COSTA DE LA LUZ, CÁDIZ.
ITS LATITUDE, AT THE SOUTHERN-MOST POINT OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA, AND ITS MAGNIFICENT CLIMATE, HAVE MADE THIS COAST A COVETED PRIZE FOR TYRIANS, TARTESIANS, PHOENICIANS, GREEKS, ROMANS, VISIGOTHS AND ARABS DURING THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THE ATTRACTIONS ARE PLENTIFUL ALONG THE LENGT OF THESE 200 KM OF THE FINEST SANDS ON THE PENINSULA.

Sanlúcar de Barrameda is situated at the mouth of the River Guadalquivir, which has functioned as a source of influence of many important cultures and civilisations that have left behind them their indelible mark on the area.
The privileged situation of the town across the river from Doñana National Park makes it an ideal starting point from which to visit the Reserve. In the popular beach known as the Bajo de Guía, horse races are held each year in summertime.
Chipiona, traditionally a summer holiday resort, was a spa resort at the end of the last century. The town has four long white-sand beaches with well developed tourist facilities: Regla, La Ballena, Tres Piedras and Cruz del Mar.
Rota´s origins go back to the Phoenicians, and there are also indications of Roman and Arab settlements. Among these remain the Castillo de Luna (18th century), the Iglesia de Ntra. Sra. de la Expectación (16th century) and the Baroque churches of la Caridad and San Roque.

erez, a town world-famous for its wines and horses, is set in the midst of countryside and is well-connected by means of an extensive road and rail network as well as by the airport "La Parra" which has flights to the rest of Spain and some foreign cities. The town is Tartessian in origin, and has also passed under the control of Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs. The Old Town has been declared a Historical-Artistic Monument. Also forming part of Jerez are the Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art) and the Circuito Permanente de Alta Velocidad (the Jerez High Speed Race Circuit) where international-level competitions are held.
El Puerto de Santa María, situated in the centre of the Bay of Cádiz, has an extraordinary artistic and monumental patrimony. Its beaches are the main attraction of the town during the summer: La Puntilla, Valdelagrana and Fuentebravía, among others. Puerto Sherry is one the main sporting ports in Spain, which celebrates an annual Semana Náutica (Nautical Week). Puerto Real, a city with a strong maritime past, has an important naval industry. On the outskirts, it is worth visiting Canteras Park, where there is a grotto housing an image of the Virgin of Lourdes. San Fernando, popularly known as "La Isla", is famed for its saltworks. The traditional architecture is very peculiar, with facades bearing wrought iron gates and barred windows. Cádiz, capital of its province, is situated in the bay of its name; only a narrow strip of land connects this city to the Continent. This 3,000 year-old city is the oldest in Europe, having been founded by the Phoenicians in 1,100 BC, and was the doorway through which the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and Arabs came to establish their cultures.

Chiclana, situated in a privileged enclave among sand dunes and pines, is only 9 km from the sea. With regards to beaches, La Barrosa is the most note-worthy, and the Novo Sancti Petri tourist complex contains apartments, hotels, leisure facilities and a modern golf course designed by Severiano Ballesteros.
Conil, a typical fishing village in the maritime tradition with 14 km of beaches of fine and golden sands: Los Bateles, La Fontanilla, Fuente del Gallo, and the Calas de Roche.
Vejer, built on a hill-top close to the sea, is a medieval town of narrow, steep streets and white-walled houses surrounded by a defensive wall. A vestige of Arabic customs remains with "las cobijadas": women dressed from head to toe in black cloth. On the coast nearby is El Palmar beach and El Cabo (Cape) de Trafalgar, where the famous battle took place.

Barbate is an ancient fishing port dating back to Roman times, and around the port a bright white-walled town of great interest to tourists has grown up. There are magnificent beaches close by, such as del Carmen, and de Yerbabuena, and above all the Caños de Meca, with 100 metre-high cliffs and freshwater ponds. Together with the lighthouse, the old Castillo de Santiago stands out as of interest.
Zahara, part of the town of Barbate, is a picturesque spot with magnificent hotel facilities and extensive beaches of fine, golden sand. Tarifa, a historic city, is situated next to it, at the southern-most point of Europe, only 14 km from Africa. The first settlement of the Moorish invasion of 711, it is famous for the story of Guzmán el Bueno (the Good), who sacrificed his son rather than surrender the Town Square.
Nearby, the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia are worthy of mention, lying next to the beach of Bolonia. Its coast has been chosen as the venue for the World Windsurfing Championships, which has come as a great boost to the city. Underwater fishing and angling are also possible in the transparent waters of its numerous beaches: Los Lances, Bolonia, Punta Paloma, De la Plata, Valdevaqueros and Torre de la Peña.

