Spain · 1 tour
Tiled tapas bars in Seville, sherry from fino to Pedro Ximénez in Jerez, fried fish and prawns by the sea in Cádiz and Sanlúcar, and a free tapa with every drink in Granada. Seven days across the south of Spain.
Sherry bodega, Jerez
Overview
Andalusia gave Spain much of what visitors think of as Spanish food: tapas, gazpacho and salmorejo, fried fish, jamón ibérico and sherry. It is a large region, the size of Portugal, and it eats differently from one city to the next. Seville has stews and small plates in old bars, the sherry towns drink fino with everything, Cádiz cooks whatever the boats bring, and Granada still serves its tapas free.
Our tour starts in Seville, crosses the sherry country of Jerez and Sanlúcar, spends two nights in Cádiz, and drives east past the olive groves to Granada. Lucía Romero, who grew up in Triana, hosts.
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1 tour · prices per person
Seville · Jerez · Cádiz · Granada
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From$3,490per person, double room, most meals
View tour4 places
01
Seville eats late and well. Tapas bars here are often a century old, with tiled walls, hams hanging over the counter and orders chalked on the bar top. The classics are espinacas con garbanzos, spinach and chickpeas with cumin, a recipe with Moorish roots; salmorejo, the thick cold tomato cream; pork cheeks in sherry; and a montadito of pringá, slow-cooked meats on a small roll. Across the river, Triana market stands on the ruins of an old castle, and Calle Betis and Calle Pureza are full of bars. Our tour spends two nights here, with a jamón cutter at work on day 2.
Best monthsMarch to May, October and November
Tours that visit Seville
02
Jerez de la Frontera gave sherry its English name, and its old center is still full of bodegas, long whitewashed buildings where barrels sit in rows called soleras. Sherry is made from the Palomino grape, aged under a layer of yeast called flor for fino, or in contact with air for oloroso, and blended down the rows over years. A good bodega visit runs from fino to amontillado, oloroso and the sweet, dark Pedro Ximénez, and ends with the venencia, the long cup on a rod used to pour from the barrel. Twenty-five minutes away, Sanlúcar makes manzanilla, a fino with a salty edge from the sea air.
Best monthsMarch to May, October and November
Tours that visit Jerez de la Frontera
03
Cádiz is an old port town on a narrow spit of land, almost surrounded by the Atlantic. Its Mercado Central, opened in 1838, is one of the oldest covered markets in Spain, and the fish hall is the place to see what the boats brought in that morning. Cádiz is the home of tortillitas de camarones, thin crisp fritters of tiny shrimp, and of fried fish sold by weight in paper cones, cazón en adobo, marinated dogfish, among them. In spring the bluefin tuna of the almadraba nets comes from Barbate down the coast. In the evening the group drives to Sanlúcar, where langostinos and manzanilla are served at Bajo de Guía.
Best monthsApril, May and October
Tours that visit Cádiz
04
Granada keeps the old Andalusian habit of serving a free tapa with every drink, and the tapa grows as the evening goes on. The city sits under the Sierra Nevada, with the Alhambra on one hill and the Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter of white houses and steep lanes, on the other. Calle Calderería below it is lined with tea rooms and North African sweets. Local dishes are mountain food: habas con jamón, broad beans with ham from Trevélez, remojón, a salad of oranges and salt cod, and piononos, small rolled cakes from Santa Fe. Our tour ends here with two nights.
Best monthsApril, May and October
Tours that visit Granada
Ways to go
01
The Andalusia Food Tour spends two nights in Seville, visits a Jerez bodega, has two nights in Cádiz with an evening in Sanlúcar, stops at an olive mill and ends with two nights in Granada.
02
Pair it with the Basque Country. Bilbao has direct flights to Seville, so the six-day Basque tour and the seven-day Andalusia tour fit into two weeks, pintxos first, then tapas and sherry.
03
Lisbon is an hour’s flight from Seville or Málaga, and the Portugal Food Tour starts there. Or ask Grant Mosley about a private departure for six or more on your own dates.
What’s included
The tour includes six nights in central hotels with breakfast, the welcome, Sanlúcar and farewell dinners, three lunches, tapas evenings in Triana and Granada, the jamón demonstration, the bodega and manzanilla tastings and olive oil tasting, wine with included meals for guests 18 and over, the van, airport transfers at group times and Lucía or another local host.
Not included: flights to the start city, travel insurance, the meals not listed, tips. Alcohol only for guests 18 and over, the legal drinking age in Spain. Full list
When to go
Spring and autumn are the seasons for Andalusia. From March to May the orange trees flower in Seville and the days are warm, and October and November are still mild and sunny. November is also olive harvest, when the mills are pressing. Summer in Seville and Granada often passes 104°F, and many bars close in August, so we do not run tours then. In Seville we avoid Holy Week and the April Fair, when hotel prices triple and bars fill with private parties.
Before you book
Ask Lena directly
Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day, Monday to Friday.
It is optional on the free afternoon in Granada. Tickets are sold by name, so tell Lena when you book the Andalusia Food Tour and we reserve a timed entry.
Both are dry sherries aged under flor. Manzanilla can only be aged in Sanlúcar, where the sea air gives it a lighter, saltier taste.
No. Ibérico comes from the Iberian pig, and the best, de bellota, from pigs that finish on acorns. Serrano comes from white pigs. You taste both with the cutter in Seville.
Better than it looks. Salmorejo, spinach with chickpeas, eggplant with honey and cheeses are everywhere. Ham garnishes are common, so we warn kitchens ahead.
Seville and Granada are among the hottest cities in Europe in July and August, and many family bars close for holidays.
Yes. The Basque Country is six days of pintxos, cider houses and txakoli, and pairs well with this tour.
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Dates and seats
Tell us which tour, roughly when and how many of you. Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day with dates, seats, the price and how we can handle any dietary needs.
Lena, Grant and Priya, Charleston
SubjectAndalusia: Seville Tapas, Jerez Sherry and Granada: dates and seats
Please include
Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day. No payment now. A $300 deposit per person holds seats on a multi-day tour; day tours are paid when you book.
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