The province of Cádiz, Andalucia, Spain

Cadiz Province is in the very southwest of Andalucia with a coastline extending from the Atlantic Ocean at Sanlucar de Barrameda to the Mediterranean at Sotogrande. The coast is known as the Costa de la Luz, the coast of light, and is a favoured location for artists.

Historically the provincial capital, Cadiz, is the oldest city in Europe and has featured many times since then, not least as a major port for trade with the Americas following their discovery by Columbus which made it a magnet for characters like Sir Francis Drake who famously ‘Singed the King of Spain’s Beard’ there.

The province also hosts the ‘Sherry Triangle’, an area between Sanlucar de Barrameda, Jerez de la Frontera and Puerto de Santa Maria. The British were influential in the sherry industry forming partnerships with Spanish families that often led to marriages. That influence is still felt in the area.

Within the province there are no less than six Natural Parks including Los Alcornocales and Sierra de Grazalema, low mountain areas great for walking, birdwatching and mountainbiking. The areas are renowned for their flora and fauna and in the latter case, spectacular limestone karstic formations.

Cádiz - Capital of the Province

Guide to Cádiz the Oldest City in Europe

Cádiz is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and probably in Western Europe. The date of the founding of the city is disputed since there were no written records at the time. Later Roman historians put the date as early as 1014BC although the earliest archaeological records only date from about 850BC. The city has since been occupied by its founders, the Phoenicians, and later by the Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Spanish. More....