Posts Tagged ‘cadiz’
Read the following information to learn how to get to and around the city of Cadiz.
Transportation to Cadiz:
Taxis
Taxis are available to Cadiz from the surrounding airports of Jerez, Sevilla, Malaga and even Madrid. The costs will range from €37.30 to €499.00, depending on where you choose to arrive from. Madrid is the furthest destination from Cadiz, and therefore the most expensive.
Bus
From all the cities mentioned above, except for Jerez, there are buses available that can bring you to Cadiz. The journey times range from 1 hour 45 minutes to 8 hours. The prices may vary from €8.68 to €19.71 for a single ticket, all depending where you are coming from.
Train
Trains depart frequently from the citites mentioned above. Traveling times can vary anywhere from 45 minutes to 6 hours and costs range from €2.40 to €61.00.
Boats
Taking a boat to the city of Cadiz is the most exciting way to travel. The Vapor boat from El Puerto to Cadiz takes about 45 minutes and costs €2. The faster option, Catamaran Rapido del Puerto, costs around €3 and is designed for adrenaline junkies.
Public Transport in Cadiz
Bus
Once in Cadiz there are buses that can take you around the city. Plaza de la Hispanidad is the best and most convenient place to get on a bus. Here you can take a bus that goes to Algeciras, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez, Sevilla and Tarifa. There are also three daily buses that go to Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda and Malaga.
Website: www.cmtbc.com
Train
The train station is located near the Plaza de Sevilla. Trains from here run to Madrid and Barcelona.
Address: Plaza de Sevilla, s/n – 11006 Cadiz
Website: www.renfe.es
The February Carnival in Cadiz is one of the oldest and best known carnivals that takes place in Spain. This carnival constitutes an international tourist attraction, and, people from all over come to enjoy and participate in its costumes and popular songs (even other Spaniards have a hard time understanding the comical lyrics). 
Fourty days after carnival ends, in March or April, Holy Week takes place. This Catholic celebration is a dramatic contrast to the pagan carnival. During Holy Week, thousands of Gaditanos parade rich baroque images of the Virgin and Jesus through its streets, accompanied by chamber music and the smell of flowers and frankincense. The carnation petal rain with which the Virgin of La Palma is received is specially striking.
A list of museums in Cadiz, Spain.
Museum of Cadiz
Where: Plaza de Mina, Cadiz
Phone: +34 956 212 281
Entrance: Free
Opening Times: Tuesday 14:30 to 20:00, Wednesday to Saturday 09:00 to 20:00 & Sunday 09:00 to 14:30. Monday: Closed
Here you can enjoy an interesting exhibition of Phoenician items and pictorial works. On the lower level you can also see an exhibition related to local and archaeological history.
Cathedral Museum
Where: Plaza de Fray Felix, Cadiz
Phone: +34 956 259 812
Opening Times: Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 to 13:00 Entrance: €3
This intimate museum offers a very pleasant selection of religious art.
Museum of the Cadiz Constitution
Where: c/Santa Ines, 9, Cadiz
Phone: +34 956 221 788
Entrance: Free
Opening Times: Sundays: 09.00 to 13.00, Tuesday to Friday 09.00 to13.00 & 16.00 to 19.00. Closed: Mondays & Holidays.
This museum shows a wonderful model (scale 1/250) of Cadiz with outstanding accuracy and attention to detail. It also offers an interesting exhibition about the history of Cadiz’s architecture.
Cadiz is a great place for sport lovers. It has to offer a variety of sport activities ranging from trekking, climbing or horse riding to various kinds of water activities, such as windsurfing, sailing or surfing. Sailing is particulalry popular in Cadiz, as it has old traditions over there. By the way, the nearby village of Tarifa, as a result of its location and proper weather conditions has turned into a world class hot spot for windsurfers. Snorkeling is another popular water activity, which does not require any special skills, so probably everyone can enjoy it. The calm and gentle sea always ensures that you get an unforgetable experience. In addition to all this, Cadiz is highly popular among golf lovers. So, there is no wonder why the city host quite a number of the most prestige golf courses and clubs. With such a variety of choice, everyone can find something what suits their wants and needs the most.
No surprise, that football is popular all over the Spain and Cadiz is not an exception. Watching football is an experience itself, but to watch Cadiz CF playing at home is even more exciting. Thanks to the amazing fans of Cadiz CF, usually called ‘cadistas’ who are able to create an amazing atmophere. By the way, accordig to the recent survey, fans of Cadiz CF are picked as the best football fans in Spain, because of their friendliness, sense of humour and endless enthusiasm.
