El Francés

Tarifa

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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

  • Punta Paloma

    Punta Paloma

    6.45 MILES

    One of Andalucía's most fabulous beaches, Punta Paloma, 10km northwest of Tarifa, is famous for its huge blond sand dune. At its far western end, you can…

  • Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures

    Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures

    19.42 MILES

    This recently refurbished museum is housed in the former sultan's palace of Dar El Makhzen. The focus is on the history of the area from prehistoric times…

  • Tangier American Legation Museum

    Tangier American Legation Museum

    19.61 MILES

    This museum, in an elegant five-storey mansion, is a must-see: Morocco was the first country to recognise the United States by opening its ports to the…

  • Grand Socco (April 9 1947 Square), New City, Tangier, Morocco, North Africa, Africa

    Grand Socco

    19.67 MILES

    The Grand Socco is the romantic entrance to the medina, a large, sloping, palm-ringed plaza with a central fountain that stands before the keyhole gate,…

  • The Medina (Old City), Tangier, Morocco, North Africa, Africa

    Medina

    19.6 MILES

    The medina, the top attraction of Tangier, is a labyrinth of alleyways both commercial and residential. It's contained by the walls of a 15th-century…

  • Dunes of the beaches of Valdevaqueros de Tarifa in Cádiz, Spain.

    Playa de Valdevaqueros

    5.56 MILES

    Sprawling between 7km and 10km northwest of Tarifa, to the great white dune at Punta Paloma, Valdevaqueros is one of Tarifa's most popular kitesurfing…

  • Petit Socco

    Petit Socco

    19.52 MILES

    This was once the most notorious crossroads of Tangier, the site of drug deals and all forms of prostitution. Today the facades are freshly painted,…

  • Plaza de África

    Plaza de África

    18.18 MILES

    This is the charming heart of Ceuta, with manicured tropical plantings, a square of freshly renovated cobblestone pathways and some of the city’s finest…

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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.