Guarding the entrance to the old town, the fortified Mudéjar Puerta de Jerez was built by the Moors and embellished after the Christian conquest.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.31 MILES
One of Andalucía's most fabulous beaches, Punta Paloma, 10km northwest of Tarifa, is famous for its huge blond sand dune. At its far western end, you can…
Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures
19.46 MILES
This recently refurbished museum is housed in the former sultan's palace of Dar El Makhzen. The focus is on the history of the area from prehistoric times…
Tangier American Legation Museum
19.65 MILES
This museum, in an elegant five-storey mansion, is a must-see: Morocco was the first country to recognise the United States by opening its ports to the…
19.72 MILES
The Grand Socco is the romantic entrance to the medina, a large, sloping, palm-ringed plaza with a central fountain that stands before the keyhole gate,…
19.64 MILES
The medina, the top attraction of Tangier, is a labyrinth of alleyways both commercial and residential. It's contained by the walls of a 15th-century…
5.42 MILES
Sprawling between 7km and 10km northwest of Tarifa, to the great white dune at Punta Paloma, Valdevaqueros is one of Tarifa's most popular kitesurfing…
19.56 MILES
This was once the most notorious crossroads of Tangier, the site of drug deals and all forms of prostitution. Today the facades are freshly painted,…
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18.31 MILES
This is the charming heart of Ceuta, with manicured tropical plantings, a square of freshly renovated cobblestone pathways and some of the city’s finest…
Nearby Tarifa attractions
1. Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís
0.1 MILES
Originally constructed in the 16th century, this whitewashed, tucked-away church now flaunts a mix of baroque and neoclassical styles, having been torn…
0.15 MILES
Wind your way through the narrow streets of the old town to Tarifa's main (mostly 16th-century) church, with a soaring neoclassical facade.
3. Castillo de Guzmán El Bueno
0.2 MILES
Though built in 960 on the orders of Cordoban caliph Abd ar-Rahman III, this restored fortress is named after Reconquista hero Guzmán El Bueno. In 1294,…
0.25 MILES
This lookout with a tower atop part of the castle walls delivers spectacular views across Tarifa's rooftops and to Africa and 851m Jebel Musa, one of the…
5. Centro de Interpretación de Cetáceos
0.31 MILES
At this portside visitors centre, learn all about striped and bottlenose dolphins, long-finned pilot whales, orcas (killer whales), sperm whales,…
0.32 MILES
This broad snow-white sandy beach stretches for 7km northwest from Tarifa. The low dunes behind it are a paraje natural (protected natural area).
0.43 MILES
On the isthmus leading out to Isla de las Palomas at the southernmost tip of Tarifa town, tiny Playa Chica is more sheltered than other local beaches.
5.42 MILES
Sprawling between 7km and 10km northwest of Tarifa, to the great white dune at Punta Paloma, Valdevaqueros is one of Tarifa's most popular kitesurfing…