My son and three friends will be spending three days in Cadiz as part of a trip around Andalusia in the beginning of January. I have been in all the other places they´re going, so I can help them out. But I don´t remember ever being in Cadiz.

I´ve searched the forums here and all I´ve found is CathyM´s opinion that it´s her favorite city in Spain -- so what would you do there for three days? Would you take a day trip or stay put? Good restaurants or cheap places to stay ?(these are four guys with not much money in their early 20s).
Thanks, everyone.

Well i day tripped to Cadiz from Jerez, nearby

I did not see that much to hold my interest - a nice old town and nice seaside esplanade - if get bored good day trips possible - take train to Jerez de la Frontera to see the Spanish Riding School rehearsals or performances and the various Sherry Houses - kind of like in Champagne area - monumental HQs for sherry industry (sherry being a British corruption of 'jerez' when millions of old British ladies made it their favorite drink it seems)

Gibralter is also close by bus and a very unique and interesting place

Seville is also not far from by train

But there is probably more in Cadiz than i discovered.

Hi Ireynold,
I hope CathyM sees your post, because she does love Cádiz, having spent considerable time there. She can give you the best recent info. I'm not a Cádiz expert at all.

But with 3 full days in Cádiz, I would use one of two of those days to explore one or two of the three towns of the sherry triangle also in the Cádiz province:
Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
These are easy day train or bus (or boat) trips from Cádiz.
Jerez is 32 km southwest and Puerto de Santa María lies 17 km. north. But Sanlúcar lies further north from Jerez.

While your son and friends may or may not want to take a winery (sherry and manzanilla) tour (for which there are multiple opportunities in all three towns, and visits cost from €3-6), in Jerez, they might really enjoy a visit to the Royal School of Equestiran Art (www.realescuela.org) for its noon, 1 1/2 hr. show or horse ballet, "Como bailan los caballos andaluces", if their visit to the area falls on Thursday in Jan.
The elegance of these beautiful Cartujana horses is just thoroughly amazing-we've thoroughly enjoyed this show over the years. Reservations are essential, bookable online. But they wouldn't need to book premium seats, as all seats have perfect sight lines. But the general admission ticket does cost €8, but if they have a youth card for those under 30, a "carnet joven" (don't know what kind they accept-maybe an international student card), it's €11.50. They may not want to spend that much.
Or if their visit doesn't include a Thursday (Jan. performances are on Thurs. only), they can visit the stables and tack room, maybe see rehearsals and visit the Museo del Enganche for €6 or €4 (with carnet joven). On Thurs. we have combined the noon horse ballet with a subsequent visit to Bodegas Sandeman, on the same pie-shaped block, around the corner.

If winery tours don't appeal, in Jerez they also might enjoy a visit to the bullfighting museum on Calle Pozo del Olivar 6 (weekdays from 9 am-2 pm
the cathedral,
the Alcázar (daily from 10 am-6 pm). And if they have interest in flamenco, there's the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco in the Palacio Pemartín on Plaza San Juan 1 (open weekdays, 9 am-2 pm). And admission is free.

And Jerez has one of Andalucía's most noted tapas bars, Bar Juanito, on Pescadería Vieja 8, which has won a "Best Tapas Bar in Spain" award. One can dine on tapas or raciones at the bar or in warm weather (probably not in Jan.!) on the outdoor terrace.

Your son and friends can also take the "vaporcito" boat over to El Puerto. It will leave them near the Ribera del Marisco where there are many tapas bars selling shellfish by weight and to go.
In El Puerto they can visit the 13th century Castillo de San Marcos, which is free on Tues. Also open Thurs. and Sat. from 10 am-2 pm.
There's also the neo-mudéjar Plaza de Toros at Los Moros, which is free. Open in winter from Thurs.-Tues., from 11-1:30 and 5:30-7.
Both the Terry and Osborne sherry houses are open for guided tours.
For Osborne email:
[email protected]
For Terry:
[email protected]

In Sanlúcar, I enjoy strolling down the Bajo de Gúia neighborhood on the banks of the Guadalquivir. This is where one catches the 4 hr. boat trip (at 10 am) on the Real Fernando up to the Coto de Doñana, but Jan. wouldn't be the best time for this and they might find it tedious.

