One of the many beautiful “white towns” in Andalucia is Jimena de la Frontera. An old, small town with 10.000 inhabitants in the Province of Cadiz, in the area Campo de Gibraltar, on the road from Algeciras to Ronda. Driving on the A369, coming from Algeciras, you first pass Castellar de la Frontera and just 20 minutes later you are in Jimena. It’s also served by train and bus from Algeciras and Ronda.

Culture
The most important feature of Jimena is the big Moorish castle, which crowns the town. It’s built between the 8th and 14th century and in 1931 declared Monument of Historic Arts. It’s easy to get to the castle on the top of the hill, even by car: just follow the signs ‘castillo’. Close to the entrance is a parking space. From there on it’s a 100m walk up. From the castle you have a beautiful view over the surrounding areas; the Parque Natural Los Alcornocales, and on a clear day you can even see the sea.

Other interesting monuments are the historic canals of the “Real Fábrica de Artillería” (Royal Artillery Factory), which transported water from the Hozgarganta River to the factory that produced canon balls for the great siege of Gibraltar in 1779-1783, and the paintings in the cave of La Laja Alta, 7 km west of Jimena (for information: ).

Events
Like most Spanish towns there are some (local) anual events:
- Carnaval (31 January – 10 February 2008)
- Semana Santa (in 2008 around the 21st of March)
- Feria de Mayo (also called Feria de ganado; cattle, in May)
- Feria del Corpus (in San Martin del Tesorillo, in June)
- Feria (in San Pablo de Buceite, end of June)
- International Ethnic Music Festival (July)
- Feria de Agosto (August)
- Festival Flamenco de la estacion de Jimena (August or September)

Gastronomy
Besides the typical Andalucian cuisine, Jimena also has some local dishes, for example:
- Piriñaca (salad with tomato, onion, pepper and cucumber with a dressing of olive oil, salt and vinegar)
- Salmorejo (potatoes with onion, parsley, olive oil, salt and vinegar)
- Guiso de pata (stew with chick-peas, pork foot, maw and various spices)
- Caracoles (snails, pepper, tomato, onion, garlic, spices)
- Moruna (dish of fried food with sardines, pepper, onion, olive oil, vinegar, oregano and red pepper)
- Sopa de espárragos (asparagus soup with bread)
- Gazpachuelo (soup tradional made with mayonnaisse)
- Torrijas (bread, eggs and honey)
- Piñonate (tipical sweet dessert made of flour, olive oil, honey, brandy, almonds, pine nuts, cinnamon and orange peel).

Places to stay
There are various hotels, hostals, posadas and even a camping in or close to Jimena, here a selection:
- Jimena Real Hotel **, an old noble town house completely restored in 2005, in the centre (Sevilla, 44, www.jimenarealhotel.com)
- Hotel apartments** La Hacienda de don Luis, a new hotel with 15 apartments, in the centre (Blas Infante, 9-15, www.lahaciendadedonluis.com)
- Hostal El Anon P**, a hostel with 12 bedrooms, in the centre (Calle Consuelo, 36, www.hostalanon.com)
- Casa rural “Cortijo Roman”, a traditional Andalucian farm with self-catering accommodation (Ctra. A369 Algeciras a Ronda, www.holidayscortijoroman.com)
- Camping “Los Alcornocales”, a camping just outside Jimena, with also some bungalows for rent (Cruz Blanca, s/n, www.campinglosalcornocales.com)

The turist office is in Calle Misericordia, open from 11am - 1pm and 4 – 6 pm (Mon-Fri), 10am – 1pm and 4- 7 pm (Sat and Sun).