Barbate & La Breña Natural Parque

Barbate is a town of around 20,000 people on the Costa de la Luz, 40km north of Tarifa. This modern town, (often called Barbate de Franco because the ex-dictator spent many summers here), has grown up around a fishing industry which goes back to Roman times when the fish-salting industry was at its peak.

Its modern layout lacks the charm of some of the more traditional Andalucian villages, but there are nevertheless, some nice buildings in the heart of the old town. There is a modern square "Plaza de la Inmaculada" with the Town Hall on one side and the ancient Church of Sta Paulino on the other.

The town is popular in the summer with Spanish holiday makers although it is generally untouched by foreign tourists.

Every year in May, after the first full moon, fishermen from towns on the Cadiz part of theCosta de la Luz, including Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Conil de la Frontera, and Tarifa, set up a complicated labyrinth of nets off the Atlantic coast, called the almadraba, to catch blue-fin tuna. This is a major social and gastronomic event, providing essential (if seasonal) work for fishermen, packing factories, restaurants along the coast. 

Lovers of tuna come from all over Spain to enjoy the various festivals and routes celebrating the almadraba season. The towns have their own Rutas del Atun, which list restaurants and tapas bars offering inventive, beautifully-presented atun de almadraba tapas at a set price.

Barbate has the Semana Gastronomica del Atun (Tuna Gastronomy Week) in May, which includes a competition for best tuna tapa. In the Antigua Lonja (old fish market) they have special flamenco-accompanied visits, as well as masterclasses, show-cooking, tastings and other events. There's also a tuna museum, La Chanca, and the Almadraba Tuna Interpretation Centre.