Cadiz is the southernmost peninsular capital of Spain. Its location, linked to the Isla del León by a narrow isthmus of land, has determined its clear seafaring vocation throughout its more than three thousand years of history. Considered at various times one of the most important cities in Europe for its strategic location and commercial activity, today, the city of Cadiz, with more than one hundred and fifteen thousand inhabitants, continues to live from its port and its shipyards, in addition to a growing national and international tourism.

In 236 B.C. the city was placed under the protection of the Carthaginians, led by the general Amilcar Barca and his son Hannibal, from where they began their expedition to conquer Hispania.

After thirty years of Carthaginian domination, the city, of about three thousand inhabitants, was the last of Hispania to surrender to the Roman general Scipio “The African” in 206 BC, becoming a metropolis allied to the Roman Empire and becoming known as Gades.

The Roman city, governed by the Balbo family, reached its maximum commercial, economic and architectural splendor between the first century B.C. and the second century A.D., becoming the second most populated city of the Empire and acquiring the status of civitas foederata (federated city of Rome), a privilege that allowed it to maintain its political and economic autonomy. It was at this time that the Neapolis or new city was built on the neighboring island of Kotinoussa.

The Carnival of Cadiz is one of the most famous carnivals in Spain and has been declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest since February 29, 1980, together with the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Carnival of Aguilas (Murcia).

According to Catholic tradition, the term Carnival comes from the Italian “carne-levare”, which means to abandon meat, which was an obligatory prescription during Lent, so Carnival is considered a period prior to the sexual abstinence and fasting that began with Ash Wednesday and ended on Easter Monday. Popular etymology also indicates that Carnival consisted of a celebration in which meat was offered to the God Baal (meat to baal), a feast where any behavior was valid, as it happened in the Greek and Roman bacchanals, “saturnales” and “lupercales”.

Greek mythology tells that the God Momo, who represented the personification of sarcasm, mockery and irony, was expelled from Olympus for mocking the other gods and chose the city of Cadiz as his destination after his exile, transmitting to its inhabitants his sarcastic and burlesque character, which can be heard today in the “coplas” of its carnival groups.

The first documented references to the celebration of the Carnival of Cadiz are found in the work of the Cadiz historian Agustín de Horozco, dating from the late sixteenth century and tell how Cadiz women plucked flowers from pots to throw them at each other as a mockery.

The Carnival evolved with the transfer of the “Casa de Contratación de Indias” to Cadiz from Seville during the eighteenth century, since it took Renaissance influences from the carnivals of the cities of Venice and Genoa thanks to the Italian merchants who settled in the city looking for a place well connected by sea. Thus were born the use of masks, masks, streamers and confetti, along with harlequin and pierrot costumes (typical characters of the “Commedia dell’Arte”) and carnival dances.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the Carnival was influenced by the different rulers of the country, with their corresponding prohibitions and restrictions, but in 1862 the Mayor of Cadiz, Juan Valverde y Cubells, ordered that the expenses derived from the Carnival be included in the Municipal Budgets, this being the first year in which the City Council was in charge of the organization and regulation of events, dances, fireworks, music, etc., thus being considered a municipal festival.

The Carnival in all Spanish towns was abolished by decree of General Francisco Franco in 1937 due to its festive and not very religious character, although in the city of Cadiz remained latent in the feeling of its inhabitants, holding clandestine meetings during the month of February in wine stores and grocers to remember and sing old songs.

En 1948, y tras la explosión del Depósito de Minas de San Severiano del año anterior, el Gobernador Civil, Carlos María Rodríguez de Valcárcel, autorizó a los coros y chirigotas a salir a la calle con la intención de aliviar en parte el sentimiento de pesar de la población, aunque sometiéndose a la censura de la Delegación de Educación Popular y el control del Alcalde. Fue de este modo como surgieron en el año 1950 las “Fiestas Típicas Gaditanas”, declaradas como Fiestas de Interés Turístico el 18 de mayo de 1965, donde la palabra “Carnaval” se encontraba prohibida, pero gracias a las cuales la tradición carnavalesca permaneció presente en las generaciones gaditanas.

In 1948, and after the explosion of the San Severiano Mine Deposit the previous year, the Civil Governor, Carlos María Rodríguez de Valcárcel, authorized the choirs and “chirigotas” to go out to the streets with the intention of alleviating in part the feeling of sorrow of the population, although they were subject to the censorship of the Delegation of Popular Education and the control of the Mayor. It was in this way that in 1950 the “Fiestas Típicas Gaditanas” were born, declared as Fiestas of Tourist Interest on May 18, 1965, where the word “Carnival” was forbidden, but thanks to which the carnival tradition remained present in the generations of Cádiz.

