, covered in sand to complete the illusion of Judea at the time.

 

 

Every town and village in Spain celebrates Easter with the processions of the Hermandades, and Arcos’s is spectacular.  During Semana Santa, the week leading up to Easter, the processions pass through the old and new town, followed by a local marching band playing traditional music,

There are weekly flamenco concerts throughout July and August.  Flamenco also features during the celebration of the Virgin de las Nieves—the Virgin of the Snows which takes place during the first weekend of August.

As Summer draws to a close at the end of September, Arcos celebrates the fiesta of its patron saint—the Feria de San Miguel.

 

The Cruces de Mayo—the crosses of May—is another local tradition in which the patios and courtyards are decorated with floral arrangements in the shape of crosses. As Summer begins, so do las carpas—a series of concerts, fiestas and performances which take place at different venues throughout Arcos. 

Contact

For further information and details of rates and availability, contact:

mark_nandi@hotmail.com