Templar alcazaba and Bloody Tower
45 minEveryoneDog-friendlyAll year
Walk · 45 min · Free access · The fortress the Templars rebuilt in the 13th century, with views over the town's towers
From BadajozA little over 1 h by car
From ZafraAbout 40 min
Minimum time1 day
Best timeMar – May · Sep – Nov
What to do
What to do in Jerez de los Caballeros
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
San Bartolomé church and its ceramic tower
30 minEveryoneAll year, outside service times
Visit · 30 min · The town's most colourful tower, from 1759, with Vasco Núñez de Balboa's baptismal font
Circuit of the wall by its gates
1 h · 1.7 kmEveryoneDog-friendlyAll year
Walk · 1 h · Free · 1,700 m of Templar wall with its towers and the Burgos and Villa gates
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Jerez de los Caballeros, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Jerez de los Caballeros
In spring and autumn. Holy Week is of National Tourist Interest and the Templar Festival fills the town in July. In August midday is very hot.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
How you travel
Jerez de los Caballeros your way
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Towers, dehesa and a perfect day from Badajoz
Jerez is an hour from Badajoz, about forty minutes from Zafra and a little over two hours from Seville and Huelva. The old town is seen on foot, but it is cobbled and sloping: leave the car below and walk up. The car is useful for the rural hotel in the dehesa and for combining the day with Zafra.
55–100 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to sleepHotel Rural Arroyo La Plata…
- Getting aroundLeave the car outside the…
- Where to eatRestaurante Santa María, beside the…
- ServicesTourist office in the San…
Where to sleep
- Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata, with free parking, 4 km away
- Hotel Oasis, in the town
- Hotel Los Templarios, on the Villanueva road
Getting around
- Leave the car outside the upper old town and walk up to the alcazaba
- To Zafra, about forty minutes north-east
Where to eat
- Restaurante Santa María, beside the alcazaba, also open on Sunday at midday
- Caeriana, at the entrance on the Zafra road
Services
- Tourist office in the San Agustín Cultural Centre
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights3
Who you're with
Jerez de los Caballeros for whoever you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Templars, walls and a Bloody Tower
Jerez has what hooks a child: Templar knights, a wall with towers and a tower with a legend. The old town is small, but cobbled and sloping.
- What works bestThe alcazaba and the Bloody…
- Where to sleepHotel Rural Arroyo La Plata…
- Where to eatRestaurante Santa María, beside the…
- Good to knowWith a pushchair, the slopes…
What works best
- The alcazaba and the Bloody Tower, free to enter
- The circuit of the wall, from gate to gate
- The Tour Extremadura guided visit, free for under-12s
- The Templar Festival, in July, with medieval market and theatre
Where to sleep
- Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata, with cots and extra beds
- Hotel Los Templarios, with a pool in summer
Where to eat
- Restaurante Santa María, beside the alcazaba
- Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata Restaurant, Friday to Sunday
Good to know
- With a pushchair, the slopes of the upper old town are hard going
- Santa Lucía park and Popagallina park are the ones the tourist office suggests for a family afternoon
What to do as a family
Where to stay
Where to stay if you're driving
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Small hotel
Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata
Why we like it: Four-star rural hotel with fifteen rooms among dehesas, 4 km from Jerez, with a restaurant, bar, terrace and free parking.
Hotel
Hotel Oasis
Why we like it: Hotel with a restaurant on Calle El Campo, in the lower part of Jerez, open every day from 7:00 to 23:00.
Hotel Los Templarios
Why we like it: Hotel on the Villanueva road, with a café from 7:00 every day, a grill restaurant at weekends and a pool in summer.
Services for this trip
Areas, for any way of travelling
| Area | Who it's for | Average night |
|---|---|---|
| Upper town | The alcazaba, Santa María and San Bartolomé, uphill | |
| Plaza de España | San Miguel, terraces and the way out to the Puerta de la Villa | |
| Dehesa de La Bazana | Rural hotel with restaurant, 4 km away |
Where to eat
Where to eat in Jerez de los Caballeros
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Restaurante Santa María
What to order: the Iberian pork and the house's traditional cooking; ask about what is in season
Caeriana
What to order: meats grilled over holm-oak charcoal or the fish of the day
Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata Restaurant
What to order: local produce and the cooking of the day; in good weather, the terrace
Map
Everything on the map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Nearby
Near Jerez de los Caballeros
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Ask for the churches' hours
They are parish churches and open outside services: the tourist office tells you when.
