If you come to Cadiz and you are interested in the history and the culture of Cadiz, the city offers you 4+1 wonderful planned routes for free. Thanks to them, you will be able to enjoy and get to know Cadiz in depth. What are you waiting for?
The start of the routes is always the same: the Paseo de Canalejas Tourism Office. One morning we headed there in comfortable clothes and good shoes to get better information about the different routes available. Once there, we were met by a friendly girl who gave us some maps so that we could properly follow the routes.
Once outside, we had 4 different routes. You can follow them through some painted lines in color on the ground. Each one traces its route, all of them with something unique and attractive. And despite their number, they can be done in one day by combining them. It is also essential to take a break to eat tapas or have lunch by the center of Cadiz before resuming your walk.
For starters, we chose to follow the purple route, called “Ruta de Cargadores a Indias”. This route would show us everything about Cadiz in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. It was a wonderful walk. We went through some really incredible places. The beautiful plaza del Ayuntamiento, the Cadiz cathedral or the Torre Tavira, from where the lookouts of the city reported the arrival of ships coming from America. Being the first route we did, we were surprised at how well signposted these routes are.
After recharging our batteries in the plaza de la Iglesia de San Agustín, we headed back to the starting point of the routes. This time we would do the blue route, the “Ruta de la Constitución Gaditana”. This route is perfect for lovers of the modern history of the region. In it, we discovered the main buildings and monuments that played an important role in the beginning of the democracy in Spain. The Iglesia de San Antonio, where the Constitution was enacted, or the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, where the legislators met for the creation of the first constitution of the Iberian Peninsula.
At the end of this second route, we were astonished by the narrow streets of Cadiz. After the walk we decided to stop and take a short break. The number of bars where to eat or have something to drink is huge. We chose a little one but where you could feel the culture of Cadiz at its fullest. In it we tried some typical tapas from Cadiz to later continue with the third route. After this break, we headed back to the starting point of the routes and this time we chose the “Ruta del Recinto Medieval y Puerta de Tierra”. From our point of view, this tour is the most beautiful of all four. But not so much because of its monuments and buildings but because it goes right through the little narrow streets and picturesque neighborhoods of the city. We fell in love after seeing the Roman theatre or the Murallas de Puerta Tierra.
This route took us more time than what we expected because we could not stop taking photos and videos. These streets are worth every second of your time! We stopped at a restaurant that served dishes from Cadiz to eat and rest a little before continuing with the last two routes.
After the break, we took the most interesting route of all but also the longest one. In this route, called “Ruta de Castillos y Baluartes”, you can either get lost in the charming streets of the city or stroll along the magnificent promenade. You can walk on great walks like the Alameda or the Parque Genovés or even visit the ancient Santa Catalina or San Sebastian castles.
And, you may have been wondering why is there a “+1” in the title of this blog, am I right? Well, the truth is that there is one more route that is not marked in the maps. We decided to visit some of its main points. This route is the “Fenicia Gadir”, from where you can learn about the Gadir Archeological Site and Casa del Obispo, the Erytheia Park, which is also known as the Varela Gardens, and the Caleta beach.
Once the day was over, the only thing left to do was to rest and remember such an amazing experience. We have been able to discover a little more about the city of Cadiz. P.S.: that day we toured the historical routes of the city, but there are another two more routes you can do. The healthy route, where you go around the entire perimeter of the city, and the accessible route, for all those with reduced mobility.