Despite its obvious virtues and the promotional efforts of its authorities, it is enough to visit its most famous tourist landmarks, walk through its most central streets and enjoy its tapas and tastiest dishes to miss - or more - those groups of rosy tourists. Europeans that are so common in squares, markets and shops in Barcelona, Valencia or Alicante.
Because the daily life of the seventh most populated city in Spain still remains almost completely unrelated to the comings and goings of rolling suitcases that has become so common in other capitals that share its Mediterranean condition. Without a doubt, the 40 kilometers that separate its urban center from the sea and its hot summers contribute to this.
Communication routes that have not improved at the same rate as those in other provinces do not help either, although in recent weeks and months something has changed. The arrival of the High Speed railway brings it closer to Madrid, and also to Alicante. The opening of a new section of the A-33 highway reduces the car trip from Barcelona or Valencia by half an hour. Still distant and unique, and therefore so interesting, the truth is that Murcia is now closer.
Of course, if you arrive by train, it is worth keeping in mind that the Carmen station is about fifteen minutes walk from the city center. If we arrive by car, the reader should know that it is not easy to find parking in a center that is partially pedestrianized; There are park and ride car parks, which are usually full, so the option of breaking the bank in one of the downtown car parks is usually the most advisable.
When it comes to choosing accommodation, the offer of apartments is much lower than that of other cities, but it allows you to find central apartments that are highly rated by users for just over 80 euros on a weekend in February. Although for similar prices, even lower, one can stay, without leaving the historic center, in a good hotel. We suggest the Sercotel Amistad, next to the Corte Inglés and the ruins of the Arab suburb, the very traditional Barceló Siete Coronas, next to the spine of the city, the Segura River; or the historic Rincón de Pepe hotel, which is now managed by the Meliá chain, next to the Cathedral.
Which you have to visit, of course. Because the Cathedral of Santa María not only presides over the most representative square of Murcia - that of Cardinal Belluga - but its main façade, built between 1737 and 1751, is considered one of the most important of the Baroque. Its bell tower, 90 meters high - 95 with the weather vane - is the second tallest in Spain, after the Giralda in Seville, and offers a privileged view.
The interior of the Cathedral is mostly Gothic, and we must not overlook its museum and the extraordinary chapels, that of the Vélez, with an impressive ten-pointed starry dome, and that of Junterones, listed as one of the great works of the Spanish Renaissance.
Without wishing to be exhaustive, we will mention a couple of other cultural suggestions: the Ramón Gaya museum, dedicated to the splendid local painter, favorite son of the city, great friend of Gil-Albert, Bergamín and María Zambrano, who upon his return from exile had He studied in Barcelona and later in Valencia, the city where he died in 2005, at the age of 95. Gaya donated 500 paintings to this museum that we visited almost alone despite being located in the very central Plaza de Santa Catalina.
We should not leave the city without visiting the Salzillo museum to admire the work of the great sculptor, named Francisco, born in Murcia on May 12, 1707, whose expressive force is manifested both in the figures that represent the Passion of Christ and in the scenes from his famous Bethlehem.
If we were in La Manga, at lunchtime we would opt for a arroz caldero, but without leaving the capital municipality we opted for a rice with rabbit and snails capable of competing with the highly appreciated ones from the Alicante mountains; And when it comes down to it, better in the orchard than in the historic center, closer to the raw material. It is prudent, essential on the weekend, to make a reservation at places like Arroces el Pillo or La Granja.
You have to have tapas, of course, in the Plaza de las Flores and its surroundings: the baked octopus, the marinera, the marriages and the paparajote are highly recommended, a euphonious sweet whose secret we will not reveal, since it is a local sport to observe the beginner and his most What a probable confusion. For those who find tapas insufficient, you can always choose to take a seat in front of a tasty baked goat shoulder, which you would accompany with grilled vegetables.
To finish off the feast, Murcia is a very walkable city, except on the many torrid summer days. Gran Vía Alfonso This leads us to the Cathedral and Murcia, which preserves its medieval layout. On Trapería Street is the Murcia Casino, a national historical-artistic monument since 1983, and an asset of cultural interest, with the category of monument.
Despite being a private club, the ground floor of this building is open to tourist visits - upon payment - and to the celebration of cultural activities, making it the most visited civil building in the Region of Murcia. They also rent rooms, but to rub shoulders with Aboriginal high society it's a good idea to know someone.
Another pleasant walk is offered by the Paseo del Malecón, the dam that protected the city of Murcia against the floods caused by the mouth of the Guadalentín river in the Segura. Built in the 15th century and rebuilt in the 18th, it lost much of its functionality with the construction of the Reguerón Canal, which diverted the mouth to a place downstream from the city; It is currently a walk where runners and walkers, dogs and podcast consumers exercise...
Of course, Murcia, being a bustling city, can boast of large natural spaces within the same municipality, such as the El Valle Natural Park. It offers an ideal route to do with the family, on foot, by bicycle or by car, while enjoying nature and a complete panoramic view of the city.
Murcia is surrounded to the south by a small mountain range called Carrascoy, within the municipal area, in the vicinity of the city. It is a place where Murcians walk (we are not inventing anything, ask the RAE), you can have a picnic like Sebastian Flyte and Charles Ryder in Brideshead, or simply enjoy nature.
There are several places of interest, such as archaeological remains, or the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Fuensanta - the place chosen by the Murcian elites to get married, in addition to the Cathedral - and where the patron saint of the city resides, who in September is paraded in a very popular pilgrimage.
We said before that the capricious Segura River constitutes the backbone of the city. There are those who offer walks on its shallow waters within the urban area, but before entering the flat lands that surround it, it circulates through the Almadenes canyon, where the current is not very intense - as the river is regulated by the reservoirs - but Yes, enough to practice civilized family rafting and cross a canyon with spectacular views, varied fauna and cave paintings in the Monigotes cave.
