If you want to combine culture and time outdoors during a stay in San José De La Rinconada, you’ll find several distinct themes: the Cerro Macareno archaeological site, Torre del Cáñamo and its connection to the sugar industry, and green spaces with different uses. The range extends from a long history of settlement and views of agriculture and the town to walking paths and designated sports and leisure areas.
Archaeology between settlement and landscape
Cerro Macareno has a continuous sequence of human settlement from the 8th to the 1st century BC and is registered as an archaeological site with the status of a Bien de Interés Cultural. Its long chronology makes the site a notable point of interest for anyone interested in the history of the area.
Cerro Macareno is divided into two hills. From both, you can see a fertile plain used for agriculture, as well as an urban area with residential, industrial and service zones. The landscape adds a view of different uses to the archaeological timespan: agricultural land lies alongside a diverse urban area.
The museum collections offer another way to explore prehistory. They include Palaeolithic tools associated with Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neandertalensis. The fossil collection includes Elephas antiquus, a prehistoric elephant species that lived in La Rinconada more than 100,000 years ago. The tools and fossil draw attention to different aspects of early human and animal history.
A structure from industrial history
Torre del Cáñamo is a 64.20-metre-high chimney from the first third of the 20th century. Following its complete restoration, completed in 2020, it once again has its original appearance. Two periods are therefore evident: the structure’s construction and its later restoration.
Torre del Cáñamo is part of the industrial heritage of the municipality of La Rinconada and is connected with the sugar industry in the San José district. This gives it a different historical focus from Cerro Macareno: here, the subject is the district’s industrial history; there, a settlement sequence reaching far back in time.
Green spaces with different uses
Dehesa Boyal Park is the main green space in the San José area. It covers 40,000 m² and is located in the Cánamo area. Paths in the park invite you to take a walk; there are also open areas for concerts, cultural activities and other events. Walking paths and event spaces are part of the same park setting.
Santa Cruz Park covers 4.5 hectares and is located on the site of San José’s former fairground. The municipal announcement of 29 July 2024 anticipated public use from September 2024. The park was planned to include children’s playgrounds, calisthenics facilities and multi-purpose sports courts. Paths were also planned to connect the leisure and sports areas. If you are visiting specifically for these announced facilities, check their current status before your visit.
The difference lies in how they are used: Dehesa Boyal offers walking paths and open areas for events; the paths announced for Santa Cruz were intended to connect leisure and sports areas.
Festival tradition in March
The patron saint festivities in honour of Saint Joseph are celebrated around 19 March. On 11 March 2026, a work announcing the festivities was presented at the parish of San José—a further specific reference to the local festival tradition.
Discover more destinations: Guillena, Las Cabezas De San Juan, Burguillos, Villamanrique De La Condesa, Lebrija, Mairena Del Alcor, Coripe, Peñaflor.
For the wider travel overview: Seville.