It was in 1977, with the arrival of Democracy, when the Carnival was recovered with its name and its traditional date, which has reached our days and brings together every year thousands of locals and visitors in the streets of the city to enjoy the songs and “tipos” (costumes) of their groups.

The Carnival of Cadiz kicks off with the “Pestiñada”, the “Erizada”, the “Ostionada” and the “Mejillonada”, gastronomic events organized by different associations and entities of the city once the Christmas holidays are over. In these celebrations, besides tasting seafood or popular sweets, the first “coplas” of the year are listened to by invited groups.

Then begins one of the most important events of the Carnival of Cadiz: the Official Competition of Carnival Groups (COAC), which is held at the Gran Teatro Falla.

More than three hundred groups divided into four categories, choirs, “comparsas”, “chirigotas” and quartets, compete in different rounds (preliminaries, quarterfinals and semifinals), reaching a maximum of four for each category to the Grand Final, held the night before the first Saturday of Carnival. The whole city is paralyzed that night in front of the TV watching the broadcast of the contest, whose decision occurs in the wee hours of the morning and is expected with great expectation.

Once the “Concurso de Agrupaciones” is over, the “coplas” take to the streets, kicking off the city’s big party, which lasts for ten days. Both the groups participating in the contest as the “street or illegal” populate the streets and squares of the city looking for the “tablaos” of the various competitions or improvised stages where to sing their repertoires dressed in two “coloretes” and the most ingenious costumes.

You can not understand a day of Carnival without looking for your favorite groups in the streets of the old town to listen to their repertoire accompanied by a cartridge of fried fish and a local wine. It is especially exciting to enjoy the choirs in their “bateas” in the different “Carruseles” that take place in the streets and squares.

La Viña es un barrio del centro histórico de la ciudad, delimitado por las calles de la Rosa, Sagasta y el mar. De calles estrechas y arquitectura popular gaditana, el encanto del barrio reside en la alegría de sus vecinos, su forma de ver la vida y su pasión por el Carnaval, presente en su día a día.

La urbanización del barrio comenzó en el siglo XVIII en los terrenos ocupados por unas viñas conocidas con el nombre de Viña de Malabar. El fuerte incremento demográfico experimentado en la ciudad a raíz del auge del comercio con América obligaron a consolidar un nuevo barrio, conocido como Nuevo Mundo, que alojó a la clase más humilde de la población, en su mayoría pescadores que no podían acceder a vivir en las inmediaciones del puerto como las clases más altas, encontrando así un lugar en las afueras de la ciudad frente a la Playa de La Caleta. Poco a poco el barrio fue completando su urbanización, por lo que en el siglo XIX pasó a ser llamado formalmente Barrio de la Viña.

La Viña es uno de los barrios más típicos de Cádiz, con un profundo sabor marinero. La vida de sus gentes gira alrededor de la Playa de La Caleta, centro neurálgico del barrio y puerto natural utilizado por fenicios, cartagineses y romanos.

Animado de día y de noche, La Viña ofrece una excelente oferta de restauración, donde abunda el pescado fresco y el marisco, acogiendo algunos de los bares y restaurantes más populares de la ciudad.

En tu paseo por el barrio no puedes dejar de visitar la Calle de la Palma y su emblemática Iglesia, la Playa de La Caleta con su icónico Balneario de La Palma y El Real, y los castillos de Santa Catalina y San Sebastián. Si después de tu paseo sientes hambre, degusta una típica “caballa caletera con piriñaca” en una de las muchas tabernas o terrazas que encontrarás en tu camino.

La Viña is a neighborhood in the historic center of the city, bounded by the streets of La Rosa, Sagasta and the sea. With narrow streets and popular Cádiz architecture, the charm of the neighborhood lies in the joy of its neighbors, their way of seeing life and their passion for Carnival, present in their daily lives.

The urbanization of the neighborhood began in the eighteenth century on land occupied by vineyards known as Viña de Malabar. The strong demographic increase experienced in the city as a result of the boom in trade with America forced the consolidation of a new neighborhood, known as Nuevo Mundo, which housed the poorest class of the population, mostly fishermen who could not afford to live in the vicinity of the port as the upper classes, thus finding a place on the outskirts of the city in front of the beach of La Caleta. Gradually the neighborhood was completing its urbanization, so that in the nineteenth century it was formally called Barrio de la Viña.

La Viña is one of the most typical neighborhoods of Cadiz, with a deep seafaring flavor. The life of its people revolves around the beach of La Caleta, the nerve center of the neighborhood and natural harbor used by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans.