COSTA DE LA LUZ, HUELVA.
Fifteen wonderful beaches stretch along the length of the 150kms of coastline bounded by the river mouths of the Guadiana and Guadalquivir. Between them they offer the visitor atmospheres ranging from the lively and well-serviced, to the wild and solitary, with the common denominator being golden sands, dunes, pine groves and clean waters.
Isla Canela and Punta del Moral, with a length of 7kms, these beaches of fine sand, belonging to the town of Ayamonte, boast a tourist complex complete with everything necessary to enjoy an unforgettable holiday. The golf, tennis and water sports facilities are only a small example.
Isla Cristina is a town with a rich maritime flavour. Its extensive beach, 12km long, and the clemency of its weather have given it a great tradition of tourism, managing to triple its population during summer. It is very well equipped for aquatic sports.

La Antilla, a tranquil and very long beach, 22kms long, belonging to the neighbouring town of Lepe, famous for its fruit (figs, strawberries, melons, watermelons, oranges, etc). This town has a delightful parish church dedicated to Santo Domingo de Guzmán (15th century Mudejar). Next to the beach, a huge tourist complex has recently been opened, equipped with a 4-star hotel, golf course, tennis courts, swimming pools and a whole range of cultural and sports activities to satisfy even the most demanding tastes. Nearby is the sea port of El Terrón, where fresh seafood and fried fish can be savoured.
El Rompido is a small fishing village situated at the mouth of the river Piedras, dependant on the town of Cartaya, which has a population of 10,000 and contains the ruins of a Roman castle, the convent of Las Mercedes (C. 18th) and the church of San Pedro. El Rompido boasts a magnificent beach, 10kms long, which runs parallel to a strip of sand dunes, and separated from it by a 300 metre-wide length of sea water. From its pine groves, without doubt the best view of the whole of the coast of Huelva can be enjoyed.
Punta Umbría is reached by crossing pine groves and dunes which separate us on one side from the sea, and on the other from the Odiel Salt Marshes Nature Reserve. Principally a fishing village, it has been transformed by a large increase in tourism. This has contributed not only to the installation of a wide range of services along its extensive beach, but also to the opportunity to practice water sports at its sailing harbour. Opposite Punta Umbría is the beach of Espigón, an 8km-long strip of fine sands, reached via Aljaraque.

The beach of Mazagón stretches from the mouth of the river Tinto to the Torre del Loro. It takes up a strip of 10kms of golden sands lying parallel to a quaternary cliff. A national Parador and several campsites complement an ample hotel network.
Matalascañas is the largest tourist resort on Huelva´s Costa de la Luz. Hotels, restaurants, discotheques and many other services spread out along 5kms. to satisfy the demands of this huge complex.
It is in a priviledged position, surrounded by the Doñana National Park. This makes it an ideal spot for nature-lovers and those in search of rest and relaxation. The more adventurous are guaranteed facilities for numerous aquatic and terrestrial sports.
Opposite Punta del Sebo, where the monumento a la Fe descubridora (Monu-ment to discovering Faith) is found, stands La Rábida, a modest 15th century Franciscan convent, built on the site of the original Almohad building of La Rábita. Considered to be the greatest symbol of the discovery of The New World, within the walls of the convent a depressed Christopher Columbus awaited the removal of the various impediments to the royal designation of his captaincy of the journey to the West Indies.
The simple beauty of the building´s pre-Columbian structure can still be seen inside, along with a number of frescos of the Huelva painter Vázquez Díaz celebrating the Discovery. The Gothic-Mudejar church contains a 15th century crucifix, texts by Martín Alonso Pinzón, some of Columbus´s personal belongings, as well as the Celda de las Conferencias (The Conference Cell), witness to the interviews Columbus held with the friars of the convent.
The convent is surrounded by beautiful gardens which contain La Columna de los Descubridores (The Column of the Discoverers), which comemmorates the Fourth Centenary of the Discovery. An interesting journey can be completed by visiting the monument to Plus Ultra, next to the Muelle de la Reina (The Queen´s Dock), commemorating the first Atlantic flight, as well as la Universidad Iberoamericana, or the new site where reproductions of the three caravelles which completed the first crossing can be found.