If interested, they could tour the manzanilla winery of Los Hidalgos, which gives tours Mon.-Fri. from 11-12 and 12-1:30, and on wkds. from 12-1:30. Cost: €5 www.lagitana.es

Or Barbadillo, which has an English visit at 11 am, Tues.-Sat. and Spanish visits, Tues.-Sat. at noon and 1 pm. Cost: €3
Or Pedro Romero, which gives tours Mon.-Sat. at noon and Mon-Fri. also at 6 pm. Cost: €6

There's a terrific tapas bar on the Plaza del Cabildo, here, Casa Balbino, which has been featured in numerous food and wine magazines. It's famous for its "tortillita de camarones".

Jut a few thoughts.

Me again,
Typo in above about general admission for the horse ballet at Real Escuela del Arte Ecuestre. That should be €18, which carnet joven holders pay €11.50.

Maribel, Thank you so much for all your help, once again. I will forward this on to my son. You are, as he would say, "the bomb!"
Saludos cordiales, Laurie

p.s. How was Navarra? Are you back home?

Hi Laurie,
Exploring rural Navarra was spectacular, particularly the forests, both Irati and Bértiz, which still were resplendent in their fall colors (and would have been even more so if we had arrived two weeks earlier).

With its wealth of Romanesque churches and cloisters, Cistercian monasteries, even hórreos (one pre-Romanesque), caves (one can walk from the Urdax to Zugarramurdi to Sara caves), forests, nature parks, small ethnographic museums, gorges, Indiano mansions (the Baztán has a wealth of them) and wineries on noble estates, some on the Camino de Santiago, it makes for a terrific fall holiday as there is so much to see and do.

The govt. is promoting a new wine tourism initiative, "las bodegas en la ruta jacobea" (they eventually plan to include wineries from France to Santiago), along with promoting an alternative Camino route through the Baztán valley as an alternative to the Aézcoa (Roncesvalles), which you might want to walk some day.

I picked up a great brochure, thinking of you, "52 Senderos por Navarra" for our next visit. Great and easy walks for the entire family in the Pirineos Orientales, Pirineos Atlánticos, Tierra Estella (which I'm sure you know quite well from the Camino), Sierras de Aralar, Urbasa, Andía, the Ulzama valley, the Valdorba (where we were lodged) and the Ribera, along with their Vías Verdes.

I'll eventually finish my Navarra guide and put it up on my web page.
So please consider rural Navarra for a family holiday destination some day!

Starting at 06:00 regional trains run hourly Cadiz-Sevilla w/stops at el Puerto de Santa Maria & Jerez de la frontera. I think service stops around 22:00.

Bus Service: Comes SA less frequent & takes a little longer. in Cadiz, the Bus station is very close to the Port (i.e., on the right as you come out the gate). So, in addition to Jerez, a daytrip to Sevilla wouldn't be out of the question.

Cadiz is what might be called a Bus Hub: You can Bus to Algeciras, Gibraltar, San Roque (Valderrama), Marbella, Torremolinos and/or Malaga. I prefer the Costa de la Luz over the Costa del Sol.

There's Ferry service across the Bay between Cadiz & el Puerto de Santa Maria. In el Puerto it docks about 500m from Bodegas Osborne.

Manzanilla in Sanlucar de Barrameda is very strong! Be careful!

Hi Ireynold. Lucky lucky you

I have yet to get to cadiz, BUT here's my 2 cents. Cadiz is big time as far as flamenco so you are sure to see something good.
There are so many flamenco artists from Cadiz as you may know the names are frequently followed by "de Cadiz" or as it's known to flamencos "Cai"

Just enougt time for a quick search here I found a typical (old school) Alegias de Cadiz. One of my favorites "palos"


"Vamos pa Cai"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB04Hhhjw_k


and
Just take a look at all the peñas
http://www.deflamenco.com/sitios/sit...9&sitio=00

Thanks for the travel information and the suggestion about flamenco. The boys had planned to see flamenco in Sevilla, but I'll bet that it's much less touristy in Cadiz. Do you have any recommendations for specific places for flamenco -- either in Cadiz or Sevilla?

All I remember is that we went to a show in a very little house-like structure in or very near the Barrio Santa Cruz (I think it was Los Gallos based on what I've seen on the web). It was about 15 years ago now, so I really don't have much of a memory, but my then young children enjoyed it. I can't vouch for its authenticity, but it was an enjoyable evening with lots of energy in the air.

But if anyone has any other suggestions for flamenco in either city, that'd be great!

