Jerez, Province of Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain

🇪🇸 Jerez de la Frontera, or simply Jerez, is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in south-western Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. The city has become the transportation and communications hub of the province and top in economic activity. Its sprawling outlying areas are a fertile zone for agriculture. There are also many cattle ranches and horse-breeding operations, as well as a world-renowned wine industry.

Currently, Jerez is the 25th largest city in Spain, the 5th in Andalusia and 1st in the Province of Cádiz. It belongs to the Municipal Association of the Bay of Cádiz (Mancomunidad de Municipios Bahía de Cádiz), the 3rd largest Andalusian metropolitan area and the 12th in Spain.

Its municipality includes the Los Alcornocales Natural Park and the Sierra de Gibalbín, also known as Montes de Propio de Jerez.

The city is located 12 km (7.46 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean, in Campiña de Jerez, a region suitable for cultivating the vineyards that produce famous sherry. Some famous places in the city are Alcazar of Jerez, Church of San Miguel, Charterhouse of Jerez, the Cathedral of San Salvador.

Since 1987 the Grand Prix motorcycle racing has been held at the Circuito de Jerez in early May. On this weekend, the city welcomes tens of thousands of bikers from around the world. The same circuit has hosted several Formula 1 Grands Prix, including the 1997 final race of the season, which was marred with controversy for a notable high-profile championship-deciding incident. Other popular festivals in the city are Feria de Jerez or the Holy Week in Jerez.

Economy The economy of Jerez has traditionally been centred on the wine industry, with exports of sherry worldwide. Because it lacks the civil service that other cities enjoy, Jerez has based its economy on industry. The cultivation of fruits, grains, and vegetables and horse and cattle husbandry has also been important to the local economy. It is the home base for the Spanish Military Stud farm, the Yeguada Militar de Jerez de la Frontera.

After the wine crisis in the 1990s, the city is now seeking to expand its industrial base. Tourism has been successfully promoted. The city's strong identity as a centre for wine, flamenco, and horses, its popular festivals, MotoGP hosting and its historical heritage have contributed to this success.

The city is the home of Jerez Airport and has also been positioning itself as a logistics hub for western Andalucia, through the integration between the airport, the rail system and nearby ports.

University of Cádiz The University of Cádiz, the provincial university, has a campus in Jerez. It specialises in socio-political studies.

The city is also home to a member of the Official School of Languages (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas) and a centre of the National Distance Education University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED).

Airport El Aeropuerto de Jerez, also known as Aeropuerto de La Parra, is the main airport in the province of Cádiz. It is located 8 km (5 mi) north of the city centre and is connected to the city by train and bus.

It was built in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War by the Nationalists in order to transport soldiers from Africa to Spain. The airport was open to civil traffic in 1992. It is the third most important airport in Andalucia after Malaga and Seville.

Train Jerez has had a railway line since 1854, which was one of the first in Spain, the Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz railway. The line went between Jerez and El Puerto de Santa María and transported wine barrels for export. Jerez de la Frontera railway station is used by more passengers than Cádiz and is the fourth busiest in Andalucia.

Next to the Aeropuerto de Jerez, there is a new train station which connects the airport through the Cercanías Cádiz line C-1 to nearby Jerez, and also to Cádiz, Sevilla, Lebrija, Utrera, El Puerto de Santa María, and San Fernando.

Bus The city of Jerez has 16 bus lines: • L 1 Esteve-San Telmo-Constitución • L 2 Esteve-Picadueñas • L 3 Esteve-La Plata-Mosto-San Juan de Dios • L 4 Esteve-García Lorca-El Altillo • L 5 Esteve-Campus-Guadalcacín • L 6 Esteve-Campus-La Granja • L 7 Angustias-La Pita-Estella del Marqués • L 8 Circunvalación I • L 9 Circunvalación II • L 10 Canaleja-Atlántico-Esteve-Hacienda-Hospital • L 12 Alcázar-C. Salud San Telmo-El Portal/Guadabajaque • L 13 Alcázar-Blas Infante-Asisa • L 14 Esteve-Villas Este-La Marquesa • L 16 Casinos-Hipercor-Ortega Y Gasset • L 19 Nueva Jarilla-Guadalcacín-Angustias • L 20 Rotonda-García Lorca-Guadalcacín.

Intercity buses From Jerez are made regular trips to the following towns: • Alcalá del Valle • Algeciras • Barbate • Cádiz • Chiclana de la Frontera • Chipiona • El Puerto de Santa María • Los Barrios • Madrid • Málaga • Medina-Sidonia • Ronda • Rota • San José del Valle • San Fernando • Sanlúcar de Barrameda • Sevilla • Trebujena • Zahara de los Atunes.