The area

The latest place to head on the Costa Calida

So what makes Murcia so different? Well really, with Murcia you get the best of everything... The Costa Blanca's sunshire which we all want from Spain plus a buzzing city with beautiful architecture and mountainous backdrops. with bars and restaurants galore on the Murcian coast, you can sit back and enjoy a San Miguel and watch the Spanish sun set... And rise also if you like!

Once you have visited this wonderful place it will be clear to see why so many people are choosing Murcia and the surrounding areas such as Almeria as venues to buy their second homes.

Murcia is the ideal alternative to Alicante and is the ideal airport to fly to if you fancy visiting La Manga, the world renowned resort, which lies only 20 minutes away from the airport. This is where sport stars and sun seekers come together in one complex, which is so big it is to be compared in size with Monaco! La Manga has three world class golf courses, a tennis centre, not to name the shops and other recreational facilities... All of this in the surrounds of palms trees... A little piece of heaven!

Other places to visit range from the relaxing Costa Calida (the warm coast) with beautiful sandy beaches to Mar Menor. The world's largest salt-water lagoon and said to be 5º warmer than the sea. There are many fantastic watersports to try out here, including sailing and windsurfing. If watersports don't float your boat, then why not try out the cycling... Or head for the bar!

Restaurants cater for all tastes, and if it's typical Spanish food you are looking for, then stews, salads, roasted meat, rice and of course great sea food galore can be found in restaurants lining the coast. Wash this down with a carafe or three of the reputedly high quality Murcian wine and you are all set for the perfect holiday!

Weather

The average annual temperature is 17ºC, and the average for the months of June, July, August and September is above 21ºC. Winter is very mild, with the average temperature of the cold months not falling below 10ºC.

The temperature of the water is closely related to the atmospheric temperature, as corresponds to a relatively small mass of water for the scale on which the atmospheric process operates. This situation makes the thermal inertia of the lagoon less than that of the Mediterranean.

Cultural Heritage

As a result of its intense historical tradition, the reiterative superposition of cultures, its strategic location as a Mediterranean enclave and its transitional character as a border territory mid-way between the Meseta and Andalusia, the Murcia Region retains innumerable vestiges of the past, making it an ideal meeting-point where History and tradition have been instilled with new life and placed at the visitor's disposal. The abundant remains and archaeological sites include rock-paintings in cave-shelters dating back to the Iberian period, the splendour of Roman antiquity with its urbanistic refinement and penchant for the theatrical, Visigothic cities, Arab medinas, Christian castles, watch-towers, churches and temples, civil and military constructions...

This ample historical, artistic, architectural and cultural heritage can be contemplated and admired in a diversity of natural settings, in the actual locations where the monuments themselves were erected, or within the thematic spaces provided by the Region's complete network of museums. The Region of Murcia is thus likened to a rich printed fabric upon which History has been depicted for our contemplation.

Nature

The variety and diversity of the Region of Murcia is not only reflected in its multiple cultural traditions. It is particularly noticeable in the wealth of natural habitats, in the number of fascinating spots that we can find both on the coast and inland. It has often been said that while one Murcia Region 'looks towards the sea' a second one 'faces inland'. All in all, it can in general be asserted that the Region of Murcia offers a wide range of activities which bring you into contact with nature.

The coast is not only a paradise for lovers of water sports and the traditional sun-and-sea seeking holidaymakers; here the visitor can also find places of special ecological interest like the San Pedro del Pinatar salt lagoons - which border on the province of Alicante - or the Calblanque nature reserve, nestling on the Mediterranean coastline close to La Manga and the seaside town of Cabo de Palos.

The interior also offers a mosaic of nature conservation areas and picturesque landscapes: from the Natural Park of Sierra Espuña to the El Valle Nature Reserve; from natural sanctuaries of ecological interest like Sierra de la Pila (Fortuna, Abarán, Blanca and Molina) or the Sierra del Carche (Jumilla), to the Revolcadores massif (Moratalla); or beauty spots like the Fuentes del Marqués springs (Caravaca) or the Salto de la Novia (Ojós). Travelling inland, visitors will also discover places of singular beauty such as lakes, reservoirs and water-courses, where they will be able to practise a variety of outdoor activities and sports in resorts fully-equipped with all the necessary services, or allow themselves to be carried away by the lure of routes leading to key natural or cultural locations throughout the region, like the Vía Verde (Green Way), a 48 km-long pathway built on a disused railway, connecting the towns of Baños de Mula and Caravaca de la Cruz. The Natural Heritage of the Region of Murcia awaits you.

