Cadiz

Considering the English have been coming to Cadiz for at least 400 years, you'd think there would be more of them here today. But like most foreigners they go elsewhere in Spain for their holidays so the city is unburdened by tourists. Those Cadiz does get tend to be Spanish, which is one reason why its ancient maritime atmosphere remains refreshingly unspoiled.

The old city, a huddle of weatherbeaten white houses hiding behind 17th century sea walls, is almost disconnected from Spain. It juts out into the Atlantic like an island and is connected to the mainland by a causeway which houses surburbs and (Spanish) holiday hotels. Although still part of the same modern city, locals talk about visiting Cadiz (or Ca dee, as it is pronounced in Spanish) when they go into the old part of town.

Cadiz Hotels

Francia Y Paris Hotel - Pl. San Francisco, 2 - Cadiz 11004 - Spain Phone: 956222348 Fax: 956222431
Hospederia Las Cortes De Cadiz Hotel - San Francisco, 9 - Cadiz 11004 - Spain Phone: 956212668 Fax: 956211048
Playa Victoria Hotel - Glorieta Ingeniero La Cierva, 4 - Cadiz 11010 - Spain Phone: 956205100 Fax: 956263300
Parador Hotel Atlantico - Avda. Duque de Nájera, 9 - Cadiz 11002 - Spain Phone: 956226905 Fax: 956214582
Puertatierra Hotel - Avda. Andalucía, 34 - Cadiz 11006 - Spain Phone: 956272111 Fax: 956250311
Regio Hotel - Ana de Viya, 11 - Cadiz 11009 - Spain Phone: 956279331 Fax: 956279113
Tryp La Caleta Hotel - Avda. Amílcar Barca, 47 - Cadiz 11009 - Spain Phone: 956279411 Fax: 956259322
Imar Hotel - Glorieta Ingeniero La Cierva, 3 - Cadiz 11010 - Spain Phone: 956260500 Fax: 956260307
Bahia Hotel - Plocia, 5 - Cadiz 11005 - Spain Phone: 956259061 Fax: 956254208
Hospederia Del Mar Hotel - Pl. San Lorenzo, 2 -Edif. Club Náutico - Cadiz 11011 - Spain Phone: 956260914 Fax: 956260914
Centro Sol Hotel - Manzanares, 7 - Cadiz 11005 - Spain Phone: 956283103 Fax: 956283103

One of the nicest things to do in Cadiz is to walk out to sea along the mole. There is a ramshackle old cafe at the end of it where you can enjoy a beer, some tapas and a view of the city crowned by its golden domed cathedral, just as mariners have seen it for centuries. But there are a dozen other pleasures in Cadiz its beaches, fried fish and nightlife are all excellent and its February carnival is the biggest in the world after those at Rio, Havana and New Orleans. Cadiz makes a good base for a trip west along the Costa de la Luz to some pretty Spanish holiday towns such as Sanlucar de Barrameda and Chipiona or east to the huge beaches near Tarifa. These are generally lashed by winds so they are perfect for windsurfing experts but less good for those wanting more sedate beach pleasures.

Cathedral

The Catedral Nueva (built to replace Santa Cruz the 6 Catedral Vieja next door) is an awesome Baroque block. With its golden dome of glazed yellow tiles, it was the symbol of the city's prosperity, begun in 1722 and completed in 1838. It houses a treasury containing a chalice by Benvenuto Cellini and the tomb of the Cadiz born composer Manuel de Falla.

Museo de Cadiz

This building houses two museums. On the ground floor the archaeological section contains a marble Phoenician sar cophagus testifying to the city's ancient history. Upstairs the art museum houses some Murillos and a series of Zurbarian saints.

Museo Historico Municipal

(Caltel Santa Ines, 9. open Tuesday- Friday 9.00 13.00 and 16.00 20.00, weekends 9.00 13.00; closed Monday) Contains a superb, immensely detailed scale model of Cadiz made from ivory and mahogany in 1779.

There is plenty of good, cheap accommodation available in the narrow streets of the old town, and since Cadiz has relatively few tourists you should have no problem finding a room except in February when Carnival is on. Most of the hostales are situated around the main square of San Juan de Dios, the cathedral and the lovely Plaza de Candelaria.

