Cadiz, Costa de la LUZ - Andalusia, Spain.

The province of Cadiz - Andalusia, Spain

Cadiz city

With it’s around three thousand years of history, Cadiz is the oldest city of Europe, where Fenicians, Carthagenes, and of course Romans have had their settlements. It is an open port to the Atlantic and it has it's proper beach.

Built on what was once an island, Cadiz today has two principal parts: the central or historic quarter with narrow streets and plazas, completely surrounded by fortified walls which constantly bring to mind the city’s maritime history.
The newer part of the city, outside the walls, linked to the old city by the famous Puertas de Tierra, has neighbourhoods of high buildings clustered around the Central Avenue, which seems to be constantly in a state of rebuilding, mainly because there is no more land to expand outwards.

Cadiz has an essentially urban and maritime feel about it. Because it lacks any notable countryside or mountains around it, the Atlantic dominates the surroundings of Cadiz.

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The province of Provinz Cadiz

The province of Cadiz offers, on one hand, the magnificent beaches of the Costa de la Luz and on the other hand nature in all it's glory in the nature reserve of Grazalema and the nature reserve of Alcornocales amongst others.

Beaches of Cadiz province, la costa de la luz

From Cádiz City to Tarifa in the south you can still find some less crowded and rather viriginal beaches like Los Caños de Meca and Zahora in the municipal term of Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes and Bolonia in Tarifa.

Strände von Conil de la Frontera

Conil de la Frontera offers 14 kms of very varied beaches: from long sandy spots to lonely coves very appropriate for the nudism. And near Conil you will find Chiclana de la Frontera, with its famous beaches of La Barrosa and Sancti Petri.
Very popular and famous for it’s splendid conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing is Tarifa. It is the most southern point of continental Spain and , bathed by waters of the Estrecho of Gibraltar and as opposed to the African coasts (15 km).

Kitesurf und Windsurf in Tarifa

From Cádiz City to the north you find other nice coastal towns, but with a different character, like Chipiona, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. . Many people go there to enjoy good sea-food.
Every year in Sanlúcar de Barrameda a horse-race on the beach is held. This festivity is declared as International Interest.

Accommodation Costa de la Luz >>>

Map of Andalusia, Spain.

Towns on the Costa de la Luz, in Cadiz province, from north to south:

• Sanlucar de Barrameda
• Chipiona
• Rota
• El Puerto de Santa María
• Cadiz City
• Chiclana
• Conil de la Frontera
• Los Caños de Meca, Zahora and El Palmar
• Barbate
• Zahara de los Atunes
• Bolonia
• Tarifa

= info at SOL Spain On Line

Nature in the province of Cadiz

Cádiz extremely rich in natural beauty and some of the most important Natural Parks of Spain and Europe are found here: Sierra de Grazalema and los Alcoronocales. Both are rich in flora and fauna, including species under threat of exinction like the "Pinsapo" in Grazalema.

Many birds find here their resting and feeding place just after or before making the jump from or to Africa.

Also exists many others natural spaces declared in the province, like the Bahía de Cádiz and Acantilado y Pinar de Barbate Natural Parks, and beautiful places as the Garganta Verde in Zahara de la Sierra and The Dune of Bolonia in Tarifa.

There is a wide range of options for hiking and other activities for nature-lovers. Climbing, horse riding and Canyoning among others.

The white villages

To the northwest of the province are located the famous White Villages of Cadiz, calls thus because all of them have a common denominator: surroundings of escepcional beauty, narrow streets, great slopes and adorned white houses with flowers.

Piraguismo en el embalse de ZaharaThis towns are: Arcos de la Frontera (entrance gate to White Villages), Algodonales , Setenil, Zahara de la Sierra with the Castle , the Garganta Verde and caves Hundidero del Gato; the beauty Grazalema, Villaluenga del Rosario (The most height), Benaocaz, Benamahoma and El Bosque, and finally Ubrique, the greater one of the villages.

Jerez de la Frontera

30 km from the capital we were with the monumental Jerez de la Frontera, city of resistances, that harmonizes between its walls the secular tradition of its warehouses, the horses and the echoes of the flamenco.

Motorcycling gran prix in JerezAlso it emphasizes by the Motorcicle World-wide Championship in the Circuit of Jerez.