Chiclana de la Frontera Holidays

Historic sites are ten-a-penny in Chiclana de la Frontera, which is anchored just inland from an easy-on-the-eye beach. Its Spanish roots are plain as day from the off, with centuries-old churches and laidback coffee joints peppering the streets. On Plaza Mayor, the main square, smartphones are aimed at the domed 18th-century clocktower, and dry whites are the top-rated tipple in the town’s wine bodegas.

Forget being one of the best in Andalucia – the Playa de la Barrosa beach is one of the best in the whole of Spain. The pillow-soft sands are padded out for nearly four miles, and the clever clogs at Blue Flag wasted no time in slapping one of their coveted badges on it. Signature seafood restaurants and beach bars sidle up to the shore at the top end, and as your footprint trail gets longer, the waterfront gets more and more secluded. By the time the foot of the beach comes into view, grassy dunes and towel-free sands will have snuck into the frame.

Swivel to the north, and Chiclana de la Frontera’s good-looking neighbour makes itself known. The Marismas de Sancti Petri Natural Park’s one of the Costa de la Luz’s biggest areas of saltmarsh, with seabirds, herons and flamingos among the feathered friends that call it home. Fishermen often bob past the mouth of the bay, on their way to stock the town’s restaurants with trademark local food.