The town of Antequera sits nestled next to the El Torcal and Sierra de la Chimenea mountains in southern Spain. It’s a lovely white town with a gorgeous mountainous backdrop. The town is known for its UNESCO world heritage site and for having over 30 churches.

There are three dolmens open for visitation in the Antequera area. They are ancient megalithic burial mounds. El Romeral Dolmen is a brief drive outside of town. As we did not have a vehicle, we passed on this one. The other two, Menga and Viera Dolmens, are located within the same park on the east side of town. All three are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Antequera Dolmens Site.

Entrance into the park and dolmens is free. You’ll need a ticket, which you can get in the museum within the park at the information desk. From what I could tell, all they really wanted was to know where their visitors hail from. It must be interesting seeing what random nationalities show up. I’m always surprised back home when I’m happily out in the middle of nowhere and run into a foreigner. More in a “how on earth did you hear about this spot” kind of way. It’s never a surprise in our most famed parks, ie Yellowstone. But the Montana wilderness? The backside of Mt St Helens? These are amazing places but I simply wonder how on earth someone heard about it and decided that this is where, out of all the vastness of the USA, they should go. Must be the same kind of feeling.

The main path to the dolmens has you walk up and around them before circling back to the front. First up is Viera Dolmen. Normally, you’re allowed to enter. But with all the recent rail its entrance was a mucky mess and you could walk up to it, just not enter.

Menga Dolmen is next. This one has a giant stone entrance. Walking inside there are massive stone pillars holding up the ceiling. It’s composed of one large rectangular chamber within and has a remarkably deep well near the back. It was used as a communal burial area for the community.

Cementerio Municipal de Antequera

Spain does cemeteries well. They are beautiful and peaceful. This cemetery is located next to the Menga and Viera Dolmens. There’s a small park with benches in front of it. Entering through the wrought iron gates, you’ll be on a path leading to a small chapel. On either side are lovely tombs with stone or iron crosses. Trees provide shade and you’ll be serenaded by the merry chirping of birds as they flit to and from in the branches above.

Further in, there are the burial walls, or niches, where the departed are entombed. The plaques for each are unique and exquisite. There are flowers everywhere. Candles here and there. There’s always someone strolling through the quite pathways. These cemeteries are a thing of beauty. Should you choose to enter, please be respectful and remember where you are.

Churches

As previously stated, there are over 30 churches in Antequera. Overlooking the city you can’t help but note the frequency of steeples. When ambling through the streets it feels as if every other corner brings you to a new one.

We certainly did not visit all of them. Most are open to the public, though many have specific hours and days their doors are open. We briefly walked around the La Trinidad’s Convent because we randomly passed by first thing in the morning.

Later in the day we entered the Iglesia de San Juan de Dios. This one is remarkably unassuming on the exterior. Within its walls there are the typical arched ceilings, painted white with ornate embellishment’s carved or painted from the walls, ceilings and balcony.

Alcazaba

This moorish fortress sits atop a small hillside overlooking Antequera. It was constructed over Roman ruins. There are two main towers. It is supposedly well restored. We chose to walk around it and not enter as it was getting late in the day. It’s certainly an impressive structure. I was happiest in having found a well fed cat colony up on the hill. Always a sucker for cats. In the words of my favorite athlete, “I watch them cats.” These ones were particularly adorable and definitely owned the hill.

For the best view of the Alcazaba, I’d recommend walking to the Vera Cruz Hermitage. It sits on an opposing hill on the other side of town. You’ll have views looking across Antequera to the Alcazaba with a dramatic mountainous backdrop. Quite a nice view. They have another kitty colony here too. These ones are a bit suspicious and shy regarding their human adorers. Except for the lady who feeds them. They ran right over to her. Smart cats.

Estepa Gate

The name says it all. It’s a gate. Technically, it’s not even the original. The real gate was constructed in 1749. Demolished in 1931 to make way for traffic. In 1998 they rebuilt a gate similar to the original, close to where the original was. Whoops. Shouldn’t have torn down the old one. Today, cars drive around its arches.

Wander the Streets

One of the best things to do in these small Spanish towns is to get lost. To wander around the streets. We started our morning walking to the Dolmens which took us through an older section of town. Where the real people live. Slanted buildings on steep streets. With trucks parked on the street. A more local vibe.

Later in the day we entered the more touristy, upscale areas. It was nice for sure but lacked the authenticity found earlier in the morning. There were plenty of shops to browse through and a gorgeous orange tree lined street. Cafes lined the streets providing a place for a drink or bite to eat.

The Food

Antequera has a reputation for good food. We were not disappointed. For lunch, we strayed from traditional Spanish cuisine and sought out the Cafetería Crepería El Jardín. Here we enjoyed savory crepes, one duck with red berries and one cream of leek and bacon. The duck one was a tad strange when you bit into a strawberry but otherwise had a mild taste and was good. The leek crepe (or galette as they called them) was far superior. It melted across our tastebuds and was divine. Though, it was more of a ham than what I’d consider bacon. Regardless, it was heavenly. And they serve one of the best cappuccino’s I’ve ever had.

Before leaving town, we sought out Arte de Tapas. After looking over loads of tapas restaurants, this one stood out as offering different tapas. Once again, we were quite pleased. We had a stew with chickpeas, chestnuts and pork. There were breaded rabbit chops. A mollete with spiced goat meat. All of them were more than pleasing to the palette. There were so many excellent options on the menu that it was difficult to narrow it down to three. Because we weren’t all that hungry from having lunch a few hours prior and really didn’t want any more than three.

Noteworthy for this place, it also has a restaurant that has a larger menu as well as serving tapas. Our bar tender (we sat at the bar) was a very friendly fellow and showed us the restaurants menu. Umm. Yum. Loads of options. Even quite a few vegetarian dishes and non red meat plates. If I ever return to Antequera, I’d love to try it.

Thats a Wrap

Antequera was a delightful day trip. The town is a mix of modern and ancient. They have loads of history and it’s quite walkable. The food was amazing. There are cats. I was happy. Doug seemed happy. Great trip. Would recommend if you have the time.

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