Is Vejer de la Frontera worth visiting?
Vejer de la Frontera is one of Cadiz’s Pueblos Blancos Ie. White Villages. Vejer is actually the 5th “white village” we’ve visited in Cadiz province after seeing Zahara de la Sierra, Olvera, Setenil de las Bodegas and Arcos de la Frontera. That’s in addition to Pueblos Blancos in Malaga province we’ve seen: Frigiliana, Mijas Pueblo, Benalmadena Pueblo, Ronda.*
*The above are considered “white villages”. You’ll see them on every “white villages” list. In actual fact, I don’t fully understand the definition of a “white village”. Nearly all villages in Andalusia are white in colour, the tradition of whitewashing starting in Moorish times as protection against both heat and disease. So why are villages such as the above considered “white villages” while many others (example Nerja, Velez-Malaga, Torrox Pueblo, Torre de Mar) are never mentioned as white villages? They’re white as well. I don’t know the answer. Unlike Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos which are officially designated by Mexico’s Tourism department, there is nothing that officially designates a White Village to be a white village in Spain.
All I’m saying is that the list of “white villages” is a very subjective thing because you rarely see anything but a white village in Andalusia.
Anyway, that’s my little rant about “white villages”.
So what makes Vejer de la Frontera special?
If there’s anything that really makes Vejer de la Frontera stand out it is the Plaza de Espana with its beautiful tiled fountain and ceramic frogs spewing water. The square is a wonderful place to come for a drink and just enjoy a glimpse of life in the town.
Vejer de la Frontera also has fortified walls, towers and gates which encircle most of the town. Highlights: The Puerta de la Villa (where you enter the historic center from Plaza de Espana) and the Puerta de la Segur (which leads you to the Iglesia Divino Salvador). But Vejer’s old town is small and you can wander around and see its walls in no time.
Click here for a tourist map of Vejer de la Frontera
Atop the town there’s a Castle, built by the Moors in the 8th century. It was closed when we were there in February and from what I read it is temporarily closed for renovations (but this website says it is now open weekends and holidays).
Something we found interesting and a little spooky. These ladies:
In the 16th and 17th century, the women of Vejer wore the “cobijada”, a heavy black robe that covered the entire body and most of the face except for the left eye. Although it might originally have been inspired by Islamic dress (some say it was inspired by the burqa), it was worn by the Catholic women of Vejer. Something very interesting and unique that you may not encounter anywhere else (although Vejer wasn’t the only place to adopt the cobijaba in the 16th/17th centuries). If interested in knowing more, I found this very interesting piece on Vejer’s cobijaba.
What else to do? Walk around the whitewashed streets, see the churches and plazas and enjoy the views from Vejer’s miradors.
Is Vejer de la Frontera honestly worth visiting?
I often get in trouble for being honest with my opinions. The truth is that we didn’t fall in love with Vejer. It’s nice but it doesn’t have the dramatic highlights of some of the other white villages I’ve mentioned: highlights such as the new bridge in Ronda, the impressive castle in Olvera, the stunning nature and views in Zahara de la Sierra or the cave buildings in Setenil de las Bodegas. Vejer is pretty, the fountain on Plaza de Espana is definitely unique and fortified walls/towers/gates are always interesting…but really there wasn’t much more to Vejer than that.
Maybe it also had to do with the gloomy, rainy weather. White Villages are at their best with blue skies, colourful potted plants and the hilltop views they are mostly known for. We didn’t get any of that. And any “white village” actually looks drab and dirty on a not-so-pleasant day (we know, we lived 2 ½ years in Nerja).
My honest opinion is that Vejer de la Frontera is worth visiting as a day trip if you’re in the area. But I wouldn’t stay overnight as we did UNLESS you have a car and can use Vejer as a base to explore the region. I think having a car here makes for a totally different experience.
*Note: we know a few people who live in Vejer. They say great things about Vejer: the people, the surrounding countryside, the not-so-far-away beach, the hiking, the cuisine. Living somewhere and visiting are very different things so don’t extrapolate the above comments to living in Vejer.
Practical Information on Vejer de la Frontera
- Accommodation: We stayed in this Airbnb apartment which is one of the nicest Airbnb’s we’ve ever stayed in. Very much recommended.
- Getting there. It’s not the simplest place to get to using public transport. There are two bus stops: 1) the most common one is at “Barca de la Frontera”, a spot along the highway between Cadiz and Malaga. From there you’re not far from Vejer itself but it’s straight uphill (we split a taxi with a couple of day trippers: paid a total of 10 Euros between the 4 of us). 2) there’s a bus stop in Vejer next to the tourist office. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the old town.
- Tours. You might want to save yourself the logistics by taking a half-day tour from Cadiz that includes Vejer, Conil and the beach at El Palmar.
Related: Why Tarifa is absolutely worth visiting
Related: 5 White Villages to Visit from Ronda
Leave a Reply