El Pópulo

The El Pópulo district, in Cadix

The district of El Pópulo is the thousand-year-old cradle of Cadix, considered as one of the oldest districts of Western Europe, with origins going back more than three thousand years. The Cadix audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this open-air history book, born from the Phoenician city of Gadir, with its medieval alleys, its ancient arches and its buried Roman theatre.

The oldest district of Western Europe

You are in the heart of the district of El Pópulo, the thousand-year-old cradle of Cadix, considered as one of the oldest districts of Western Europe. You enter here a space whose origins go back more than three thousand years, when the Phoenicians founded the city of Gadir, the fortress that became little by little one of the most active ports of the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, Romans, Arabs and Christians left their imprint there, transforming this district into a true open-air history book. Its narrow alleys, its irregular layout and its vaulted passages are the direct heritage of the Muslim era, while the presence of the great Roman theatre, discovered under the current houses, recalls the importance of Cadix in ancient Hispania. To enter El Pópulo, you must pass through one of its three medieval arches. The Arco del Pópulo, former Puerta del Mar, formerly opened access to the port. At its sides, the Arco de la Rosa and the Arco de los Blancos completed the defensive system that surrounded the town in the Middle Ages. By strolling in these alleys, you will cross the former cathedral of Santa Cruz and numerous vestiges of the different eras that shaped the town. To stroll in El Pópulo is to go back in time in the heart of one of the oldest cities of Europe. A thousand-year-old district and an ancient heart, El Pópulo is a fine stop of the discovery of Cadix.

What to see

Here you discover the thousand-year-old cradle of Cadix, one of the oldest districts of Western Europe, born from the Phoenician city of Gadir and marked by the Romans, the Arabs and the Christians; you pass through its three medieval arches, the Arco del Pópulo, the Arco de la Rosa and the Arco de los Blancos, and you cross the former cathedral of Santa Cruz and the buried Roman theatre. El Pópulo is the ancient heart of Cadix. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The district of El Pópulo lies in the heart of the old town of Cadix, near the port, reachable on foot. It is a historic district freely accessible, that is discovered by strolling in its alleys and under its medieval arches. You walk through it during a stroll in the centre.

Why is El Pópulo the oldest district of Cadix?

Because its origins go back more than three thousand years, to the Phoenician city of Gadir, which makes it one of the oldest districts of Western Europe; Romans, Arabs and Christians left their imprint there, visible in its medieval alleys, its three ancient arches and the Roman theatre discovered under its houses.

Where is the El Pópulo district in Cadix?

In the heart of the old town of Cadix, near the port, in Spain.