El Francés

Tarifa


Squeeze into the standing-room-only bar or battle for your terrace table at El Francés, which gives Andalucian classics a subtle twist. Tarifa's favourite tapas bar is a buzzing place, serving patatas bravas and tortillitas de camarones (shrimp fritters) alongside mini chicken-veg couscous or cheese-stuffed mushrooms. No reservations; pop in on the day to secure a table (dinner from 6.30pm only).

Amid the ancient brick arches of a stylishly converted 18th-century grainstore, sister restaurant Silos 19 puts a creative, refined spin on local ingredients.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Tarifa attractions

1. Iglesia de San Mateo

0.08 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.

2. Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís

0.08 MILES

Originally constructed in the 16th century, this whitewashed, tucked-away church now flaunts a mix of baroque and neoclassical styles, having been torn…

3. Castillo de Guzmán El Bueno

0.09 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,…

4. Miramar

0.11 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. Puerta de Jerez

0.15 MILES

Guarding the entrance to the old town, the fortified Mudéjar Puerta de Jerez was built by the Moors and embellished after the Christian conquest.

7. Playa de los Lances

0.36 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).

8. Playa Chica

0.36 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.