10 Things to Do in Cádiz in January

Cadiz is famous for its beaches, its magical sunsets and the hot summer that attracts tourists to the coast of Cadiz, but it also offers throughout the year a full program of fairs, festivals, markets, concerts and activities for all audiences.

Among the best things to see and do in Cadiz in January are the patron saint festivals, the races in El Puerto de Santa Maria, the New Year's concerts and the opening of the carnival at the Gran Teatro Falla. Here I tell you all the activities you can do in the first month of the year in Cadiz.

The winter months are characterized by being a time of concerts in Cadiz and in the New Year you can attend many events in different parts of the province. Every year in San Fernando, Conil de la Frontera, Algeciras, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Jerez de la Frontera, among other nearby places, the local town halls organize music concerts featuring national artists.

During these concerts you will be able to see first class shows at affordable prices or even for free or for the price of a meal, since in many cases these concerts are organized to collect donations. In addition, the cities usually organize calendars in which the shows do not coincide with each other, so during January you can attend shows throughout the month.

In the center of Cadiz you can also attend the concerts that are held every year at the Palacio de Congresos located in El Pópulo, which will ensure that you do not have to leave the city, as you can attend by public transport or on the hop on-hop off tourist bus of Cadiz that includes a stop in that area.

One of the best things to do in Cadiz is to enjoy the gastronomy and especially in the winter months, when you can take shelter from the cold in a restaurant or in a tasca to enjoy the typical dishes of the city.

You cannot leave Cadiz without trying gazpachuelo, Andalusian style migas, oxtail, asparagus soup, potato stew and puchero, but I also advise you to try the sea oysters and prawns, which during January are served fresh in the port areas because it is one of the fishing seasons.

You can also try the local gastronomy in one of the best flamenco shows in Cadiz, as the fusion of musical folklore and typical dishes is a perfect combination that happens a lot in Cadiz restaurants.

January is one of the ideal times to practice sports on the coast of Cadiz and El Puerto de Santa Maria offers one of the best sporting events in Cadiz, which consists of a race through the circular circuit of the Guadalete Park in a total distance of 8 kilometers from the start to the finish line, located at the viewpoint.

The Eco Cross race offers categories for children and adults and also a shorter course for older adults. The total route through the park lasts only 4 hours, so if you decide to participate in the race and want to make the most of your visit, you can also visit the nearby towns of Jerez de la Frontera and the Poblado de Doña Blanca.

You can register for the Eco Cross race of El Puerto de Santa Maria in advance online and you have time to do so until a week before the start of the competition. The registration fee is approximately 9 euros per person, regardless of the category chosen.

Details of interest

• Price... Registration for the Eco Cross race costs approximately 9 euros per person.
• When... In January of each year.
• Where... Guadalete Park, El Puerto de Santa María.

The Guadalquivir River in the northern part of the Cadiz coast is one of the most representative sites of Andalusia and one of the best ways to live the New Year is to participate in some of the activities that are organized around the tributary and ranging from visiting the markets in the area to take a boat trip along the coast of Cadiz and along the breakwater of the river.

From Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Seville, the Guadalquivir River marks the pulse of the cities and for the Andalusians it is a place of pilgrimage and gratitude, so receiving the New Year living some of the activities around the river is one of the typical customs.

If you plan to visit the coast of Cadiz in January you can not miss a visit to the Guadalquivir River, even if you have planned a short stay, as you can discover one of the emblematic sites of Spain in activities that do not last more than 3 or 4 hours at most. If you plan to spend a short time in the city, here is also a list of activities so you can discover Cadiz in 3 days.

The Three Wise Men Parade is a tradition in Cadiz and consists of a parade of floats in which Melchior, Gaspar and Baltazar share the route through the streets of the old town with the children and throw candy and sweets to those who come to greet us. The parade takes place every year on January 5, one day before the Three Kings' Night.

During the parade, besides the Three Kings, other characters from TV cartoons and children's movies are also presented and they all march together to meet the children, so if you plan to visit Cadiz with children, attending the parade will be one of the options that they might like the most.

The Three Kings Parade is also the prelude to the delivery of gifts during the Three Kings Night and one of the most visited family activities in Cadiz during the first days of the year.

Interesting details

• Price... Attending the parade is free.
• When... January 5th of each year.
• Where... The parade goes through different streets of the old town.

Conil de la Frontera is one of the meccas of Cadiz tourist gastronomy, especially because its recipes usually include fresh tuna from the coast of Cadiz, but it is also the scene of the Pilgrimage of San Sebastian, a typical Andalusian patron saint festival in which a procession of the faithful walk from the town squares to the pine forests of El Colorao.

The pilgrimage begins early in the morning of the day fixed in the calendar, which is celebrated every year during the third week of January, and the image of San Sebastian is followed by a crowd accompanied by decorated carts, flowers, riders on horseback and local music. In the pine forests of Conil de la Frontera you will find regional food stalls and celebrations that visitors can attend to discover a typical Cadiz procession.

The Romería de San Sebastián is also known as the Fiesta del Palmito, due to the harvesting of the product of the native palm trees, and is one of the celebrations that attracts more visitors from the interior of Cadiz.