As far as Sevilla, the Explore Seville website has an easy to read list f some of the flamenco venues
http://www.exploreseville.com/flamenco.htm

If you do a search here on forums under Sevilla flamenco you will also finds alot of info from past posters.

Cadiz tourism office website has some info & names, go to tourisim & then routes then flamenco http://www.cadizturismo.com/ing/ruta...menco-info.htm

ALSO IN GENERAL

As you approch your travel dates check the flamenco websites

1. deflamenco
http://www.deflamenco.com/indexi.jsp?cambio=e

2. Flamenco world
http://www.flamenco-world.com/

3. esflamenco
http://www.esflamenco.com/enindex.html

4. falseta.com
http://www.falseta.com/



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I thought Cadiz was a very interesting city-- as an early summer destination. Not sure about January. Great history, very nice people, great squares for people-watching (again, more of a summer thing....). We loved, loved, loved nearby Puerto de Santa Maria. The Palacio de San Marcos was interesting, a very inviting, walkable town. That said, I am not sure it would had been that appealing in January weather...Cadiz is the oldest city in Europe, so reading ahead on sights and history is a definite must to get the most out of their visit. While this advice obviously applies to any trip, there are cities whose rich history is not as obvious as to say, Paris. Reading ahead on Cadiz will make you realize what a historical gem this city really is.

Vejer de la Frontera was also very charming; again, we were there in early Summer, not too crowded, but already beautiful vegetation, pleasant weather.

As far as hostels, I bookmarked Hostel Centro Sol for my nephews; a quad is about 98 Euros, very centrally located, good reviews: http://www.hostalcentrosolcadiz.com/

Hi laurie,
I was just reading an article in El Viajero (travel section) of El País:
"24 hours in Cádiz". BYW, Cádiz serves as the double for Havana in the James Bond film Die Another Day (scenes shot at Playa de la Caleta and Campo del Sur). It's also the birthplace of composer Manuel de Falla.

Here are some of the article's suggestions:

Take the vaporcito (Adriano III) over to El Puerto

Visit the Museo Provincial on Plaza de Mina for its collection of Phoenician artifacts (closed Mon.)

Wander the 18th century streets (much of what was before was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake). Walk through the squares of San Francisco and San Juan de Dios

Visit the neoclassic cathedral

Have fried fish (chocos or a tortillita de camarones) at Las Flores on Plaza de las Flores

Visit the cámara oscura in the Tavira Tower, an 18th century watch tower.
www.torretavira.com/

Eat a cheap lunch (around €10) of eggplant with honey or goat cheese toast with tomato marmelade on General Luque 1 at
"La Gorda te da de comer"
(chef isn't a corpulent woman but instead two young, creative men)

followed by ice cream at Los Italianos on calle Ancha.

Walk to the Alameda de Apodaca that runs along the walls by the bay (walls served as a model for the defensive sea walls of Havana).

Visit the multispace La Canela Baluarte on Alameda de Apodaca-for urban hipsters (exhibits, concerts, bar).

Visit the castle of Santa Catalina near La Caleta beach.

Have a German beer at Gottinga on Plaza del Mentidero 15

Music venues at night on Calle del Beato Diego de Cádiz (El Hoyo being one).

I'd leave a link to the complete articule but can't access it anymore (I printed it out for my sherry triangle file).

Hope this gives your son and friends a few more ideas.

I alsways try to see somewhere new each time I travel, but this is one town I definately want to go back to. I probaly couldn't quite put my finger on it, other than atmosphere.

http://stumblebumstravels.blogspot.c...z-seville.html

Ok now you have me thinking again.
Lets say you are already in Malaga (Maybe Gaucin area) approx how long is the drive to Cadiz?
Or is there a better way such as train from Costa del Sol somewhere?

Hi amsdon,
You have buses that run from Málaga city and Marbella to Cádiz but it's not a quick ride.

From Gaucín it would be roughly a 2 1/2 hr. drive to Cádiz. Not a good day trip.

ana maría,
Forget the Málaga-Cádiz bus unless you plan to overnight! The ride takes 4 hrs on the direct Comes bus with departures only at 6:45 am, 3:30 pm and 8 pm.

Thanks.
I would love Cadiz next year when we go with friends but not sure if that will make it on the itinerary.

If that happens it would be more than a daytrip. I am not a big daytripper as it is! For me 7 days in Madrid was not even enough.

And extra thanks for allowing the hi-jack.

Thanks for all those great suggestions, Maribel. This is going to make them wish they had more time there! Laurie