Cadiz – Camera Obscura, A Michelin Restaurant and More

Edited December 1, 2024

 

Cadiz: aka Gaddith. Cadith. Gadi. Coddi. Not quite sure what drew me to plan to visit Cadiz except for the name, which as you can see, can be pronounced many ways. I had never heard of it, but saw on the map that it was near the southwest corner of Spain, near Morocco. I knew that because of that it would have Moorish architecture, which I love, as well as offer a myriad of cobbled, twisting and winding narrow streets, which I adore. So after flying from the Canary Islands to Jerez de la Frontera and spending a few lovely days there exploring (here’s the blog post of my time in that charming city: 48 Hours in Jerez – Bodegas, Buleria and Bridles ) I hopped on a train to Cadiz to see what this ancient city had to offer.

I stayed in a cute funky hostel, Casa Caracol for about 19 euro/night in a dorm (The Snail House – if you stay, book directly with them https://casacaracolcadiz.com/ The price was almost $10/night more through HostelWorld – one of my favorite apps – which is usually not the case.  I loved that it was right smack in the middle of the old town – perfect for a backpacking traveler like me without a car! I could walk out the door, turn left or turn right, and be in the thick of it.

Cadiz is considered one of the oldest cities in Western Europe, founded over 3000 years ago by the Phoenicians. A port town with over 100 towers remaining (133, to be precise!) it sits on the Costa de La Luz and has beautiful beaches, incredibly fresh seafood, an amazing covered market (and you know I love fresh markets!) and a really cool Camera Obscura – which I definitely was intrigued by…

As per usual, I signed up for the free walking tour – it’s always a great way to learn cool, quirky things about the city and its history from an enthusiastic tour guide, oftentimes a history major with a great sense of humor and a love of the city they are more than happy to share. (How does this work? Google “free walking tours” of the city you’ll be in and sign up for one – you’ll get details on the meeting place and time. At the end of the tour, feel free to pay what you think is fair – usually somewhere around $10 or ten euros is the norm, but if you’ve only got 5, that works too!)  I got a great insider tip from the tour guide for a “don’t miss” lunch spot – El Faro. A Michelin-rated restaurant…but whoa. That’s gonna be expensive, right? But here’s the secret, Pablo told me – rather than enter the “normal” restaurant, the trick is to go around back to the stand-up bar on the other side of the building and order tapas (small plates) and vino.

O. M. G. Soooo good!! Every bite was delicious – and when I looked longingly at the potato salad (one of their signature dishes) that my waiter was placing in front of the customer next to me, the waiter winked and brought me a small plate so I could try it myself. The other server behind the bar glanced over and saw what had happened, shook his head, took my plate away and returned the plate to me with a smile – and with a nice piece of fresh tuna atop the olive oil, onions and fresh spices on the perfectly cooked potatoes. Absolutely divine!! My bill was maybe 16€ – for a really nice glass of local red vino, tender pulpo y frijoles (octopus with cannellini beans), fresh poyoyo con puerque (famous local goat cheese and pork) and a melt-in-your-mouth seafood lasagna.  Thank you to my wonderful Cadizfornia Tour guide, Pablo for the invaluable insider info. www.cadizforniatours.com

Another highlight for me was the Camera Obscura in the Torre Tavira, a stone tower built in 1778 and designated as the official watchtower of Cadiz. Climb the stairs to the first and second floors to see the exhibits and learn about the city and the history of the tower, and then continue upward and step out onto the rooftop to see the beauty before you – 360 degrees of views to the sea and the city 150 feet below.

And of course, make sure to visit the actual camera obscura. Your entry ticket is for a visit to the rooftop of the tower as well as a specifically scheduled 20-minute “show”. You’ll learn about the camera – basically a mirrored periscope that pops out of the top of the tower and looks out at the city, projecting the live images onto a convex (or is it concave?) screen. It’s like Google maps live! You’ll see birds fly, cars zoom by, and the market bustling below. Very intriguing and captivating! Quite a simple concept and “old school” but super cool. 

Another must-see is the covered market. Get there in the morning and see the baskets of just-caught crabs, fresh oysters, live lobsters, all sizes of shrimp (my favorite oxymoron- “jumbo shrimp”), giant tuna, wriggling eels, and cuttlefish waiting to be selected and cooked into something scrumptious. In addition,there are dozens of food stands serving espresso, pastries, soup, empanadas, cold beer and local wine. A great place for lunch!

It wasn’t beach weather, so I can’t report on the local beaches, but they are renowned for their beauty.  And at this point in my travels, I’m suffering from cathedral overload (or as my sister-in-law Trish calls it, “ABC” – “another bloody cathedral”) so I haven’t been paying admission prices to view churches or cathedrals in the last few towns so I’m afraid I can’t advise you on that either…

But what I can tell you is that Cadiz, like Jerez de la Frontera, is a jewel in Andalucia – and from what I saw, not very overrun by tourists.  I’d highly advise you to put Cadiz on your list of “must see” cities…#yourewelcome.

 

 

“It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I still have to go and the more there is to learn.” 

~ Anthony Bourdain