Most tours of Cádiz include El Pópulo, and for good reason. The neighborhood contains some of the city’s essential sights and borders a gorgeous stretch of coastline. Walking and bicycle tours are popular ways to explore El Pópulo, making the most of its compact (and largely flat) geography. For great views across the city, look for a tour that features the 18th-century Tavira Tower, which houses a camera obscura and is the highest point in the Old Town.
Comfortable shoes are a must for exploring El Pópulo, as some of its streets are cobbled.
This neighborhood is a great place for dinner, but restaurants generally follow Spain’s tradition of late-night dining. Most don’t open until 8pm and tables sometimes don’t fill until much later in the night.
Seafood is not the only specialty worth sampling in El Pópulo. Several shops in the neighborhood feature turrón de Cádiz, loaves of marzipan stuffed with jewel-like candied fruits.
El Pópulo is in the historic center of Cádiz, a swath of streets between two waterfronts. Its southern edge is the Avenida Campo del Sur, where the Cádiz Cathedral and Roman Theater are located. To the north is Avenida del Puerto. Three major archways in the Cádiz battlements mark the eastern entrances to El Pópulo: Arco de la Rosa, Arco del Pópulo, and Arco de los Blancos.
Late afternoon is an especially scenic time to visit El Pópulo and the historic center of Cádiz, which is renowned for some of Andalucia’s best sunsets. It’s tapas hour, too, when locals gather in cafés for snacks and glasses of sherry from nearby Jerez. While El Pópulo is a year-round destination, its busiest period is February’s Carnival, which fills the streets with revelers for a 10-day party.
Cádiz is part of Andalucia’s Golden Triangle of Flamenco, where the region’s distinctive song and dance were born. You can still watch a stirring performance here: Favorite venues include La Cava Tablao Flamenco and Peña Flamenca La Perla de Cádiz. September’s Festival de Flamenco de Cádiz draws flamenco artists worldwide, and features shows across the city.