Lively day and night, La Viña offers an excellent range of restaurants, where fresh fish and seafood abound, hosting some of the most popular bars and restaurants in the city.

On your walk through the neighborhood you can not miss the Calle de la Palma and its emblematic church, La Caleta Beach with its iconic Balneario de La Palma and El Real, and the castles of Santa Catalina and San Sebastian. If after your walk you feel hungry, try a typical “mackerel caletera con piriñaca” in one of the many taverns or terraces you will find on your way.

The temperature in Cadiz is very mild throughout the year, ranging between 8ºC and 29ºC, which makes it an ideal destination at any time of the year. Temperatures rarely fall below 4ºC or above 34ºC. Occasionally there may be episodes of strong easterly winds, although the city is not in the area most exposed to this type of current, being more common in the eastern part of the province

You will enjoy your visit to Cadiz at any time of the year, although the city comes to life during the three Carnival weekends (February-March), Easter, the summer months, especially the weekend of the Carranza Trophy (August 15), October 7 (feast of the Virgen del Rosario, Patron Saint of Cadiz), Christmas, and in general, all national holidays.

We offer you the following interactive map with photos, descriptions and tips so that you do not miss any detail in your visit to our three thousand year old city.

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Click on each highlighted place on the map to get all the information.

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La Caleta Beach is the smallest beach of the city, with only four hundred and fifty meters long, and the only one located in the historic center, isolated from the rest, in the neighborhood of La Viña.

La Caleta was in ancient times the natural harbor where the Phoenician ships anchored, the first inhabitants of the city three thousand years ago, and is the visible remains of the old Bahia-Caleta Canal, which separated the ancient islands of Erytheia, where the urban center of the Phoenician colony was located, and Kothinoussa.

The current La Caleta Beach is flanked by the Castles of Santa Catalina (XVI century) and San Sebastian (XVIII century), which is accessed through the Paseo Fernando Quiñones, a long and narrow road over the sea, like an isthmus, six hundred and fifty meters long.

In 1997 this beach obtained for the first time the Blue Flag of the Clean Seas of Europe and its sunsets were declared in 2020 as the best in Spain by the magazine “Condé Nast Traveler”.

Muse of poets and very present in the songs of carnival authors, the beach of La Caleta does not understand seasons, being an obligatory stop for locals and tourists at any time of the year.

The Cathedral of Cadiz, called the Cathedral of “Santa Cruz sobre el Mar” or “Santa Cruz sobre las Aguas“, will always be known by the people of Cadiz as the New Cathedral.

This fact is due, as it happens in other five Spanish cities, to the existence also in Cadiz of an Old Cathedral, nowadays called Santa Cruz Church, which was built by order of King Alfonso X the Wise around the year 1262 on the remains of the old Arab mosque.

The reasons that prompted the construction of a new cathedral in the city were the poor state of conservation of the Old Cathedral after the Anglo-Dutch sacking suffered by Cadiz in 1596 and the desire to have a more monumental and representative space in the city, in line with the importance that Cadiz had acquired with the transfer of the “Casa de Contratación” from Seville in 1717.

The Old Cathedral was considered a Cathedral until 1838, date in which the works of the New Cathedral were completed, which began in 1722, beginning its construction in baroque style according to the project of the architect Vicente Acero and ending in neoclassical under the direction of Juan Daura.

The New Cathedral presides over the Plaza de Pío XII or Plaza de la Catedral and can be visited together with its Clock Tower, fifty-six meters high, from where magnificent views of both the city and the Atlantic Ocean can be seen. Below it is the Crypt, a sober circular enclosure and a very special acoustics, where the remains of two illustrious sons of the city rest: Manuel de Falla and José María Pemán.

The entrance to the Cathedral Complex includes the visit to the Cathedral, the Choir, the Crypt, the Clock Tower and the “Casa de la Contaduría”.

PRICES:
General: 7,00€.
Reduced: 5,00€ / 6,00 €
MORE INFORMATION AND SCHEDULES:
https://www.catedraldecadiz.com

The Tavira Tower is one of the one hundred and thirty-four watchtowers that are preserved in the old town of Cadiz and is located in the “Casa Palacio de los Marqueses de Recaño”, built in baroque style in the first half of the eighteenth century.

It was designated official watchtower of the Port of Cadiz in 1778 for being the highest point of the city, being forty-five meters above sea level and in the center of the old town. It received its name from its first watchman, frigate lieutenant Antonio Tavira.

Today the tower houses a Camera Obscura, an instrument that projects the image of the city in real time on a white screen inside a room in complete darkness. It also has two exhibition areas on the history of Cadiz and the history of the tower itself and a viewpoint from where you can admire a magnificent 360º panoramic view of the historic center.