Details of interest

• Price... Attendance to the pilgrimage is free.
• When... During the third week of January each year.
• Where... The procession starts in the squares of Conil de la Frontera and goes to El Colorao.

January is one of the coldest months of the year on the coast of Cadiz but it is also when the wind and waves are best suited for a surfing experience in Tarifa, in the south of Cadiz and in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar. During the first days of the year surfers from all over Andalusia usually come here to make the most of the January waves, so you can surf whether you have previous experience or not.

Visiting Tarifa is one of the best activities to do from Cadiz because of its location near the African continent has some of the best beaches on the coast of Cadiz, you can make excursions with whale and dolphin watching and also practice water sports such as paddle surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing and snorkeling, in addition to surfing.

If you want to live a surfing experience in Tarifa you can hire lessons that usually include the rental of the board and wetsuits and enjoy the best time of the year to fight against waves up to 3 meters high.

The Cadiz carnivals are one of the main attractions of the city and its development is in the month of February each year, but the celebrations formally begin in January, at the Gran Teatro Falla, where the Official Contest of Groups of the Carnival of Cadiz begins , the pompous name given to the event in which the groups offer their repertoires rehearsed throughout the year in a contest that is broadcast on national television.

This contest lasts throughout the month of January and after the awards ceremony the groups take to the streets to celebrate the Carnival of Cadiz, where the chirigotas, choirs, cuarteros, floats and comparsas (carnival groups) capture all the attention on the coast of Cadiz.

During the Carnival Contest in Cadiz, the gastronomic events of the Carnival also take place in the neighborhoods of La Viña, in the Plaza de San Antonio and in the Plaza de la Catedral. In the stalls and peñas of each event you will be able to taste sea urchins, sea oysters and Galician empanadas.

Setenil de las Bodegas is one of the most beautiful villages in the mountains of Cadiz and if you plan to visit Cadiz in winter you can also experience the festivities of San Sebastian in January, which are celebrated with a procession through the main streets of the village and a bar with typical products.

Following the procession of the patron saint of San Sebastian you can visit the main sites of Setenil de las Bodegas, as it passes through the streets Villa, Plaza de Andalucía, Constitución, Ronda, Cuevas del Sol, Coronilla and Paseo Federico Lorca. Along the route you can walk among the houses built in the caves and along the paths built on the edge of the cliff.

Setenil de las Bodegas also presents the best of its gastronomy during the patron saint festivities and you can taste the cortijeras soups, asparagus scrambled eggs, gazpachuelo, stewed beans and sweet potatoes with honey. You can also accompany your meals with the local wine and Iberian sausages.

Details of interest

• Price... Participating in the procession for the patron saint fair of San Sebastian is free of charge.
• When... During the third week of January each year.
• Where... Setenil de las Bodegas, Cádiz.

If you plan to visit Cadiz in December you will see that the city is bathed in festive spirit and Christmas markets multiply in the city, being the one in the Plaza de San Antonio the most representative. After Three Kings Day the Christmas markets close to give way to the second hand markets that are installed in San Fernando, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlucar de Barrameda, among other towns in Cadiz.

In these flea markets you can buy and sell clothes and second hand items and also exchange objects, with the purpose of fraternizing with the other visitors of the flea market. Many of these flea markets pursue solidarity purposes, as they sell donated items and the proceeds are used to support different causes.

If you do not want to leave the center of Cadiz you can visit the flea market in the old town, in the Plaza de la Libertad located in front of the Central Market. In some flea markets you can also find typical food stalls.

January is the coldest month of the year in Cadiz, recording average temperatures of 10°, with highs of 15° and lows of 5°, although temperatures rarely reach the lower ranges.

January is also a rainy month, so keep this in mind to pack waterproof clothing and rain shoes, as much of Cadiz's tourism is outdoors and you don't want to miss out on some of the city's excursions and activities because you don't have the right equipment.

January is one of the months with less crowds in Cadiz, so it is also a great opportunity to get to know the city in a quiet way and with few tourists, although that is largely due to the lower temperatures and the impossibility of taking a swim in the coast of Cadiz.

If you visit Cadiz in October you will see that the influx of tourists decreases due to the end of summer but not as much as from November, when it is not possible to go to the beach and take a bath. Therefore, I advise you to make the most of your trip in January to visit the nearby towns, take tours and walks through the center of the city and get to know the idiosyncrasy of Cadiz in its festivals and concerts.

December and January are the cheapest months to visit Cadiz, so if you want to visit the city saving money it will be an ideal month for your travel plan. However, keep in mind that many of the best activities on the Cadiz calendar in January, such as concerts and some festivals, include an entrance fee.

January is a good month to get accommodation at discounted prices and if you book in advance online you can secure your place on excursions and also get discounts for pre-booking.

January is a cold and rainy month in Cadiz so I advise you to pack the following items to avoid being affected by the weather during your trip:

• Thermal T-shirt
• Wool sweaters
• Wool scarf
• Wool socks
• Cotton T-shirts
• Waterproof jacket
• Waterproof boots
• Umbrella
• Rain jacket
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Sport shoes
• Light coat
• Lightweight pants