Cadiz Travel Forum

We are arriving on Dec. 7th on a cruise ship. The cruise line shows the stop as Seville (Cadiz). I cannot get confirmation from them as to which port we stop at.

Is there, in fact, a Port at Seville?

If we dock in Cadiz, we will probably stay there since we are in port from 7AM to 6PM, but with getting off the ship, more likely, about 10AM and needing to be back aboard by 5PM and considering the travel time between cities, it sounds like too much to do.

If we stay in Cadiz we would be interested in visiting Markets and Wineries.

We do welcome any suggestions.

Thanks
B&B

The two cities are something like 140km away from each other. But if you don’t want the tourist trip all is not lost. As you will not be hiring a car it maybe best to spend your few hours ashore in the lovely city of Cadiz. Here are two links to help you find out more about the city and what to do there. The second is in Spanish, so hopefully you understand the language.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz
http://www.cadiz.es/Home.cadiz

As prev reply said, Seville and Cadiz are some distance apart - 128 km, but not that far, about 1hr 30 mins by coach. Seville is an inland port though as it is on a major river. I would have thought it is more than likely that a day trip to Seville will be offered by the ship. It is a lovely city; well worth seeing with many sites, inculding the Alcazar and cathedral. The old Jewish quarter is a maze of alleys opening out into squares. Lots of places to eat al fresco. Personally, I think of the two, I would definitely recommend Seville.

I think you can do one of the places, but not both. I think the best thing to do is to look at the VT pages for both Sevilla and Cadiz and determine what interests you the most. You can look at the railway site www.renfe.es to see train schedules, should you decide to go to Sevilla.

Nomad

The port would definitely be the one at CADIZ which is in the Bay of Cadiz. Seville is many miles inland from the sea up the famous River GUADALQUIVIR which takes its name from the Arabic for Great river. It was on this river in Seville that the explorers to the Americas would leave and return with the booty. In those days of sail, you had to plan your journey up the great river from the mouth near Sanlucar. Columbus would have stocked up on his rations at Sanlucar before setting off on his trips to the New World.
The cruise ships call at Cadiz and tie up close to the old city. It is quite possible to walk to the railway station or the bus terminus (which is closer) in order to take transport to Seville or nearby Jerez.
I would say that daylight hours in early December (local time) would be roughly getting light by around 8 am and dark by say 6 pm. So much depends on the weather locally and if you wish to have a leisurely day or an energetic one !
In Cadiz there are plenty of interesting places to visit and it can be a fascinating city to stroll around especially in the morning when most folks are out and about. After lunch it tends to be very quiet at any time of the year !
Cadiz city boasts a really interesting cathedral with crypt that can be visited and it also has a tower to climb up ! You get a good view of the entire Bay and city and can imagine what the old city must have been like when it was virtually cut off from the mainland and it was a most important trading port. Francis Drake 'singed the beard' here and the bay was full of sailing vessels.http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3871
Many of the old 'palaces' owned by the rich in Cadiz, would have a tower in order to see what was happening out at sea and in the harbour. One such tower is called Torre Tavira and has a 'camera obscura' on the top level. http://www.torretavira.com/

And there are some wonderful old forts built to protect the city from invaders along with the strong ramparts. A red bus tour can take you around the city including the newer part and you can get a good feel before you explore on foot if you want.
Another option for the day could be to include a quick visit to Jerez de la Frontera which is inland across the Bay of Cadiz and easily reached either by bus or rail. Jerez is the home of 'Sherry' wines. From the very dry & pale 'fino' to the extra sweet and delicious Pedro Jimeniz wines. You can visit a sherry 'bodega' and learn about the making of these tasty wines. Explore http://www.turismojerez.com/