La Caleta Beach and Balneario de la Palma Building - Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain.

@diegograndi/iStock

Playa de la Caleta

Cádiz


Hugging the western side of the Barrio de la Viña, this small, popular golden city beach catches the eye with its mock-Moorish balneario (bathhouse). It's flanked by two forts: the Castillo de San Sebastián, for centuries a military installation, and the star-shaped Castillo de Santa Catalina, built after the 1596 Anglo-Dutch sacking of the city and with a 1683 chapel.

Mimicking Ursula Andress in Dr. No, Halle Berry famously strode out of the sea here in an orange bikini in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cádiz attractions

1. Castillo de Santa Catalina

0.2 MILES

This star-shaped 16th-century fortress was built after the Anglo-Dutch sacking of the city in 1596; it's now an exhibition centre. Within stands a tiny…

3. Museo de las Cortes de Cádiz

0.39 MILES

A fairly dry collection of portraits and maps focusing especially on the revolutionary Cádiz Parliament of 1812, which took place in the baroque Oratorio…

4. Mercado Central de Abastos

0.42 MILES

Spain's oldest covered market, Cádiz' lively Mercado Central de Abastos was unveiled in 1838. Now remodelled, it sells fresh fish, meat, vegetables and…

5. Torre Tavira

0.42 MILES

Northwest of Plaza de Topete, the 18th-century Torre Tavira is the highest point in town, opening up dramatic panoramas of Cádiz. It has a camera obscura…

6. Castillo de San Sebastián

0.44 MILES

After centuries as a military installation, this polygonal 1706 fort, on a small islet joined by a slim stone walkway to Playa de la Caleta, is now open…

7. Plaza de Topete

0.48 MILES

About 250m northwest of the cathedral, this triangular plaza is one of Cádiz’ most intimate. Bright with flowers, it's usually talked about as Plaza de…

8. Campo del Sur

0.58 MILES

Flanked by pastel-painted houses, Cádiz' curving malecón is eerily reminiscent of Cuba's Havana, which it's believed to have inspired.