← Sherry Maratón·Day trip

Cádiz: Sea Walls and the Central Market

An old port city almost surrounded by the Atlantic, with a flat walk along its sea walls, a covered market for lunch and a cathedral dome above the waves.

DurationDay trip
TransitCercanías C1 train from Jerez, about 35 to 45 minutes
DepartsJerez de la Frontera station

After the Sherry Maratón: Cádiz

The Route: Jerez → Cádiz → Jerez Logistics: Cercanías C1 train along the bay, about 35 to 45 minutes each way. Flat walking in the old town and along the sea. Marathon Month: April Duration: Day trip

Jerez station ──(35-45 mins Cercanías C1)──> Cádiz ──(35-45 mins)──> Jerez

The Sherry Maratón is run over the white hills of the vineyards. Cádiz is the opposite: a city on a narrow, flat peninsula, almost surrounded by the Atlantic, which the Phoenicians founded as Gadir around three thousand years ago. It has barely a slope in it.

April in Cádiz is bright and breezy. In most years the days are in the high teens to low twenties, the sea is still too cold for most swimmers, and the beaches are quiet before the summer. The wind off the Atlantic can be strong on the sea walls, so bring a layer.

The Cercanías C1 line from Jerez runs round the bay through El Puerto de Santa María and San Fernando to Cádiz in about 35 to 45 minutes. Trains run through the day; check the timetable at renfe.com. Cádiz station is at the edge of the old town, a short flat walk from everything.

The sea walls

The primary walk is along the sea. From the cathedral, the Campo del Sur is a wide, flat promenade on top of the sea wall facing the open Atlantic, with the cathedral's gold-tiled dome behind. Continue west to La Caleta, the small beach between two castles, San Sebastián and Santa Catalina, with the fishing boats pulled up on the sand. The whole stretch is about 2 km and completely level, with benches along the way. At the end, the Parque Genovés, a formal garden of clipped trees, is a shady place to sit.

The old town

The cathedral, built over more than a century from 1722, dominates the waterfront; the climb up its tower is by ramp and steps and can wait. The Torre Tavira, a merchants' watchtower in the middle of the old town, has a camera obscura that projects live views of the city, but it means climbing stairs.

The Mercado Central, a covered market on Plaza de la Libertad, has fish and seafood stalls and a ring of food stands serving fried fish, oysters and tapas. It is the best lunch in the city on a weekday; it closes in the afternoon and on Sundays, so check times. Freiduría Las Flores, on Plaza de Topete nearby, sells the fried fish of the bay in paper cones.

Trains back to Jerez run into the evening.