We had a few hours without a fútbol game or a friend to get together with or youth group at church to spare, so we hit the road to beautiful Cádiz. Located under a two hour drive from Estepona, Cádiz is Europe’s oldest city. I don’t know what I expected, but this city absolutely bedazzles between the combo of city and sea. Beautiful calles, unique outdoor dining with lace umbrellas and some of the best seafood dishes makes Cádiz one of the prettiest cities we have visited.

With beautiful aquamarine sea views heading over the bridge in Cádiz, you immediately see the historic center and its fortified walls. These streets in centro are full of restaurants, live music, tapas bars and so much culture. We could have walked the streets for several day, taking in all of the beauty.

We didn’t have a reservation on a beautiful Saturday in September, but we were able to wait for an outdoor table at Restaurante El Aljibe with our dog. It was one of our top five restaurants in Spain that we have experienced, with interesting mussel, shrimp, grouper and other seafood dishes. Highly recommend a visit if you visit Cádiz.

We walked around for gelato and sightseeing, adoring all of the local shoppes and views. Do not miss a day trip of even a weekend in Cádiz. We went with no expectations and left with it being one of our favorite Spanish cities. This city would be hard to navigate to on public transportation, as only a bus would be available and it would take a long time. For this trip, I recommend renting a car.