On this post I will highlight the places we visited, the best things to see and the best things to do in Cádiz, Spain.
After spending two days visiting Gibraltar (see my posts Gibraltar Day 1 and Gibraltar Day 2), we started our trip in the south of Spain by collecting our hired car at Autos Aguirre on ‘Avenida Principe de Asturias’, and just opposite the border in La Linea de la Concepción.
Subscribe to my blog, so you will not miss any of my posts published every week.
If you are planning a trip to the south of Spain and prefer to have everything organised by a tour, you should check the tours Tourradar offers to many places in Spain.
Tourradar has tours that suits every length of time and budgets and if you use my links to book your trip and enter code RoseG50 you will get a discount on your booking.
Where in Spain is Cádiz? Below is a map showing where Cádiz is located and the places we visited or passed by on Day 1 in Cádiz city:
We drove to the west and in the direction of the A-7 motorway to Algeciras. We passed Algeciras and our first stop was at Tarifa.
The plan was to stop in Tarifa to visit Guzman Castle near the port and to have lunch somewhere in town. However, as it was Monday, the castle was closed, so we walked around the old town instead.
Tarifa Old Town is not very big, so we covered it in quite a short time. It was too early for lunch, and we were not hungry, so we decided to carry on with our road trip to Cádiz.
The trip was very pleasant, and we arrived in Cadiz at about 1 pm. We went straight to our hotel, ‘Hotel Boutique Convento Cádiz’. This hotel has no car parking, so we just stopped in front of it to unload the bags and my husband went to park the car in the car park in the train station just opposite the hotel.
This was a long-term car parking where we could leave the car for the entire two days we were staying in Cádiz. The city is best explored on foot to discover the treasures the city has to offer.
Hotel Boutique Convento Cádiz is very well located if you are travelling by train or buses, but if like us you have a car, you can easily park on car parks nearby.
The building was converted into a hotel from an old convent from the 17th century, and it is very pretty with a central cloister and perimeter galleries.
Breakfast is served in one of the rooms off the cloister and you can seat at a table on the patio admiring the beautiful construction if you wish.
We stayed there for two nights, and we had a lovely stay. Our room was comfortable, the staff was very attentive, and we can highly recommend it.
They allowed us an early check-in and after unloading the bags in our room, we started our explorations of Cádiz.
A BIT ABOUT CÁDIZ
Cadiz is very rich in history; it was founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC and is regarded as the most ancient city in Western Europe. Since then, it has been through many wars and most of the surviving buildings are from the 18th century. Most important buildings and monuments had been reconstructed, cleaned, and restored.
The old town is full of narrow streets leading to lively squares and it is bordered by the sea and the ancient city walls. The city has many plazas where most of the important buildings are located.
Cádiz with its history, architecture, excellent beaches and the first quality local cuisine, makes a special place to visit and explore.
VISITING CÁDIZ
We walked from the hotel via Av. Del Puerto until we arrived at ‘Paseos de Canelejas’ (Canalejas’ Park). We turned left and entered “Plaza de San Juan de Dios”.
This square is very pretty with high coconut trees and water fountains and where the ‘Ayuntamiento’ (The Town Hall) building is located.
There are many restaurants and bars on this square and we chose one of the restaurants to have something to eat, as by then we were already very hungry.
After lunch we walked to Cádiz Cathedral nearby. It was built between 1722 and 1838, so the construction took 116 years from start to finish. It started as a baroque style design and ended up as neoclassical style. Local composer Manuel de Falla and local poet José Maria Pemán are buried at the cathedral.
Besides the cathedral you can also visit ‘Torre de Poniente’ (Ponient Tower) that affords beautiful views of Cádiz. We decided not to climb the tower and walked to the Roman Theatre instead.
The theatre was only discovered in 1980 after a fire. It was likely built in the 1st century BC and is considered to be the second largest theatre from the Roman times discovered. Only part of it was excavated because modern buildings are covering the rest of it.
It is free to visit the theatre and there is an interpretation centre also open to the public. It makes a very interesting visit, and you should not miss it while in Cádiz.
When the visit was finished, we walked back to the hotel for some rest, but if you still have time and energy I suggest you visit Torre Tavira, a watchtower that affords beautiful views of the city.
We didn’t go there because the aches from the long walk on the previous day where catching up with me. We skipped the 9 stories high, ramps and the 173 steps to the top. Thanks but, no thanks! Read my post Gibraltar – Day 2 to understand why.
If your time is limited in Cádiz you can book a guided tour HERE that includes the tickets to the main attractions and lasts three hours.
We went out again in the evening for dinner. We didn’t have a restaurant booked for that evening, but I read that a bar/restaurant called ‘La Tabernita’ was very nice, so we walked to the address of the restaurant. Upon arrival we found out that it was closed, maybe because it was a Monday.😞
We walked in the direction of another bar/restaurant that I also read good reviews, ‘Casa Manteca’. This one was open with tables outside, and there was an empty table just waiting for us. We sat down and had a look at the menu but decided to leave as the slow service and the menu didn’t excite us very much.
The area was full of restaurants, and we just decided to look around until we found somewhere that we fancied. We chose to have dinner at ‘Taberna El Tio de La Tiza’ and sat on a table outside. This restaurant serves seafood and local cuisine.
Due to it’s coastal location, local cuisine is focused on seafood dishes and seafood tapas. However, there is plenty of choice for meat eaters and vegetarians if you do not eat seafood.
We tried the famous, local “Tortillitas de Camarones” (small prawns fritters), and they were delicious! Dinner was very good, and we stayed there until late, drinking wine and watching people passing by.
After finishing our bottle of wine, we walked back to the hotel feeling very satisfied and happy with the start of our trip in Spain.
You can have a small group Food Tour of Cádiz walking around the city and tasting the regional cuisine, stopping at various tapas bars and shops with drinks included. That is a very good choice if you are into trying different kinds of food.
I hope this post helps you to plan your own itinerary of Cádiz and it gives you an idea of what can be fitted in one day visiting the city. My next post Cádiz Day 2 covers our second day at Cádiz city.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Cádiz, Day 1. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
WHAT TO SEE IN CÁDIZ
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Paseos de Canelejas – (Canalejas’ Park) – ***
2 – Plaza de San Juan de Dios – ***
3 – Cádiz Cathedral – ***
4 – Torre de Poniente – (Ponient Tower)
5 – Torre Tavira and the Camera Obscura
6 – Roman Theatre – ***
7 – Cádiz Old Town – ***
WHERE TO STAY
HOTELS
1 – Hotel Boutique Convento Cádiz – 3* – ££
2 – La Casa del Consul – 4* – ££
3 – Áurea Casa Palacio Sagasta – 4* – £££- ***
4 – Soho Boutique Cádiz – 3* – ££
5 – Bypillow La Sal – 3* – ££
If You prefer to look for your own accommodation just search and book via the widget below:
WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Taberna El Tio de La Tiza – *** – ££
2 – LaTabernita – ££
3 – La Candela – £££
4 – El Faro – £££
5 – Casa Manteca – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also like to read:
On this trip to Spain:
1 – Experiencing Gibraltar -Day 1
2 – Experiencing Gibraltar – Day 2
3 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 1
4 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 2
5 – How to Explore Jerez de la Frontera and Seville – Day 1
6 – Seville – Day 2
7 – Córdoba
8 – Granada – Day 1
9 – Granada – Day 2
10 – Setenil de las Bodegas and Ronda
11 – Marbella
12 – Gibraltar – Day 3
Leave a Reply