The Murcia Region

The province of Murcia is situated South of Alicante and North of Almeria and is made up of spectacular mountain ranges, fertile plains and a dramatic coastline.

The area is served by two international airports Alicante and San Javier/Murcia and has excellent motorway links to the rest of Spain and Europe. A third airport is planned for Corvera, close to Murcia city which is due to open in 2011.

Murcia province and the Costa Calida are still two of Spain's best kept secrets. The Spanish themselves have been buying holiday homes in Murcia, Isla Plana, La Azohia and Puerto de Mazarron for generations. Property investment in Murcia is also proving to offer a good return for British buyers.

The beautiful provincial capital city is Murcia. Here you will discover a city that has retained it's Moorish heritage, yet offers today's visitor a fantastic array of fashionable boutiques, upmarket department stores and the finest local cuisine. The baroque Cathedral and University are well worth a visit.

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.

Cartagena. Cartagena 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 Cartagena 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."

Calida Sol Villas, specialists in Spanish property Costa Calida