Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe - the Phoenician settlement of Gadir was established around 1100 BC on this narrow spit of land projecting into the Atlantic, and the city has been here ever since. It sits on a peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, surrounded on three sides by the open ocean.
The Renfe MD regional train from Seville Santa Justa runs south and west through the flat marismas of the Guadalquivir delta, across the bay of Cadiz via the low causeway, and into Cadiz station - a terminus at the northern tip of the city, just inside the old town walls. The journey takes 1 hour 40 minutes. Trains run roughly every hour; fares are around €10 to 15.
Cadiz: A City Designed for Walking Slowly
The old city of Cadiz is approximately 1.5 kilometres from end to end and 800 metres wide, entirely surrounded by water and the 18th-century defensive walls. The street grid inside the walls is a standard Spanish colonial pattern of narrow streets and open plazas.
The Paseo Maritimo runs along the outer, ocean-facing wall of the city for approximately 3 kilometres - from the Parque Genoves in the northwest to the Playa de la Caleta at the western point. This is the walk. It is flat, wide, and exposed to the Atlantic - which, in February, means a west wind that has not encountered land since Nova Scotia. Bring a windproof layer. The sea wall runs at 5 to 6 metres above the water, with the Atlantic visible in all its width to the west.
The Playa de la Caleta - a small, sheltered cove at the western tip of the peninsula, enclosed by the 17th-century castles of Santa Catalina and San Sebastian - is the city's beach. In February it is empty of tourists.
The Interior
The Catedral de Cadiz - begun in 1722 and not completed until 1838 - is Baroque in its lower registers and Neoclassical in the upper nave. The composer Manuel de Falla, born in Cadiz in 1876, is buried in the crypt.
The Mercado Central de Abastos on Plaza de las Flores is one of the better food markets in Andalusia. The tortillitas de camarones (shrimp fritters, a Cadiz speciality) are best bought here and eaten immediately.
February in Cadiz
The Seville Marathon runs in late February, and Cadiz in February is in or just recovering from its Carnival. The Carnaval de Cadiz is the most celebrated in Spain after Tenerife, running for ten days centred on the second week of February. If the marathon weekend coincides with Carnival week, Cadiz will be extremely busy. In the week after Carnival, the city returns to itself with the speed of a place that does this annually. By late February - marathon weekend - it is operating normally: quieter than almost any other time of the year.
Where to Stay and Eat
The Parador de Cadiz on the Paseo Maritimo is the obvious choice - a modern Parador on the seafront with direct access to the sea wall path and views across the bay.
El Faro de Cadiz on Calle San Felix is consistently the benchmark for serious Cadiz cooking: seafood from the Atlantic fleet and local sherry pairings. Book ahead. For something faster: Freiduria Las Flores on Plaza de las Flores serves fritura gaditana - the Cadiz tradition of frying fish in olive oil at very high temperature - as a takeaway in paper cones. The correct post-race street food.
Getting Back
Renfe MD services back to Seville Santa Justa run throughout the day until around 22:00. The journey remains 1 hour 40 minutes.