Doña Blanca Archaeological Site (El Puerto de Santa María)

The Doña Blanca archaeological site (Enclave Arqueológico Castillo de Doña Blanca) is the excavated hill of a Phoenician city, lived in from the 8th to the 3rd century BC, outside El Puerto de Santa María in the province of Cádiz. It lies on the Carretera de El Portal at km 3.2, about 7 km from both El Puerto and Jerez, with parking at the site and a circular visitor path of about 1.6 km past walls and houses. It suits anyone interested in the Phoenicians and early Cádiz; skip it if you expect a museum with big reconstructions, or if you have only a beach day to spare.

Quick facts

• Names: Enclave Arqueológico Doña Blanca, Castillo de Doña Blanca or Yacimiento de Doña Blanca in Spanish. The medieval tower is also called the Torre de Sidueña, after the area, the Pago de Sidueña.
• Where: Carretera de El Portal, km 3.2, 11500 El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz (Andalusia tourism).
• Coordinates: 36.6271, -6.1612 (the tower).
• Period: Phoenician city from the first half of the 8th century BC to the end of the 3rd century BC, with earlier Copper Age huts and a later Almohad farmstead.
• Protected area: about 200 hectares, a Bien de Interés Cultural; declared a national monument in 1981 and delimited as an archaeological zone in 2001 (Wikipedia, Spanish).
• Excavated: 1979 to 1995.
• Visitor route: circular, about 1,600 m.
• Services: parking and a guide-interpreter (Andalusia tourism).
• Contact: d.blanca.aaiicc@juntadeandalucia.es.

Access and parking

By car: the site lies on the Carretera de El Portal, at km 3.2. A short access road, the Carretera de Acceso a Doña Blanca, leads up to the hill (OpenStreetMap). In a straight line the site is about 7 km from the centres of both El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera.

Parking: Andalusia tourism lists parking, and OpenStreetMap shows a car park beside the tower.

Without a car: we found no official information on public transport to the site. Plan on a car or a taxi from El Puerto or Jerez.

What to expect

Doña Blanca stands on a flat-topped, almost rectangular hill that the sea reached when people first lived here; today it is inland. The regional tourist board tells the story in layers. The oldest remains are scattered hut floors from the late Copper Age. After a long gap, the first city wall went up in the first half of the 8th century BC. The city was then lived in without a break until the Second Punic War at the end of the 3rd century BC, and in those five centuries it was rebuilt several times and given two more walls. After that it stood empty until the Islamic period, when an Almohad farmstead was built on the hill.

The site is a tell, a mound built up by successive towns. Excavations found walls, houses, a necropolis and a Punic river port, and a wine cellar, preserved complete, that is described as one of the oldest in the world (Wikipedia, Spanish). For historians it is key to understanding how the Phoenicians settled the Bay of Cádiz and dealt with the local people, and the regional tourist board describes it as very well preserved.

The name comes from the tower, not from the Phoenicians. Local tradition says that Blanca de Borbón, queen of Castile and wife of King Pedro I, was held prisoner here in the 14th century. The tower itself was built as a watchtower over the Bay of Cádiz and later used as a hermitage dedicated to Santa María de Sidueña (Wikipedia, Spanish).

Only the Enclave, the excavated core, is open to visitors. The wider protected zone of about 2 million m² also takes in other sites, such as the Dehesa settlement, the Hipogeo del Sol y la Luna, the Las Cumbres necropolis and old quarries.

Practical details

• Opening hours: OpenStreetMap lists Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00–14:00 (checked November 2026). The Junta de Andalucía website could not be opened from our research setup, so confirm hours, and whether you need to book a guided visit, by email before you go.
• Price: we could not confirm whether entry is free or paid.
• Time needed: the circular path is about 1.6 km; allow an hour or so on foot, longer with a guide.
• Bring: water, a hat and good shoes; the path is outdoors on an exposed hill.

Accessibility and safety

Best time to visit

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable months for an outdoor site in the Cádiz countryside. In July and August, go at opening time. Combine the visit with El Puerto de Santa María or Jerez, both about 7 km away.

Nearby alternatives

• Jerez de la Frontera, 7 km away: the sherry town, with bodegas and a Moorish alcázar.
• El Puerto de Santa María, 7 km away: the town on the Guadalete estuary that the site belongs to.
• Puerto Sherry, 10 km away: the marina of El Puerto de Santa María.
• Cádiz, 16 km away: the city that grew from Phoenician Gadir, across the bay.
• Cádiz Cathedral, 16 km away: the cathedral on the seafront of the old town.

Distances are in a straight line from the tower.

FAQ

Where is the Doña Blanca archaeological site?

On the Carretera de El Portal at km 3.2, in the municipality of El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), about 7 km from El Puerto and from Jerez. Coordinates: 36.6271, -6.1612.

Is there parking at Doña Blanca?

Yes. Andalusia tourism lists parking, and there is a car park beside the tower.

How much of the site can you see?

Only the Enclave, the excavated core, is open. A circular path of about 1,600 m leads past walls and houses of the Phoenician city.

Why is it called Doña Blanca?

After the medieval tower on the hill. Tradition says Queen Blanca de Borbón, wife of Pedro I of Castile, was imprisoned there in the 14th century.

When is Doña Blanca open?

OpenStreetMap lists Wednesday to Sunday mornings, 10:00–14:00, but we could not confirm this on an official page. Email the site before you travel.

Sources and freshness