Before setting his sights on the Americas, Christopher Columbus took his refuge here.
Felipe V, an 18th century monarch chose this unruffled land of pines as a summer getaway.
El Puerto de Santa Maria owes its heritage to Menestheo, the Athenian warrior who built the town followed by the Romans, and the Arabs. Traces of Paleolithic era, however, were discovered in remains where settlements were built in the 16th century. Many old buildings strewn across the town today are reminiscent of this past.
