Cadiz
Cádiz, three thousand years old
Historians affirm that Cádiz wes found over three thousand years ago and that it is the oldest inhabited city in Europe. since then, it has experienced many changes, with eras of expansion and decline. A seafaring, trading town, particulary lively and vigorous, Cadiz surprises and appeals to visitor at the first straight, narrow streets, towering facades with fine wrought ironwork and gardens of great botanical variety by the sea, which surounds and encompasses the town making it almost an island.
Passing through the Tierra Gateway of the restored remains of the city walls and crossing the long strip of land which joins Cádiz to the continent, we come dace to face with this unique town. The Baroque Cathedral features bright domes and sumptuous interior, so different in different in architectural style from the majority of Spanish Cathedrals. Nearby is the old Santa Cruz Cathedral.
As we walk around the tighly crammed town centre, visiting churches and museums, we come upon squares, such as San Juan de Dios, Mina, Constitución, España, Mentidero, each of which has its own style and monuments and monuments, all so different and so attractive as are the different quarters of the centre from El Pópulo to la Viña.
Formerly known as Gades, Cádiz was for centuries Spain’s main port for ships sailing to and from america. Later, in 1812, it was the home of Spanish constitutionalism. The neoclassical Oratory of San Felipe de Neri, where the historical text was debated, is well worth a visit. The churches of Cádiz are most often Baroque or Neo-classical: San Antonio, El Rosario, Santo Domingo, San Francisco, Santa Catalina, El Carmen, etc., and the classical style is present in many of its most significant buildings, such as the Country Council Building, a palace of enormous proportions, the old prision Cárcel Real and even the traditional Tavira Tower.
The museums in a citysorich in history are yet anotherattraction of the place popularly known as”the little cup of silver”: the Municipal History Museum, and above all the Archaeological and Fine Arts Museum, with an excellent art collection, impressive archaeological exhibitions and an appreciable ethnological section.
In February the Carnival, so highly acclaimed here and good reason, has its temple, the Gran Teatro Falla, recently restored and in a curious Neomudéjar style. At the beginning of spring, the Easter processions through the narrow streets are a fascinating sight. And for the summer there are small coves such as La Caleta, and long beaches all around the city.
122km (76 miles) S of Seville, 625km (388 miles) SW of Madrid, 32km (20 miles) SW of Jerez de la Frontera
At the end of a peninsula, Cádiz separates the Bay of Cádiz from the Atlantic. It was here that Columbus set out on his second and fourth voyages.
Cádiz (pronounced “cah-deeth”) was founded, according to legend, by Hercules himself some 3,000 years ago. The seafaring Phoenicians settled here around 1100 B.C. and in 501 the conquering Carthaginians landed. They were followed by the Romans in 206 B.C. Cádiz was to see other conquerors, notably the Visigoths and the Muslims. The rule of the Moors came to an end in 1262 when King Alfonso X brought the port under the yoke of Spanish rule.
In 1587, Sir Francis Drake, whom Spaniards still refer to as a pirata, sailed into Cádiz and caused much damage in a raid. The attack of the British forces delayed the Armada. In 1596 Cádiz suffered its most devastating attack yet when combined Anglo and Dutch ships arrived at harbor to burn the city to the ground.
Cádiz bounced back and in the 1700s reached the zenith of its power and prestige — enough so that it attracted Napoleon’s greedy eye. French troops invaded and Cádiz became the capital of occupied Spain. In the 19th century, the loss of the American colonies, on which the prosperity of Cádiz depended, plunged the port into a long slumber, from which it only started to recover in the 1970s. Long a bastion of liberal thought and tolerance, Cádiz saw more bloodshed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s when its townspeople fought — but lost — in their struggle against Franco’s Fascists.
Today, this modern, bustling Atlantic port is a melting pot of Americans, Africans, and Europeans who are docking or passing through. The old quarter teems with local characters, little dives, and seaport alleys. The narrow cobblestone streets, which open onto charming small plazas, evoke an old city in North Africa. Despite its vibrancy and diverse influences, however, Cádiz isn’t of major interest for most visitors. What the visitor confronts today is an industrial hub of activity with one of the busiest ports in Spain, dominated by its shipbuilding and naval dockyards. Cádiz is also a big fishing center, and also a major departure point for ships sailing to the Canary Islands, a Spanish possession. It is regrettable that many foreigners have yet to discover the charm of Old Cádiz.
When visitors, mostly Spanish, do flock to Cádiz, it is for the summer beaches and for the famous Carnaval in February, one of the most extravagant in Europe. Music fills the air from mandolins, tambourines, guitars, and even whistles. Seemingly everybody in town parades through the streets in costumes. Singing, dancing, and riotous street behavior characterize the event, which lasts all night long, ending when revelers flood the cafes for freshly cooked churros (like doughnut sticks), which they dunk into steaming hot cups of chocolate. The Cádiz carnival usually takes place during the second week of February.
Cadiz tourism and travel information
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Nightlife
In Cádiz, the city’s role as a beach resort deeply affects the way night owls party after dark. In winter, when cold winds blow in from the Atlantic across the Bahía de Cádiz, nightclubbers find shelter in the Old Town, especially in its northernmost quadrant, the neighborhood radiating outward from the Plaza de San Francisco. Here, within a labyrinth of impossibly
Active Pursuits
Most beachgoers, unless they come from Cádiz’s Old Town, usually visit the wide-open and sunny sands of the Playa Victoria, an intensely developed but still very appealing beach that’s a household name for beach lovers throughout the region. In our opinion, this is one of the best beaches in Spain, with very wide and champagne-colored sands. This beachfront is constantly made wider by a government-sponsored campaign to keep pumping tons of sand here from points offshore. Arc lights illuminate the beach like a stage every night until around midnight. Dozens of different tapas bars, restaurants, and nightlife options are found adjacent to the edge of the beach. It’s richly developed and commercial but not junky. On Playa Victoria’s outer fringes there is an isolated and savage section where the waves pound more heavily and the sense of isolated nature increases. This savage beachfront is especially strong on the causeway linking modern Cádiz to its outlying suburbs and the rest of Spain.
Paseo Marítimo is the main drag along Playa Victoria and in summer has the most active chiringuitos (beach bars) in the province.
But for residents of the La Viña neighborhood in Old Cádiz, there’s only one beach that matters: Playa de la Caleta. It’s relatively narrow and is hemmed in by rocky shoals at low tide. There are no changing booths or public toilets. Known as a “natural beach,” it’s immediately adjacent to structures and fortifications whose foundations in some cases are more than 3,000 years old. Just behind the seawall, you’ll see the two biggest trees (both of them ficus) in Cádiz province. Set on the lawn of a stone-fronted building that houses the administration for a local hospital, they’re each about a century old, and are reputed to have been planted in honor of missionaries who left Cádiz for good works in the New World. Set near the extreme western edge of the Old Town, Playa de la Caleta is sometimes known as “Baño de la Viña” after the neighborhood (Barrio de la Viña) that abuts it. That same neighborhood — a crowded, churning, overcrowded cauldron of local color — is credited with originating the version of Carnival that’s now fervently celebrated in Cádiz and in some of Spain’s former colonies, notably Cuba. Access to this “City Beach” is free and possible at all hours of the day and night without restriction and without supervision.