Murcia, with about 480,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the Region of Murcia and Spain's seventh-largest city. It stands on the Segura river in the middle of the huerta, a vast irrigated plain producing fruit and vegetables for all of Europe. The climate is hot and dry, with mild winters and very hot summers.
History
It was founded in 825 by the Emir of Córdoba Abd al-Rahman II as Mursiya. The Arabs created the irrigation canals that give life to the huerta. After a period as a taifa kingdom, it passed to Castile in the 13th century under Alfonso X the Wise, who was so attached to it that he left his heart to the cathedral. In the 18th century the city prospered, leaving many Baroque buildings.
What to see
- The cathedral of Santa María, with its extraordinary 18th-century Baroque façade, a bell tower over 90 metres high and the Gothic Vélez chapel.
- The Real Casino, a 19th-century club with an Arab patio inspired by the Alhambra, a library and a ballroom.
- The Salzillo Museum, devoted to the sculptor Francisco Salzillo, creator of Holy Week processional images and a large nativity scene.
- Plaza Cardenal Belluga, with the cathedral and Rafael Moneo's modern town hall annex.
- The Museo de Santa Clara, in a monastery with remains of an Arab palace.
- The Puente de los Peligros over the Segura and the Malecón promenade.
- Plaza de las Flores, with its tapas bars.
Festivals
- Holy Week, of international tourist interest, with processions of nazarenos handing out sweets and Salzillo's sculptures.
- The Spring Festivals, the week after Easter, with the Bando de la Huerta, a huge party in traditional huertano costume, the Battle of Flowers and the Entierro de la Sardina, a night parade of mythological floats ending with the burning of a giant sardine.
Food
Murcia is famous for vegetables: zarangollo, courgettes and onions with egg, ensalada murciana, pastel de carne, the marinera, Russian salad on a ring-shaped breadstick topped with an anchovy, caldero from the Mar Menor, goat's cheese and wines from Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas.
Around and getting there
Cartagena, the Mar Menor, the sanctuary town of Caravaca de la Cruz, a holy city with its own jubilee year, and the Ricote valley. Región de Murcia airport is at Corvera, about 25 km away; Murcia has high-speed trains to Madrid.