Tired, tipsy and bad tempered is the best way to describe an ex-girlfriend and me after spending an hour and a half walking in crooked circles around the old town of Cádiz trying to find our way back to our hostel. My orientation skills disappear when the sun goes down and everything looks different to me, and the beer that had gone down so well after a long day of sightseeing and sunbathing had rubbed away any last hint of a memory of how to get to our accommodation. It was pure luck that finally brought us gratefully to where we were staying. If I had to take the blame for getting lost, then my ex had to shoulder the responsibility for the schoolgirl error of leaving both the window and insect screen open for mosquitoes while we were out. I recognise the high probability that it was a fatigue-induced hallucination, but I’m sure I had to ask some of them to move so that I could get into bed.
Despite that June Saturday night’s internal GPS malfunction a few years ago, I returned from the weekend in Cádiz with the conviction that I’d discovered an absolute gem. The oldest continuously lived-in city in Western Europe, to wheel out the trivia. Cádiz was founded by the Phoenicians around 1100BC and has passed through the hands of the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and finally the Castilian Spanish claimed the city in the thirteenth century. Its strategic location and suitability as a port ensured its importance as a trading post from the start. Its unique geography in almost being an island, it is actually a peninsula joined to the continent by a very thin strip of land (or isthmus), made it very difficult to attack by land. Christopher Columbus set sail from the port on his second and fourth voyages to the Americas and, from that point, Cádiz began to command an important role as a main hub of transatlantic traffic.
The city was one of the first in the world to suffer from state-sponsored terrorism: Ottoman privateers tried several raids on Cádiz in the sixteenth century and the English pirate/naval hero Sir Francis Drake managed to capture the harbour and six ships, sink 31 other ships and decimate the port’s stores in 1587. The beginning of the eighteenth century, however, was when Cádiz really hit the jackpot. The increasing size of galleons and the formation of sandbars along the River Guadalquivir made it no longer viable to continue Seville’s monopoly on New World trade, so Cádiz stepped up to become the home of the Spanish Treasure Fleet and therefore become one of the richest cities in the world.
Both Carnival and most of Cádiz’s interesting buildings come from the golden age of the city. Their Carnival was meant to emulate and rival the world famous celebrations of the time in Venice; the investment in serious partying is what set the tradition that carries on today. The cathedral is my favourite in Spain (sorry to all the rest), probably because the 116 years it took to build and the subsequent mix of styles make it so unique (and I love the giant trees brought back from the Americas which stand next to it).
The plazas in the old town are attractive and give the breathing space the tightly-packed area needs. The old Customs House and the Admiral House buildings you have to see to understand the kind of wealth that Spain squeezed from its colonies. Another landmark, more for its significance than its beauty this time, is the monument to the Spanish Constitution of 1812- one of the first modern liberal constitutions in the world, written by the Free Spanish Parliament in Cádiz as the port was one of the few Spanish cities not to fall to the Bonapartes’ forces and was a main centre of resistance to the French as the Spanish fought for their independence. The cámara oscura in the Tavira Tower is a worthwhile visit to understand Cádiz today. Just a few storeys high, the tower’s pinhole camera-style telescope and convex lens command views of the whole city and the Bay of Cádiz. That in itself is cool to see, but the listed-building status of most of the old town, strict construction limits and no more space to build is what has kept the place from turning into another Andalusian beach resort. It has two fantastic beaches and there is regular Spanish tourism (The Costa de la Luz has remained a mainly Spanish destination in comparison to the Mediterranean coastline), but Cádiz will never become a Marbella, Torremolinos or Benidorm. In fact, this lack of possibility for development is what limits the city’s economy and causes many young Gaditanos to try their luck elsewhere. In selfish terms for the visitor, this is what keeps Cádiz a wonderful destination for a weekend or short holiday. Just remember how to get back to your hotel.
Despite that June Saturday night’s internal GPS malfunction a few years ago, I returned from the weekend in Cádiz with the conviction that I’d discovered an absolute gem. The oldest continuously lived-in city in Western Europe, to wheel out the trivia. Cádiz was founded by the Phoenicians around 1100BC and has passed through the hands of the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and finally the Castilian Spanish claimed the city in the thirteenth century. Its strategic location and suitability as a port ensured its importance as a trading post from the start. Its unique geography in almost being an island, it is actually a peninsula joined to the continent by a very thin strip of land (or isthmus), made it very difficult to attack by land. Christopher Columbus set sail from the port on his second and fourth voyages to the Americas and, from that point, Cádiz began to command an important role as a main hub of transatlantic traffic.
The city was one of the first in the world to suffer from state-sponsored terrorism: Ottoman privateers tried several raids on Cádiz in the sixteenth century and the English pirate/naval hero Sir Francis Drake managed to capture the harbour and six ships, sink 31 other ships and decimate the port’s stores in 1587. The beginning of the eighteenth century, however, was when Cádiz really hit the jackpot. The increasing size of galleons and the formation of sandbars along the River Guadalquivir made it no longer viable to continue Seville’s monopoly on New World trade, so Cádiz stepped up to become the home of the Spanish Treasure Fleet and therefore become one of the richest cities in the world.
Both Carnival and most of Cádiz’s interesting buildings come from the golden age of the city. Their Carnival was meant to emulate and rival the world famous celebrations of the time in Venice; the investment in serious partying is what set the tradition that carries on today. The cathedral is my favourite in Spain (sorry to all the rest), probably because the 116 years it took to build and the subsequent mix of styles make it so unique (and I love the giant trees brought back from the Americas which stand next to it).
The plazas in the old town are attractive and give the breathing space the tightly-packed area needs. The old Customs House and the Admiral House buildings you have to see to understand the kind of wealth that Spain squeezed from its colonies. Another landmark, more for its significance than its beauty this time, is the monument to the Spanish Constitution of 1812- one of the first modern liberal constitutions in the world, written by the Free Spanish Parliament in Cádiz as the port was one of the few Spanish cities not to fall to the Bonapartes’ forces and was a main centre of resistance to the French as the Spanish fought for their independence. The cámara oscura in the Tavira Tower is a worthwhile visit to understand Cádiz today. Just a few storeys high, the tower’s pinhole camera-style telescope and convex lens command views of the whole city and the Bay of Cádiz. That in itself is cool to see, but the listed-building status of most of the old town, strict construction limits and no more space to build is what has kept the place from turning into another Andalusian beach resort. It has two fantastic beaches and there is regular Spanish tourism (The Costa de la Luz has remained a mainly Spanish destination in comparison to the Mediterranean coastline), but Cádiz will never become a Marbella, Torremolinos or Benidorm. In fact, this lack of possibility for development is what limits the city’s economy and causes many young Gaditanos to try their luck elsewhere. In selfish terms for the visitor, this is what keeps Cádiz a wonderful destination for a weekend or short holiday. Just remember how to get back to your hotel.
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