Occupying a tiny peninsula on the south coast of Spain, Cádiz is a beautiful old city that is well worth a visit. The old town is on the tip of the peninsula and is steeped in history. In 1493 Christopher Columbus set off on his second voyage to the New World from this port.  In the 16th century it was the home of the Spanish Navy. In 1587 Francis Drake led a raid on this port and destroyed 30 ships. It has more than 100 watchtowers and was the base for exploration and trade.

Cadiz Museum

Museum Of Cádiz 9
© Turismo Cadiz

We started our day with a visit to the Cadiz Museum.  This was founded in 1970 after the merger of the Museum of Fine Arts with the Museum of Archaeology. We enjoyed looking around this museum where there were interesting historical pieces from both Phoeician and Roman times and the old marionette puppets were really interesting. This museum depicts the history of Cádiz from the stone age to colonial times.

The museum is on one of the lively squares, where there are plenty of bars to find some refreshments or early morning coffee!

Read more about the Museum of Cádiz

Torre Tavira

Torre Tavira Cadiz, Spain
© Cadiz Turismo

Next on our agenda was the 18th century watch tower set in the heart of Cádiz old town. This tower is a long climb with 10 flights of stairs, but when you reach the top you are rewarded with the best views of the city. But I would have second thoughts about walking up all those stairs again. Also in the tower is a darkened room where you can get a live tour of the city through the lens of a camera mounted on top of the tower.


Read more about the Torre Tavira

Central Market

Mercado Central Cadiz 2
© Turismo Cadiz

As with many Spanish coastal towns the market is well worth a look in. There are crabs, oysters, in fact, every type of shellfish imaginable. There are also many cheap bars that serve refreshing cold beers and perfectly cooked fish.

Read more about the Cádiz Mercado Central de Abastos

Anca Lidia

Ancalidia Cadiz
© Cadiz Centro Comercial

A small bar/restaurant in the centre of Cádiz, just next door to the Central Market, with tables in the street. An ideal stop off for a light snack. Great atmosphere and the food was excellent. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We tried a number of shellfish dishes with patata bravas. A fabulous place to eat.

Cadiz Cathedral

Cupola of Cádiz Cathedral
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Harlock20

From the tower we took a short walk to the Catedral de Cádiz. The walk took us via the conveniently placed Plaza de Las Flores, one of the most colorful and lively squares in the
city of Cádiz.


This beautiful golden, domed cathedral in the heart of the Old Town and viewed from almost anywhere in the city. It was constructed in the Baroque style and later completed in the neoclassical style. We thought it was well worth going up the Bell Tower to enjoy the amazing views over the city and the sea.

Read more about the Cádiz Cathedral

Roman Theatre

Roman Theathre Cadiz 2
©

A little theatre tucked away between buildings . The site was only discovered in the 1980’s and I can understand why because although we walked around the building it took us a while to find the entrance even using Google location! An interesting place to visit with a viewing area of the remains of the theatre and also a room with a reproduction of what the theatre looked like in Roman times.

Read more about the Roman Theatre

Gates of the Earth

Puerta Tierra Cádiz 1
CC BY-SA 3.0 / TheOm3ga

We moved from the old town and new part of Cádiz via the impressively title “Gates of the Earth”. These were a large 18th century gate in the city walls. We stopped off here to explore them and there was plenty of information about their history available in English.

Read more about the Puerta de Tierra

Victoria Beach and the Cadiz surf Centre

Sunset Victoria Beach Cadiz
Pixabay / smaetz

This is a long stretch of beach with lovely white sand and waves rolling in. There are also several beach bars for refreshments. We decided to end the day drinking a well earned beer while watching the sunset. We thought surfing was too energetic for us, but we met some people at the bar who had taken the surf classes for beginners earlier in the day – they said it was great, the instructor was very good and they were eager to return again to try surfing again!


Read more about the Playa de la Victoria

Tours and Activities from Cádiz