The outdoor sports range from walking, mountain biking, kayaking, horse riding, paragliding, scuba diving, surfing and golf. Windsurfing is a very popular sport in Cadiz, currently. Several national and international windsurfing championships are held Cadiz, the Ballentines Championship and the Toro Andaluz race, which takes place during Easter week.
The windsurfing seasons kicks off around March. Conil is one of the more popular beaches for both wind and normal surfing. Cadiz has a good reputation amongst golfers, courses like Valderrama Golf Course, the Montecastillo Golf Resort and Novo Sancti Petri Golf are of championship standard and have hosted many International PGA Golf Tournaments.
The main football team is Cadiz FC and they play at Ramón de Carranza stadium, though the team is not as famous as the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Valencia they command quite a following and much like the rest of Spain, they’re supports are fanatic!
Cadiz has a relatively big students community which of course means a really vibrant nightlife. You can choose from tapas bars, open-air cafes, clubs, or late night bars.
In Cadiz, probably as in every city in Spain, the night starts in a traditional tapas bar where you can enjoy some tasty Andalucian snacks and wines. As some bars have a selection of even more than 40 cold and hot tapas, it can be really difficult to chose.
Cadiz is a beach town, so the main buzz is found in summer time, when in addition to usual events, plenty of fiestas take place. The city’s centre is full of bars and cafes. Plaza Mina and Calle De Manuel are seen to be the bussiest streets in a night time. Of course, you can’t leave Cadiz without visiting chiringuitos (beach bars), which are the main spots in summer time.
Those who want to eat in a traditional restaurant without it costing an earth, should go to Plaza Juan de Dios near the port, there a variety of restaurants with affordable praces can be found.
For dancing the night away you should go to La Punta district, where the majority of dance clubs and late night bars are situated. By the way, in Cadiz it is quite common to drink alchohol on the central strees before going to the clubs. So don’t be surprised. Of course, it is a cheaper option and might be really fun, especially if you are with a good comapy.
Those who want to spend a quiet evening in Cadiz, have some options too. For instance, to take a boat trip around the bay and catch up a wanderful sunset.
Cadiz can be proud of the variety of its historical sights, fascinating museums and tourist attractions. Some of them are reviewed below.
Catedral de Cadiz
This is one of the most impressive Baroque buildings in the town. Although, the cathedral was designed by Vicente Acero in 18th century, it was finished relatively recently; in the 20th century. Walk along the seafront to get the best view of the golden dome, which is the main and unique feature of the cathedral. Although you need to pay for the entrance to the cathedral, it is worth visiting anyway, as there is an extended collection of various kinds of religious treasures.
Museo de Cadiz
Cadiz Museum is divided into several parts. Two of them are for archeology and fine arts while third section exhibits ethnological collection.
Museo de Las Corts de Cadiz
This is the main historical museum in the city. By visiting it you will find out some fascinating facts and will gain a deeper knowledge about the city’s past. There are a great variety of different artefacts but the main one is a huge and detailed model of the city as it was in 18th century.
Torre Tavira
If you want to get an amazing view of the entire town you should climb up to the top of Torre Tavira . It is the highest point in Cadiz and one the main tourist attractions. In addition to a breathtaking view, you can visit the Camera Obscura which is located on the top of the hill. It is a darkened room where pictures of the town are showed with a help of mirrors and lenses.
Casa del Almirante /The Almiral’s House
This is baroque house which was built in 1690. It is one of the main sites which simply just has to be visited when you are in town. The House is in a Populo Quarter.
Oratorio de San Felipe Neri
This church can be treated as one of the greatest examples of Baroque art as it has both great exterior and interesting interior. Moreover, it has a significant importance for city’s and whole country’s past as the declaration of the country’s first liberal constitution in 1812 was made there.
Cadiz is thought to be the oldest city in Europe, founded in 1100 BC by the Phoenicians who called it Gadir. The main trading products in the city were Baltic amber and British tin, as well as Spanish silver. The city became a naval base for the Romans before fading into obscurity until 1262 when it was taken from reigning the Moors by Alfonso X.
The real boom period was after Columbus had discovered America, as he sailed from the city´s port on his second and fourth voyages. Much later the city enjoyed a prosperous period during the 18th century when it took care of 75% of Spanish trade with America. Since when it has grew into one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in Spain. Moreover, most of the city’s fine buildings dated from this time.
Andalucian cuisine is some of the best in Spain, and Cadiz’s proximity to the sea ensures fresh produce of the highest quality.As with many other places in Spain, Tapas is the order of the day and in Cadiz it might include: 
slices of chorizo sausage, olives wrapped in anchovies, spicy prawns “al pil pil”, or slices of fresh squid (calamari) and octopus (pulpo). Some bars offer a selection of 40 or more hot and cold tapas dishes, and all is washed down with some local wine or Sherry.
