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Cádiz
«Cádiz es la ciudad más antigua de occidente.»Cádiz is the oldest city in the West.
Cádiz occupies the tip of a strip of land enclosed by the Atlantic on almost all sides, and is considered one of the oldest inhabited cities in Western Europe. The historic centre is compact, squeezed between the walls and the sea, made of narrow streets and open squares; the new part stretches inland along the only isthmus that connects it to the coast.
Did you know
The wittiest people in Spain.
The inhabitants of Cádiz are considered the wittiest in Spain and put on a show during the city's famous and chaotic carnival.
How they talk in Cádiz
The Gaditano dialect
People speak very fast and the final consonants almost all disappear. To call someone you say «quillo» or «pisha», never their name; and the «c» in «cerveza» sounds like an «s».
hartible
A tiresome, insistent person or someone capable of tiring others out. Colloquial adjective or noun for someone who insists, annoys, or becomes exasperating.
Everyday life in Cádiz
Eating standing up at the market
At the Mercado Central, half the stalls sell and half cook: you buy the fish, go to the other side and eat it standing up with a glass of white wine. At midday the central corridor is full of people with a paper cone in their hand.
«Ponme un cucurucho de pescaíto.» — Give me a cone of fried fish.
Sunset at La Caleta
The beach inside the walls fills up at sunset, and not for swimming: people sit on the wall to watch the sun fall between the two castles. It happens every evening, not just in summer.
«Nos vemos en la Caleta al atardecer.» — See you at La Caleta at sunset.
Carnival rehearsals start in October
The «chirigotas» rehearse for months in garages and local neighbourhood spots: they write rhyming lyrics and poke fun at what happened during the year. Walking down the street you can hear them rehearsing, and the city lives with it from October to February.
«¿Has visto ya la chirigota?» — Have you seen the chirigota yet?
What to eat in Cádiz
Tortillitas de camarones
Thin, crispy chickpea flour fritters with tiny whole shrimp inside. They are fried in boiling oil and eaten immediately.
Pescaíto frito
The fried fish of Cádiz, served in a paper cone: anchovies, squid, «puntillitas» and «cazón en adobo», marinated before frying.
Atún de almadraba
Bluefin tuna caught with the ancient technique of fixed nets, between May and June. It is eaten raw, grilled or «encebollado».
Festivals in Cádiz
Carnaval de Cádiz
ten days in February
The «chirigotas» sing rhyming satire in the street: the most talked-about carnival in Spain.
What to see in Cádiz
Cathedral
From the 18th century, with the yellow «azulejos» dome that can be seen from the sea. Manuel de Falla, born in the city, is buried in the crypt.
Torre Tavira
Named the official watchtower of the port in 1778: at 45 metres above the sea, its «Cámara Oscura» projects what is happening on the rooftops onto a screen in real time.
Playa de la Caleta
The beach inside the old city, enclosed between two castles. It is small, urban, and at sunset half of Cádiz goes there.
Castillo de San Sebastián
On a rock in front of La Caleta, connected by a long pier that you walk along in the middle of the sea.
Where Cádiz comes from
The oldest city in the West
c. 1100 BC
Gadir
Founded by the Phoenicians of Tyre: it is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in the West.
1st century BC
Gades
A very wealthy Roman municipality, with a theatre and one of the longest aqueducts in Hispania.
8th–13th century
Qādis
A minor port under Muslim rule, looted several times from the sea.
1717 → 1812
Cádiz
The monopoly on trade with the Americas moves here from Seville; in 1812 the first Spanish constitution is proclaimed here.
Born here: Manuel de Falla, composer.
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