Murcia Travel,Places of Interest

Murcia (City). The capital of the region is a thoroughly provincial affair, though enjoyable and lively enough. Its main sights are its cathedral and its Arab remains, particularly the Castle of Monteagudo, 5 km north of the city. It is especially animated the week after Easter, when its spring festivals begin with the street parades of the Bando de la Huerta.

Caravaca de la Cruz. The cross in question is a strange, esoteric-looking object with four arms rather than two. Caravaca, in the north-west of Murcia, is considered the fifth-holiest place in Christendom (after Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liébana in Cantabria). An Annus Sanctus, Jubilee year, is held there every seven years (the next is in 2010), and the faithful believe that a pilgrimage to Caravaca then is especially meritorious.

Carthage. Carthage sits uneasily with Murcia, which it considers an upstart. It suffered considerable damage in a rather silly uprising in 1873, so much of its public architecture dates from the following years. Together with Alicante, it was the last city in Spain to fall to the troops of Franco. It is very much a working seaport, and collectors of fortifications will find that it is difficult to move in Carthage and the surrounding area without tripping over something of interest. It is also the location for the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Marítima, National Marine Archaeology Museum.

Lorca. A lovely inland city with a fabulous castle, Lorca's largely Renaissance architectural heritage includes "a collegiate church and a castle declared to be National Monuments, nine parish churches, various convents, over 200 emblazoned houses, 100 palaces and hundreds of beautiful spots."

Costa Cálida. One of Spain's less exploited costas, with the exception of the Mar Menor (see below). See Spain and Portugal's Costa Cálida pages for more information.

Mar Menor. The Lesser Sea is a huge, practically land-locked salt-water lagoon which used to have important populations of seahorses - unfortunately, they have largely been pushed out, and in certain places under certain weather conditions, the jellyfish which have replaced them can prevent bathing altogether. The sandspit which separates the Mar Menor from the Mediterannean, La Manga, has been overdeveloped with high-rise hotels and apartment blocks, but the towns and villages around the Mar Menor are unspectacularly attractive and very likeable. See Spain and Portugal's Costa Cálida pages for more information.