Bon Journal // Fabric & Homewares // Interior Styling & Design

Having visited Seville a couple of years ago, I am always drawn to the Andalusian way of life. Cádiz seemed like a natural choice to visit for a short break, off the tourist trail of nearby Seville, but with all the charm and history, with some excellent tapas around every corner!

Founded over 3,000 years ago by the Phoneicians, Cádiz (pronounced Caaardee by the locals!) is one of Europe’s oldest cities. Situated on southern Spain’s Atlantic coastline, Cádiz stretches along a 5 mile peninsula with open water on three sides. I found this makes the temperatures in Cádiz that much more bearable than in Seville. We flew into Seville airport and then got a train that took 1 hour 30 minutes to Cádiz. The city is very easy to explore on foot and our apartment was situated in the lovely palm tree lined Plaza de Candeleria, a stones throw from all the sights Cádiz has to offer.

We dropped our bags and headed out to the seafront for an evening stroll before getting some renowned Andalusian tapas. If you keep looking over the sea wall, sooner or later you will come across a colony of stray cats. They live amongst the huge man-made cubes piled up to protect Cádiz from sea storms. They sunbathe on the rocks and then retreat into their little houses, provided by the Cádiz Felina collective that looks after them.

From here we walked towards to Old Town of Cádiz, through the characterful fishing district of La Viña. There’s no shortage of places to eat and drink, but we managed to get a spot at the bar in El Faro (The Lighthouse). Full to the brim with the most fabulously freshly caught seafood, this place offers some stand out tapas dishes. We enjoyed tortillitas de camerones (shrimp fritters) amongst many others. This place gets very busy, so it’s worth joining the queue early.

The next morning we headed to the street market and picked up some great locally made crafts, we then went to La Vaca Atada for brunch. I had a delicious serrano ham bocadillo with tomato and a gorgeous freshly squeezed orange juice. The interior is simple, full of plants and makes a great place to sit and plan your day ahead.

Next we stopped at the city’s Museum of Fine Arts and saw some of the ‘Tia Norica’ puppets used in Cadiz’s famous carnival.

From the museum we walked along the seafront towards the Roman Amphitheatre. Once hidden under housing, the remains of the Roman amphitheatre were relatively recently discovered in the 1980’s, but date back to the 1st century BC. Back then it would seat 10,000 people! It’s also believed to be the oldest one in Spain. The entrance was a bit hidden down a side street, but well worth the visit once you get there, free entry was a bonus.

From here we walked to the impressive Santa Cruz Cathedral. It was built between 1722 and 1838 and was originally known as the Church of the Americas because it was financed by Spain’s lucrative trading with the ‘New World’. Levante tower, one of its two towers, is open to the public. We climbed to the top of the bell tower and enjoyed amazing views over the city’s densely packed rooftops and coastline beyond.

View from Santa Cruz Cathedral bell tower

We spent the afternoon at the fishing beach of La Caleta, soaking up the sights, swimming and doing some sketching. The fishermen have been mooring their little boats here for centuries. La Caleta has an attractive curve of sand nestling up against the Castillo de Santa Catalina to one end and Castillo de San Sebastián to the other.

From La Caleta we headed back to the apartment and grabbed a delicious ice cream from La Granja on the way. We headed out again for tapas, keen to get a spot at La Tabernita, we booked a table. They are so popular and well worth the wait. We grabbed some tapas, beer and Sangria before soaking up the atmosphere in the La Vińa district, followed by a sunset stroll along the beach before our table was ready at La Tabernita.

La Tabernita is a fabulous, super friendly, family run tapas bar. The barrel tables on the street were packed full of friends and family gathering to eat some great local tapas. We enjoyed a wonderful selection of local seafood, pork and a glass of local Jerez sherry! I would highly recommend booking a table here if you visit Cádiz.

We started the day with brunch at El Café de Ana. This place had a fun, lively atmosphere, super kitsch decor and a very extensive menu. Fuelled up for the day, we wondered through the streets towards the Mercado Central.

The Mercado Central is the cities bustling food market. Packed full of seafood stalls selling that morning’s catches, alongside fresh fruit and vegetable stalls and food and drink bars around the outside. This place is a great spot to enjoy a tapas and soak up the atmosphere.

From the Mercado Central we walked to The Torre Tavira. This watchtower is the highest point in the city and offers the most wonderful views across Cádiz. We climbed to the top and enjoyed soaking up the street views below, including a woman hanging out her extensive collection of laundry on the roof terrace below!

From The Torre Tavira we headed to the lesser visited park of Jardines de Alameda Apodaca. This beautiful park on the North side of Cádiz boasts some impressive views of the coastline, sculptures, gorgeous tiled fountains and pools and the most magnificent rubber trees. These giant, gnarled rubber trees (ficus macrophyllas, to be precise!) are over 100 years, their vast boughs create shady spots to sit and enjoy the park. Here we sat and drew for a while before heading onto the more well known Parques Genovés.

The impressive avenue of topiary at Parque Genovés made for a lovely stroll, heading back along the shore. Personally I preferred Jardines de Alameda Apodaca, with its lovely fountains, rubber trees and avenues. We stopped at the old watch towers along the shore and then walked back through the streets past The Gran Teatro.

For our last evening, we wanted to soak up the sunset, so headed to eat at Quilla. Quilla restaurant is housed in a modern building that’s vaguely reminiscent of a boat. It’s location on the waterfront, moments from Santa Catalina Castle, made for the perfect spot to enjoy a drink and last meal, reflecting on our fabulous trip.

Charming Cádiz is certainly not lacking in things to see and do. Packed full of history, amazing food, glorious beaches and a truly authentic Andalusian vibe, this is definitely a city I shall be making a return trip to soon. In the meantime, I shall be taking inspiration from my sketchbook into the studio, to create some exciting Cádiz inspired pieces.

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