Arcos de la Frontera — the cliff mirador

Arcos sits on the end of a sandstone ridge with the Guadalete curling around three sides of it, and the old town runs out along the top until the ground simply stops. The Plaza del Cabildo at the far end has a low wall, a castle on one side, the Basilica of Santa María on another, and a drop of about a hundred metres on the third.

That balcony is the location. Put a couple against the wall and the whole plain, the river and the reservoir behind fill the frame with nothing man-made in the way. It is one of very few places in Andalusia where you get real depth without climbing anything.

Behind the square the lanes are the classic white-village mix of arches, grilles and stepped alleys, tight enough that cars barely fit — and the Gothic-Baroque facade of Santa María gives a stone counterweight to all the whitewash.

Morning light comes across the plain and lifts the haze off the river; late afternoon puts the sun behind the town, so the mirador becomes a backlit silhouette. Choose according to which of the two you want. Parking below and a walk up is easier than trying to drive into the old town.