Of more substantial interest than Zahara de la Sierra, and a better place to break the journey, is ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA . This was taken from the Moors in 1264, over two centuries before Zahara fell - an impressive feat, for it stands high above the Río Guadalete on a double crag and must have been a wretchedly impregnable fortress. This dramatic location, enhanced by low, white houses and fine sandstone churches, gives the town a similar feel and appearance to Ronda - only Arcos is poorer and, quite unjustifiably, far less visited. The streets of the tow are if anything more interesting, with their mix of Moorish and Renaissance buildings. At the heart is the Plaza del Cabildo, easily reached by following the signs for the parador , which occupies one side of it. Flanking another two sides are the castle walls and the large Gothic-Mudéjar church of Santa María de la Asunción ; the last side is left open, offering plunging views to the river valley.
A turismo on the west side of Plaza del Cabildo (Mon-Fri 10am-2pm & 5.30-7.30pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Sun 10.30am-12.30pm; tel 956 702 264) can provide a town map and also does daily guided tours of the old town (except Sun). Budget accommodation in the old town is confined to the Pensión de Callejón de las Monjas (tel 956 702 302; ( Euros18-27), immediately behind the church of Santa María, and the very friendly Bar San Marcos , c/Marquéz de Torresoto 6 (tel 956 700 721; ( Euros18-27), the better option, with its own restaurant. More upmarket options are the elegant parador (tel 956 700 500, fax 956 701 116; ( Euros90-120), perched on a rock
pedestal, the Hotel Marqués de Torresoto , c/Marqués de Torresoto 4 (tel 956 700 717, fax 956 704 205; ( Euros48-60), housed in a converted seventeenth-century mansion with colonnaded patio and Baroque chapel, and a new hotel, La Casa Grande , c/Maldonado 10 (tel & fax 956 703 930, www.lacasagrande.net ; ( Euros60-90), with beautiful rooms inside an eighteenth-century mansion and a stunning terrace view across the river valley. In the new town you'll find a couple of places on either side of the main street, c/Corredera, including the excellent Hotel Fonda Comercio (tel 956 700 057; ( Euros27-36), Arcos's oldest inn, welcoming visitors for well over a century, and recently refurbished.
Eating and drinking tends to be slightly more expensive than normal in the old quarter, where most of the hotels have their own restaurants. A more modest good-value option is La Terraza in the gardens of the Paseo de Andalucía to the southwest of the Plaza del Cabildo, which serves a wide variety of platos combinados at outdoor tables, while Alcaraván , c/Nueva 1, close to the castle walls, is an interesting cave restaurant which does tapas and platos asados (roasts). In the new town Los Faraones , c/Debajo del Corral 14, is a well-established North-African restaurant .
Just out of town, towards Ronda, a road leads down to a couple of sandy beaches on the riverbank (hourly buses from the bus station), where there's a pleasant two-star waterfront hostal, La Molinera (tel 956 708 002; ( Euros36-48), and a campsite , Arcos de la Frontera (tel 956 708 333), close to the Bornos reservoir (aka Lago de Argos); bring mosquito protection if you stay at either, and if you swim here, or further along towards the namesake village, take care - there are said to be whirlpools in some parts.
Videos or Arcos de la Frontera
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