Cadiz, founded by the Phoenicians over 3,000 years ago, lays claim to the title of ‘oldest city in Europe’. Water surrounds Cadiz on three sides, and it’s only thanks to a land bridge – the ‘Puerta de Tierra’, constructed in 1755 at the height of the city’s prominence as a port of American trade – that travelers can arrive here without a seafaring vessel. That same water covers many of the ancient ruins today – as does some modern construction – and yet the city’s unsurpassed longevity still pulses in its winding streets and stunning cityscapes.

Modern-day Cadiz is equally famous for its annual pre-spring carnival as for its residents’ open arms and artful sense of humor. The capital of the Cadiz province, city of 130,000, is nonetheless an intriguingly less-beaten path, rarely overwhelmed with foreign tourists, and easy to get around by foot.