subject: Alicante Villas For A Day Trip To Murcia And Cartagena [print this page] Not too far from your ALICANTE VILLAS is the city of Murcia. It also happens to be the name of the smallest autonomous region in Spain and its language is slightly different. The capital of the region of Murcia is Murcia, with a population of just over 400,000 people although during the summer months the numbers increase immensely. The city is ranked as 12th largest in Spain. Like most of the Costa Calida, it has extreme hot temperatures during the summer and relatively mild winters with the occasional frost. Murcia does have sunshine almost every day.
Being a single province unlike most regions in Spain means that Murcia has its own local government and it covers the whole region including Cartagena, which is the most important city with a port along the Costa Calida. The military port at Cartagena is an important naval seaport: one of the most important in Spain. Most of the Spanish navy personal are posted there for training purposes before heading to other important ports around the country. Along with the important military buildings, there is an excellent museum for those interested in maritime history. The port has been a strategic part of Spain's past on the Mediterranean and there are many ruins of castles and forts which have, at one time or other, been built on the surrounding hills to defend the port area.
Like most cities in Spain, its old buildings have been kept and restored in many ways keeping Spain's history alive. Cartagena is no different, with many wonderful historical buildings to see and most are close to the city centre. Typically the city has plenty of bars and restaurants for cooling down and chilling out in the evenings. The atmosphere is pleasantly relaxed throughout the city with many plazas and local parks to walk through.
It is only in the last couple of years that Murcia has had any real growth. Just recently, Paramount have started to build a new theme park. With the expectation of extra work and larger number of tourists visiting, the town is expected to grow rapidly leading to the new airport in Murcia.
When in Murcia you may be more interested in the regions out of town. Head inland and the terrain changes. The white sandy beaches are left behind and instead low lying land and high cliffs, there is stunning scenery with natural open spaces preserving the natural beauty of the region. The area is generally protected although there are plenty of places where you can walk or try a little horse riding, even do adventure sports and go bike riding. Murcia is not so far from your ALICANTE VILLAS: just 40 minutes away from them.
