Cadiz travel guide

Cádiz has a claim to being Western Europe’s oldest city. It was founded as Gadir by the Phoenicians, possibly as early as 1100 BC. Later classical sources claimed that the inhabitants of Tyre were told by an oracle to found a settlement beyond the Pillars of Hercules. The Phoenician name for the city lives on; today’s inhabitants are called gaditanos. Archaeological discoveries indicate that ties to the Eastern Mediterranean remained strong even once Phoenician sea power had waned. The heirs and descendants of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, also established an important presence here. Caesar conferred full Roman citizenship on the gaditanos after the town helped him against Pompeii, but the city declined rapidly in the late Roman era and did not play a prominent part in the Moorish era. Cádiz began to benefit from the discovery of the Americas, and prospered greatly once the monopoly for Atlantic trade was moved here from Sevilla in the 18th century. The city’s new status attracted the attention of foreign powers, who regularly came to loot the town.

During the Peninsular War, brave liberals invoked the ancient Spanish regional privileges and set up a parliament to rule in the absence of the king. These cortes drew up a constitution in 1812, which established a democratic parliamentary monarchy that became a blueprint for constitutional movements throughout Europe. The returning king, Fernando, revoked it, but it was re-proclaimed by a rebellious army colonel, Rafael de Riego, in 1820. Such was his support that the king admitted the legality of the 1812 document, but soon went back on his promise. In the wake of another advancing French army, the cortes fled back to Cádiz and surrendered in September 1823. Riego was executed. In the Civil War, Cádiz was firmly on the side of the left, but Rusia chica (little Russia), as it was known, couldn’t hold out against the Nationalists. Franco banned Cádiz’s exuberant Carnaval, but it survived by changing its name and date.

Cádiz’s Carnaval in February or March is an unforgettable experience , but you’ll have to book accommodation well ahead. The city is at its liveliest in summer, when the beaches are packed day and night.

Internet

Many places around the centre of Cádiz are geared up as free Wi-Fi zones. BEM, Plaza Candelaria 3, daily 1000-1500, 1630-2230. Speedy internet at €1/hr. C Cervantes 18, €2.40/hr, but a good connection, on the corner of C San José; Punto Com Sur, Plaza Topete 7; Red, Cuesta de las Calesas 43, good internet at €1.20/hr, cheaper 1500-1700. Also a locutorio for phone calls; Novap, next door, is similar.

Language schools

SIC, C Condesa Villafuente Bermeja 7, T956-252724, www.spanish incadiz.com.

Laundry

A cheap industrial laundry is Lavandería Europa, C Santo Domingo 17, T956-257398, for service washes at €3.50 per kilo.

Medical services

For emergencies, Hospital Universitario, Av Ana de Viya 21, T956-002100; for non-emergencies, go to a Centro de Salud, such as the one on C Cervantes 9, T956-225469.

Post office
Plaza Topete s/n, T956-210511.

Cádiz is forced by geography into being very long and thin. While the old town is reasonably compact, the new town is not. Bus No 1 runs every five minutes from the Plaza de España right down the length of the new town. You can also head to the new town by the cercanía train, which runs every 40 minutes or so, with several stops along the length of the beach. Segunda Aguada is the closest to the heart of the action. A journey in a cab from Plaza San Juan de Dios in the old town to the bars of the Paseo Marítimo should cost €4-5. There are plenty of ranks; otherwise T956-212121.

Cádiz has no airport, but is close to the international airport of Jerez de la Frontera . The city is well connected by public transport, and is easily reached by bus or train from Sevilla or by bus from Málaga.

Cádiz

Bus

The principal bus station is just off Plaza de España, T956-807059. The main company is Comes, who run hourly buses to Sevilla (1 hr 45 mins, €11.30). Málaga is targeted 6 times a day (4 hrs; €21.06); there are also several daily buses to Granada (€30.47) and a couple to Córdoba and Ronda. Madrid is served 3-6 times daily (€23.70, 8 hrs) by Secorbus, who run from Plaza Helios near the football stadium and the Carranza bridge.

Within Cádiz province, Comes runs more than hourly to Jerez (40 mins, €2.90) and El Puerto de Santa María (30 mins, €1.95), 5 a day to Tarifa (1 hr 30 mins; €8.39), 10 to Algeciras (with 3 continuing to La Línea for Gibraltar), and 6-10 to Barbate, as well as other coastal destinations. Inland, Arcos de la Frontera is reached 3-6 times daily, and Medina Sidonia 5 times.

Los Amarillos, T956-285852, runs from opposite the tourist office on Av Ramón de Carranza to Chipiona via Sanlúcar de Barrameda (1 hr 15 mins, €3.19) 11 times on weekdays and 5 times on weekends. They also run 2-4 buses to Ubrique (2 hrs 15 mins, €8.02) via Arcos de la Frontera (1 hr, €4.37).

Car rental

Bahía, Plaza de Sevilla s/n, T956-271895, http://www.bahiarentacar.com.

Ferry

El Vaporcito is a historic boat that runs across to Puerto de Santa María 5 times a day and back. The trip takes 40 mins and gives great views of the city. Tickets are €3 single/€4 return. The boat doesn’t run on Mon. T629- 468014 for information. There’s also a faster catamaran service that nips across 5-10 times daily, takes 30 mins, and costs €1.95 each way.

Trasmediterránea, Av Ramón de Carranza 26, T956-292811, http://www.trasmediterranea.es, runs a weekly ferry to the Canary Islands, stopping at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de la Palma. Currently leaving Cádiz on Tue, it takes 38 hrs to Las Palmas and about 48 hrs to Tenerife. The crossing tends to be rough, and it’s not great value compared with cheap flights.

Train

Cádiz’s train station is by the port near the centre of town, T902-240202. There are 10-12 daily trains to Sevilla (1 hr 45 mins; €9.80) via Puerto de Santa María and Jerez. Several of these connect with trains to Málaga, Granada, or Almería in Dos Hermanas; 1 continues to Jaén (5 hrs). There are 2 daily fast trains for Madrid (€64.70, 5 hrs). El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez are also served by regular cercanía trains every 30 mins. The trip to El Puerto takes 35 mins, and to Jerez 45-50 mins.