The Tavira Tower was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2005 and is located at number 10 Marqués del Real Tesoro Street.

VISITING HOURS:

October – April: 10:00 – 18:00 h.

May – September: 10:00 – 20:00 h.

Duration of the visit: 45 minutes.

Reservation of visits 48 hours in advance at Tel. 956212910 or at reservas@torretavira.com.

RATES:

General: 7,00€.

ReducED: 5,50€.

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.torretavira.com

The Roman Theater of Cadiz (Theatrum Balbi) was ordered to be built by Lucius Cornelius Balbus “The Lesser” around 70 B.C. as part of the construction of the Neapolis (new city).

Its antiquity together with its one hundred and twenty meters in diameter makes it the oldest in the Iberian Peninsula and the second largest in terms of size, with a capacity for more than ten thousand spectators.

Abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire, the remains of its structure were used in medieval times as dwellings and warehouses. It also served as a base for the Islamic fortress, cited in sources of the time as “Castillo del Teatro” and later rebuilt by Alfonso X “The Wise”.

After several centuries hidden, it was discovered in 1980 during archaeological excavations aimed at locating the Castle, recovering since then an important part of the stands (proedria, ima cavea and media cavea), as well as the orchestra and an annular distribution gallery. To these remains are added parts of the scenic building that can be observed through wells-drillings made in the Interpretation Center, along with explanatory panels, images, models and audiovisual resources through which you can understand the importance of the building within the urban planning of the city of Gades and its significance in the formation of the medieval city and the current Barrio del Pópulo.

Despite the work carried out on it, the most monumental area of the complex, the stage and the portico that opened behind it, have not been excavated and its ruins remain hidden even under the Barrio de El Pópulo.

The entrance to the theater is through the interpretation center, located at 11-13 Mesón Street.

(Fotos de Juan de Dios Borrego y Mariló Maye)

The Gran Theater Falla is located in the Plaza Fragela, occupying the site of the original San Fernando Theater, built in wood in 1870 and devastated by fire in August 1881.

Of neo-Mudejar style and highlighting its horseshoe plant and its facade decorated with “colored bricks“, the construction of the theater began in 1884 following the project of Adolfo Morales de los Ríos and Adolfo del Castillo Escribano, but two years later the City Council assumed the direction of the works, which due to the economic shortage were not completed until 1905.

The inauguration took place on January 12, 1910 under the name of Gran Teatro with the performance of a symphony by Barbieri. It was not until 1926 when it acquired its current name of Gran Theater Falla, in honor of the musician, favorite son of the city, Manuel de Falla.

It has a capacity for one thousand two hundred and fourteen spectators divided into seats, boxes, amphitheater and paradise, the highest area of the theater, with benches, and whose name comes from the proximity to the roof of the theater, which is decorated with an allegory of paradise, the work of Felipe de Abárzuza. This area is colloquially known as the “henhouse” because it is the place in the theater with the liveliest audience.

Currently, along with an extensive lineup of musical and theatrical performances, The Gran Theater Falla hosts every year and for about a month the Carnival Groups Competition (COAC) held prior to the Carnival of Cadiz.

MORE INFORMATION:

Gran Teatro Falla

The commonly known as Plaza de Las Flores is actually called Plaza de Topete, named after Juan Bautista Topete y Carballo (1821-1885), Spanish sailor, military and politician, vice-admiral of the Spanish Navy, hero of the Pacific War and Captain of the Port of Cadiz during the Revolution of 1868.

It is located in the heart of the historic center, next to the Central Market, and very close to the Cathedral and the most commercial streets of the city center. In its center is a sculpture dedicated to Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (Columela), an agronomist writer born in Gades in 4 AD.

The colorful and traditional seven flower stalls in the square are the ones that give it its popular name. They were installed in 1927 with the intention that in the city there were fixed places to sell flowers, highly demanded at that time.

Currently it is one of the most attractive places in the city for its central location, the colorfulness of its flower stalls and its restaurants and terraces.

The Genovese Park is located on Doctor Gomez Ulla Avenue, next to the sea and the Paseo de Carlos III.

It is the largest green area of the old town of Cadiz and its origins date back to the late eighteenth century through the transformation of the then known as Paseo del Perejil. Later, in 1854, the park was expanded, increasing the number of plant species and giving rise to a lush garden that was called Paseo de las Delicias.

In 1892, when Eduardo Genovés i Puig was mayor of the city, the current design of the park was developed, expanding it with the so-called Army Forest and providing it with fountains, a waterfall with a lake, a concert hall and a cafe, becoming then a large botanical showcase of great interest, including species of great rarity and spectacularity.