- 2Combine it with Zafra
Forty minutes away, to do the south of Badajoz in a day.
- 3Firm footwear
The streets of the upper town are cobbled and sloping.
Local tip
Climb up to the alcazaba last thing: from the wall you see the four towers above the white rooftops.
We'd skip it
Counting on getting into the churches without asking first: they open according to services.
Jerez de los Caballeros is the Templar town of Extremadura. On a hill south-west of Badajoz, among holm-oak dehesas, the Order of the Temple rebuilt a Muslim alcazaba in the 13th century and made it the capital of its bailiwick; in its keep, the Torre Sangrienta (Bloody Tower), tradition places the end of the last Templars. Centuries later, after the earthquake of 1755, its four parish churches raised Baroque bell towers of brick, glazed clay and blue ceramics that draw the town's skyline. Vasco Núñez de Balboa was born here, and it is acorn-fed Iberian ham country. It can be seen in an unhurried day.
How to get there from Badajoz or Zafra
By car. From Badajoz it is about 75 km, a little over an hour. From Zafra, about 38 km, about forty minutes, so they combine well on the same day. From Mérida, an hour and a half; from Seville and from Huelva, a little over two hours. The tourist office points to the EX-112 and the N-435 as the access roads.
Without a car there are buses from Badajoz, Seville and other nearby towns, with few departures. The station is on calle Rodeo, a few minutes' walk from the Plaza de España.
Where to park
The upper town is cobbled and sloping, and the alcazaba is right at the top. Leave the car below, on the streets around the Plaza de España or the bus station, and walk up. The tourist office has information on car parks and a motorhome area.
What to see in a day
Start at the tourist office, in the Centro Cultural San Agustín, for the map and the churches' opening hours for the day. If you want a guide, the Tour Extremadura guided tour leaves from the Plaza de España: an hour and a half through San Miguel, San Bartolomé, the castle, the alcazaba and the wall, for €11 and free for under-12s. Book it beforehand.
On your own, follow the route the tourist office suggests: enter by the Puerta de Burgos, with the statue of Hernando de Soto, climb to the alcazaba and the Torre Sangrienta, and come down through the Puerta de la Villa to the Plaza de España, presided over by the tower of San Miguel Arcángel. Next to the alcazaba is Santa María de la Encarnación, the oldest church, with a Visigothic inscription from the year 556. In the upper quarter, San Bartolomé has the most colourful tower, from 1759, and the font where Balboa was baptised.
After lunch, the Museo de Arte Sacro, in the Palacio de la Vicaría, with the permanent exhibition of Jerez's Holy Week; it opens on Sunday mornings. And about 200 m away, the Casa Museo de Vasco Núñez de Balboa, his birthplace.
Where to eat and sleep
For Sunday lunch, the Restaurante Santa María, family-run for more than forty years, on the plaza de Santa María, next to the alcazaba; closed on Wednesdays. Caeriana, at the entrance by the Zafra road, serves holm-oak grill and fish. To sleep, the four-star Hotel Rural Arroyo La Plata, among dehesas 4 km away, with a restaurant; in the town, the Hotel Oasis and the Hotel Los Templarios, with a pool in summer.
When to go
In spring and autumn. Jerez's Holy Week is of National Tourist Interest, with processions through the four parish churches. In July, the Templar Festival turns the town for four days into the town of the Temple, with theatre in the castle. There is also a Salón del Jamón Ibérico y la Dehesa and a Noche en Blanco in October. In August, mornings and nights are better.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is there to see in Jerez de los Caballeros?
The Templar alcazaba and the Torre Sangrienta, the wall with the Puerta de Burgos and the Puerta de la Villa, the churches of San Bartolomé, San Miguel and Santa María, the Museo de Arte Sacro and Balboa's birthplace.
How long does it take from Badajoz to Jerez de los Caballeros?
A little over an hour by car.
Why is it called the city of towers?
Because of the four Baroque bell towers of its parish churches, raised after the 1755 earthquake.
When is the Templar Festival?
In July, for four days; the dates come out every year on the tourism website.
Are there guided tours?
Yes. Tour Extremadura runs a one-and-a-half-hour one for €11, and the tourist office has information on others for groups and families.
Can you go with children?
Yes. The alcazaba, the wall and the Templar Festival appeal to them, and under-12s do not pay for the guided tour.