Cheap to Moderate

Ceuta, Calle Montanes, 7. Tel: 22 16 54. Near Plaza de Candelaria. Homely and friendly with neat clean rooms and nice decorative touches. More expensive than the Barcelona opposite but showers are included so it works out about the same. Run by a helpful lady who'll phone round her friends if she's full.

Barcelona, Calle Montanes, 10. Tel: 2139 49. Clean, airy rooms, some with enclosed balconies overlooking the church in front. Attention to details such as glasses wrapped in plastic, soap and even an electric mosquito zapper. Showers extra.

Casa Huespedes Marques, Calle Marques de Cadiz, 1. Tel: 18 58 54. just off San Juan de Dios. Small and friendly with cool patio. Cheap but clean. Most rooms have balconies ours did and I left some almost new shoes on it (if found please return to the publisher!). Showers extra. Avoid the more expensive and thoroughly unfriendly Pension Espana at No.9.

El Sardinero, Plaza San Juan de Dios, 3. Tel: 28 53 01. Right on the square next to the restaurant of the same name. Clean, friendly and very central if a little noisy. Showers extra. Good value.

Manolita, Calle Benjumeda, 2. Tel: 21 15 77. Towards the other end of town a slightly less salubrious area. Rather dilapidated but being done up in 1991. The bathroom is clean but hot showers are only available after 10.00. OK if everywhere else is full.

Places to Stay

Smarter Options

Centro Sol, Calle Padre Elejalde, 7. Tel: 28 31 03. just off Plaza de Candelaria. A cut above the rest but not that much more expensive than other hostales. Pleasant and good value.

Imares, Calle San Francisco, 9. Tel: 2122 57. In a noisy peclestrianized shopping street near Plaza San Francisco. Large, old hotel with a rather dark inner courtyard, marble staircase and balconies. Well kept by friendly staff.

Francia y Paris, Plaza San Francisco, 2. Tel: 22 23 48. On the pretty little square filled with orange trees, in the heart of the old town. Slightly faded charm. Nice bar and lounge. Breakfast included. More expensive than the others. Cadiz Attractions

Sanlucar de Barrameda

A historic port that is well worth a visit (don't be put off by the outskirts). Situated on the mouth of the Guadalquivir, it saw the launch of Magellan's circumnavigation and one of Columbus's expeditions.

Nowadays it is famous for its own delicate version of fino called manzanilla. Literally translated it means chamomile but tastes nothing like it; some say it has a salty taste from the sea air. Certainly its flavour is due to local conditions if you bring a barrel of fino here from Jerez it will turn into manzanilla. Anyway, it is delicious, light and dry; try some in one of the many bodegas and tapas bars in the town. If you're feeling rich, have a huge langoustina to go with it Sanlucar is famous for those, too.

The town is divided into two parts the Barrio Alto and the Barrio Bajo. In the older streets of the Barrio Alto you will see many mansions and palaces. Down by the quayside is a good area for bars and on the river beach in August horse races are held as part of the local festival. (If you want to stay, Hostal Blanca Paloma on Plaza San Roque, 9, Tel: 36 36 44, has big, clean, balconied rooms.)

Chipiona

A traditional Spanish resort with lots of family run hostales, a real Spanish feel and a certain dilapidated charm. How long it will last is another matter it has just been discovered by tour operators. The best beach is the Playa de Regla, south of the lighthouse and the church of Nuestra Senora de la Regla, which has a fountain of curative water.

Most hostales are around here try VIRGEN DE LAS NIEVES on Avenida del Ejercito, Tel: 37 02 89, or GRAN CAPITAN on Calle Fray Baldomero Gonzalez, 7, Tel 37 09 29. In the pedestrianized part of town there's the nice NUESTRA Senora DE LA 0 on Calle Isaac Peral, Tel: 37 07 29.

All along Calle Isaac Peral you'll find bars and freidurias where you can try the local baby squid and muscatel wine. It is best to walk, because Chipiona has an infuriating one way system.

Good beaches extend along the coast to Rota with its notorious US naval base. A brasher resort in all respects, full of pizzerias and burger bars and simmering with local resentment.

El Puerto de Santa Maria

This blossoming resort would like to see itself as the Marbella of the Costa de la Luz. It is actually another sherry port; the signs to Puerto Sherry don't lead to the old quayside but to a brand new marina with Puerto Banus aspirations.