After that, different sculptural groups were installed, such as the Children Under the Umbrella or those dedicated to José Celestino Mutis, the Duchess of Victory, José María Pemán and Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente.

At the end of the 19th century a theater hall was built, whose metallic structure was the work of Gustave Eiffel, which was relocated to the Santa Maria neighborhood around 1930 for the construction of the Merced Market (today converted into the School of Flamenco Art). Some time later another summer theater was built in the same location and named after José María Pemán.

The park has a trapezoidal shape, with a wide central avenue divided into three streets by a double row of symmetrical flowerbeds. There are more than one hundred species of trees and shrubs, both native and imported, which give this public park a great botanical interest, highlighting a Drago tree that is more than one hundred and twenty years old.

The Plaza de España is one of the most emblematic squares in the capital of Cadiz. Located near the port, it houses unique buildings such as the House of the Four Towers, the Customs House and the Monument to the Constitution of 1812.

The expansion of the small Plazoleta del Carbón began in 1912, with the aim of gaining land to the sea and build a larger square that was renamed Plaza de España.

In order to commemorate the first centenary of the Constitution of 1812, promulgated in Cadiz, the construction of a monument in the form of a hemicycle open to the sea was also begun, whose work was carried out by the architect Modesto López Otero and the sculptor Aniceto Marinas, conceived to represent a theatrical stage where two protagonist figures are imposed with allegories of Spain and Hercules along with various representations on war, peace, agriculture and industry. In the center of the monument there is a tall group of columns, crowned by statues that raise the book of the Constitution of 1812.

In the same square, rectangular in shape and surrounded by gardens, there are other important buildings such as the House of the Five Towers, five consecutive independent houses, each with a tower, built at the end of the 18th century in the characteristic style of the late Cádiz baroque. Also located here is the “Palacio de la Aduana”, today the “Palacio de la Diputación de Cádiz”, a building from the middle of the 18th century in neoclassical style built with the purpose of definitively housing the “Casa de Contratación”, which was moved from Seville to Cádiz in 1717, together with the Customs House and the Consulate.

“The Barrio del Pópulo” is located at the entrance to the historic center of Cadiz, between the City Hall and the Cathedral, and is the oldest in the city and in all of Europe, formed by vestiges of the history of Phoenician, Roman and medieval Cadiz.

This small area of narrow streets is bounded by 3 Arches, La Rosa, Los Blancos and El Pópulo that correspond to the ancient gates of the medieval walled town of the thirteenth century. Under each of them is a Marian dedication, the most important being the picture of the Virgen del Pópulo, where you could read Ora pro populo (in Latin, pray for the people), which gave its name to the neighborhood and was located on the arch of the same name, being built, from 1621, a chapel that can be visited today.

On your visit to the Barrio del Pópulo you will be surprised to find so much history in such a small space. You can visit the Roman Theater of Gades, from the first century BC, which is accessed through the Calle Meson, admire the facade of the seventeenth-century Casa del Almirante, in the Plaza of San Martin, or walk under the arches of the Old Cathedral or Church of Santa Cruz. You can also admire the Posada del Mesón, look for the “Callejón del Duende” and visit the Cathedral Museum in the Casa de la Contaduría.

Nowadays, the Barrio del Pópulo stands out for being a cozy place, ideal to stop at one of its restaurants and terraces at any time of the year, listen to the “illegal” groups during Carnival and enjoy the charm of the Mercado Andalusí held every year in August.

The Museum of Cadiz is located in the Plaza de Mina, in a building built on the former Convent of San Francisco, the work of Juan Daura in neoclassical style, opened in 1838.

The building initially housed the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, while the Archaeological Museum was located in Callejón del Tinte and Paseo de Canalejas. In 1935 both museums came to share space in the building of the Plaza de Mina, finally merging both institutions in the current Museum of Cadiz in 1970.

Among its outstanding collections are the impressive Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi along with funerary objects and trousseaus of the time, Roman finds from Baelo Claudia, Medina Sidonia, Carissa Aurelia, Sancti Petri or Gades itself, and an excellent tour of the painting from the sixteenth century to the present day where the Baroque rooms stand out, with works by Zurbarán, Alonso Cano, Rubens, Juan Carreño de Miranda and Murillo.

VISITING HOURS:

Tuesday to Saturday: 9:00 – 21:00 h.

Sundays and holidays: 9:00 – 15:00 h.

Mondays closed.

PRICES:

Free visit for EU citizens and residents.
Other visitors: 1,50€.

MORE INFORMATION:

Museo de Cádiz