Festivities

The Region of Murcia is outgoing by nature, with strong Mediterranean roots. The people have always prided themselves on their use of social gatherings as the ideal way of giving thanks for the marvellous climate and the generous fertility of the land, which gives shelter and hospitality to both inhabitants and strangers. Throughout the year it is possible to attend a plethora of events in the Region in which passion alternates with colour, joy with restraint, vitality with History and fervour with popular exaltation.

From January to December festivals move between pageantry and participation: from Carnival to Easter Week, from the Spring Festival -culminating in the spectacular Burial of the Sardine- to the Romans and Carthaginians pageants, from the Moors and Christians and the smell of gunpowder and blunderbusses to the Wine Horses, from the festival of the Grape Harvest to the Immaculate Conception and Christmas Eve, from the masterly Epiphany mystery play to the May Crosses, from the marine processions in honour of Our Lady of Carmen to the Romerías (local pilgrimages) inland, from the ever colourful Huerta (Farming) Festival to the profound, heart-rending flamenco-style Mine Song Festival. The festivities of the Region of Murcia are full of spectacularity and profoundly felt sentiment.

Gastronomy

The excellent produce of the huerta, a varied offer of meats and the prized treasures of the sea... a cuisine assimilating the products bequeathed by the peoples who settled here for centuries. The Romans showed us the art of making preserves and salted fish; the Arabs, among a thousand other products, introduced rice and how to grow and cook it, together with spices, condiments and aromatic plants.

Outside the fertile valleys were grown wheat, olives and vines, which is tantamount to saying bread, oil and wine: the three mainstays of the Mediterranean Diet.

To say, for example, caldero is to conjure up an image of rice, fish (grey mullet, monkfish, grouper), cooked in an iron pot, with ball peppers and garlic mayonnaise. Not to forget the fish a la sal, oven-baked in salt. Or grey mullet roe, mojama (salted tuna) and Mar Menor prawns. We cannot fail to mention pastel de Cierva, a pie filled with egg and meat. If you like fish and happen to be in Águilas, ask for moraga de sardinas (grilled pilchards), or the rice they make here a la piedra. If the produce from Murcia's Huerta is your preference, then rice and beans, olla gitana (a vegetable hotpot), cocido of turkey with meatballs, michirones (a broad bean stew), and braised chicken or rabbit. Hearty stews, where imagination has salvaged the modesty of the raw materials. Rice and vegetables, Cocido with meatballs. The Huerta once again impresses us with salads and the thousandfold combinations afforded by its vegetables. Pork has always been a staple for the people of the huerta and it is used in every way possible. Braised or grilled, not to mention a whole appetizing range of sausages (morcón, spicy longanizas, morcilla black puddings, etc.).

Another great option is inland Murcia. For those overcast and rainy days, try some migas ruleras, made from flour with oil, water, salt and a lot of patience. Or gazpacho jumillano, gazpacho de Yecla, pickled partridge, or rabbit and rice. When in season, rice with snails, in Calasparra. In the Ricote valley: tender oven-roast lamb. The cheeseboard includes excellent goat cheeses, cottage and cured cheeses, cheese with wine, with pepper... Fruit preserves, which constitute a thriving industry... Excellent marmalades and jams. And honeys, with a hint of the delicate aromas of the fields. And spices and condiments which, like the sweets and pastries (tocinos de cielo, marzipans, Caravaca sugared egg yolks, macaroons, etc.), deserve a separate mention. Lastly, the fruit, which can be summed up in the words of the famous operetta by Serrano: Murcia, tu huerta no tiene igual (there is no match for your huerta). The Murcia Region has also cultivated grapevines and produced wines ever since Roman times. As well as those from the Campo de Cartagena, there are the wines from Ricote and, of course, the three Denominaciones de Origen: Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas. Whites, reds and rosés with rich bouquets. For all tastes, and for all palates.

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