Explorer Tarifa

The Church of San Mateo is the main church of Tarifa, begun around 1506 with three naves under elaborate Gothic rib vaults. Its tall Baroque main façade was designed by Torcuato Cayón de la Vega in 1774 and completed four years later, and the square bell tower ends in a fluted dome. The round Sagrario chapel beside the crossing was added in the 18th century.

The Castle of Tarifa, also called the Castle of Guzmán el Bueno, is a fortress built in 960 on the orders of Abd al-Rahman III, Caliph of Córdoba. It is named after Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, who held it against a siege in 1296 rather than surrender it to save his captive son. Visitors walk its courtyards and wall walk, and the coast of Morocco is visible from the towers.

The Mirador del Estrecho is a viewpoint on the N-340 road about 6 km northeast of Tarifa, some 300 m above sea level. It looks across the Strait of Gibraltar to the African coast about 15 km away; on clear days the view reaches from Ceuta and Jebel Musa to the port of Tanger Med. A car park and a café stand beside it.