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Cádiz City

Cadiz is three thousand years old, which makes it the oldest city of Europe. It has an essentially urban and maritime feel about it. Because it lacks any notable countryside or mountains around it, the Atlantic dominates the surroundings of Cadiz.

Built on what was once an island, Cadiz today has two principal parts: the central or historic quarter with narrow streets and plazas, completely surrounded by fortified walls which constantly bring to mind the city’s maritime history.

The newer part of the city, outside the walls, linked to the old city by the famous Puertas de Tierra, has neighbourhoods of high buildings clustered around the Central Avenue, which seems to be constantly in a state of rebuilding, mainly because there is no more land to expand outwards.

History of Cadiz

The history of the city starts with the Phoenicians which gave it the name of Gadir. Then there were the Carthaginians and the Romans. After them the Visigoths and then the Moors until they were expelled in the 13th century by the Christian kings.

Cadiz then became the main point of contact with the new world of Latin America. Since then it has welcomed within its walls a mixture of cultures from across the seas, as is clear from its Constitution written in 1812 (the first of Europe).

Cadiz has close ties with Cuba, partly due to the close relations built up with Havana during the Cuban war of independence when Cadiz was the main port of supply. The similarities with Havana was one of the reasons why Cadiz was chosen to shoot some of the scenes for the latest Bond film –“Die Another Death”.

While the local authority area of Cadiz extends well beyond the city, it lacks large green open spaces – except for the Genoves Park. But it makes up for that deficit by the number of beaches on the Atlantic coast, true natural open spaces of fine sand bathed by the clear waters of the sea.

The main beaches are – La Caleta, Santa Maria, La Victoria, and the largest, Cortadura, all of which are part of the city and, especially during the summer, offer all the services one could expect.

The Parque Natural de la Bahía de Cádiz is a protected nature reserve well known for the variety of its bird and marine wildlife. There are many tours of the bay available for bird watching, study of the ecosystems and visits to saltworks.

Map of Cádiz City

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Cádiz tourism essentials

Hotels in Cadiz city

Cadiz monuments
Cadiz Airport - Jeréz de la Frontera (XRY)

The province of Cadiz
Cadiz province map
Hotels in the province of Cádiz
Cadiz nature reserves
Cadiz beaches
Golf in Cadiz - Green Fees bookings

Andalusia

A walk around the city centre provides one with a mosaic of sensations – the colours of the plazas, the sounds of the streets and city walls, and the smell of cooking from the restaurants and bars.

Nothing is better than to relax but still not to miss anything. To look at the sky and to still notice the rich details of buildings, monuments and archaeology. And most importantly, do not forget the Gaditanos themselves – cosmopolitan, humourous and friendly.

The most easy-going tour starts in the tourist office at Plaza Juan de Dios with the “Linea Carmesi” which is marked on the pavement and leads one around the most interesting places in the ancient quarter of the City (a distance of 2.5km).

During the summer there is a tour of the wider city by double-decker open-top bus (Tour por Cadiz).

A popular tour “El Tapeo”, as the name suggests, is a guided trip around the many tapas bars to sample the fish, seafood and other types of tapas(snacks) as well, of course, as plenty of drinks.

Other popular summer activities are horse carriage trips, night-time cruises of the Bay (Vapor del Puerto and Cabo Leiras), as well as many sporting options, such as – dinghy sailing, windsurfing, motorboats, canoeing, fishing, scuba diving and beach volley ball.

At the Punta San Felipe, as well as in other neighbourhoods, both inside and outside the walls, there are many pubs, live music places and bars busy until the early hours of the morning, especially with young people. During the summer this lively atmosphere spreads to the food stalls around the Playa de la Victoria and El Paseo Maritimo.

Among the many Fiestas of the city the one that stands out is that of Carnavales de Cádiz in February, now recognised as a major festival by International Tourism. Other important ones happen at Easter (Semana Santa), August, (Trofeo Carranza y su sardinada) and November (“Tosantos”).

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