Fortunately it has got a long way to go. At the moment it still has a relatively unspoiled air with some nice beaches (although the proximity of the port detracts a little), lovely old mansions belonging to the sherry aristocracy, an important bullring and an active bar and nightlife. The liveliest zone is along the Ribera del Marisco and the Ribera del Rio, which are crowded with excellent tapas bars (try the Ouke Lele!). You can spend the day at Aquapark Sherry, the evening at the disco joy Sherry and sleep it off at Hostal Sherry ...

The road then winds round the Bahia de Cadiz into the city. Turn off in Chiclana de la Frontera to the beaches of La Barrosa and Sancti Petri. La Barrosa has villas, bars and cafes in the pine trees. Sancti Petri, on the other hand, has nothing. The Famous Five would have loved it there is a sheltered beach, a deserted village and a tiny castle topped island. Ten years ago it thrived on tuna fishing but the local supplies ran out. Today there is only the odd squatting hippie and a small club maritimo just the place for a swim, a picnic and a day's exploring.

Conil de la Frontera

A small, picturesque fishing village with an enormous, windswept beach, it is rapidly assuming resort proportions with development going on all around. There are hostales in the village but it is impossible to get a room unless you've booked up well in advance. Lots of bars, restaurants and discos and even a flamenco festival in July.

Farther south towards Cape Trafalgar are more beaches, the Trafalgar lighthouse and the small resort of Los Canos de Meca. Historical associations aside, it is a good place to visit if you want peace and quiet. There are a couple of hostales, a campsite, a nudist beach and lots of Germans. The cliffs are noted for the ever decreasing waterfalls.

Vejer de la Frontera

Surprisingly, this hill top pueblo blanco is off the tourist trail. Extremely scenic with great views, it is a charming village of blindingly white cobbled alleyways. Vejer is a lovely place to stay, especially if you come at fiesta time, and Vejer has lots of fiestas both Easter Sunday and the Feria de Abril are celebrated by an encierro or running of the bulls through the streets; at Corpus Christi the streets are decked with flowers; at the Candelas de San Juan soon afterwards they have a miniature fallas bonfire; and fesivities in honour of the Virgin of the Olives take place in May and August accompanied by flamenco.

Pension La Janda on Cerro Clarinas (Tel: 45 01 42) is excellent. Failing that, several friendly women rent out rooms ask for Dona Luisa on Calle San Filmo, 10, or Dona Isabel Lopez on Calle de Amaro; 8. There are lots of typical bars; you might be lucky enough to hear some flamenco at Pena Flamenca Aguilar de Vejer.

Zahara de los Atunes

As the name suggests, this little fishing village is all about tuna, just like nearby Barbate de Franco with its canneries. Zahara, however, is much prettier it has a vast beach but fairly pricey accommodation. Bolonia (turn off on the way to Tarifa) has cheaper hostales, the interesting Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia, a few beach bars and a wild and wonderful beach with stray cows.

Tarifa

Even if you're not a windsurfer, you can still enjoy Tarifa, though it is unlikely you'll appreciate the ferocious wind as much as they do. It is an attractive walled town with a distinctly north African feel Moroccans hanging around pushing dope and a market that looks like a casbah. It is also the southernmost town in Europe and on a clear day you can see Tangier across the straits. You can even take a ferry there and back in a day.

The long beach starts a little way out of town and is lined with hotels, campsites and windsurfing facilities. In town, there is a lively atmosphere in the evenings at the numerous bars and pubs, especially along Calle San Francisco and in Plaza Sancho IV. There's a great disco called Tanakas in an old cinema in the heart of town that is worth a visit (free entry) even if you don't fancy a dance trendy hard rock downstairs, intimate flamenco upstairs.

For eating, try El Patio on Calle Nuestra Senora de la Luz just inside the walls good salads. The restaurant Villanueva (under the hostel of the same name) on Avenida de Andalucia, outside the walls, is another good bet. Accommodation is hard to come by and expensive but the Villanueva is good. Also the Hostal Tarik on Calle San Sebastian, 36 (Tel 956 68 52 40) all rooms have sparkling modern bathrooms and there is a small bar that does breakfast next door.

A luxury option would definitely be the romantically named Hurricane Hotel on the main road (Tel: 68 49 19) with a lawn running down to the beach, swimming pool and balconied rooms. It has its own windsurf school, too. Whether you're staying here or not, have a drink in its pastel and palm bar.