Playa de la Victoria is the long city beach in Extramuros south of the old town, and this walk follows its promenade from the old town gate to the dunes of Cortadura.
One direction, three beaches
This walk follows the promenade out of the old town and down the whole of Playa de la Victoria to the dunes of Cortadura. It starts at Puerta de Tierra, where the old town ends, and finishes about 4.1 km later at a viewpoint over Cortadura beach. The council places Victoria between the Santa María del Mar promenade and the start of Cortadura, so the order never changes: small cove, long city beach, dunes.
It is a one-way walk, easy underfoot, with no admission fee for anything on the route itself. For a swim-by-swim comparison of the beaches, use Cádiz beaches compared; this page is about the walk between them.
From the gate to the long beach
About 700 metres from the gate you reach Santa María del Mar. The council describes a large semicircular viewpoint on the promenade around the cove, with a view over the historic centre, and Turespaña notes two stone piers that give the cove its shell shape. It is the last good place to look back at the old town.
From there the promenade runs along Playa de la Victoria, which the council measures at 2,800 metres and calls the centre of the city's beach tourism. Turespaña says the promenade widens in places with benches and some seasonal beach bars, and that the sand is reached by many ramps and stairs. The council also lists a wide choice of promenade restaurants serving local food, so lunch can happen mid-route; the classic order is pescaito frito.
About 2.6 km in you pass the Hotel Playa Victoria. It is a handy marker: roughly two-thirds of the distance is behind you and the dunes are next.
The dunes at Cortadura
Beyond the hotel the built-up edge thins out. The council calls Cortadura the only beach in the municipality in the natural category, with no special protection, and describes a sand strip that joins Cádiz to San Fernando at the point where the bay separates from the Atlantic. Turespaña adds that the dunes sit between the road and the beach, that the beach is reached by wooden walkways, and that it is isolated rather than urban.
Keep to the walkways. The council's beach rules ask visitors to respect the flora and fauna of the coast, and the dune vegetation is the reason to come this far. Turespaña rates Victoria's occupancy as high and Cortadura's as medium, so the last third of the walk is usually the quietest.
Distance, time and the way back
The 4.1 km figure is approximate: it adds up the straight lines between the stop coordinates in order, and the real promenade path is a little longer. At a steady 4 km/h that is about an hour of walking. The suggested stop times add 75 minutes, so plan on about 2 hours 15 minutes in total.
Cortadura station and several city bus stops are mapped within a few hundred metres of the final viewpoint, but this page could not confirm timetables or routes. Check Renfe and the city bus information before you rely on either, or allow roughly another hour to walk back or take a taxi.