9 Hours in Cartagena

We spent a few hours in Cartagena in January 2018, and enjoyed visiting the Roman theatre, which is amazingly well preserved and presented, having been buried for centuries under later civilisations. We also visited a Roman Villa, which is now undeground.

Maybe send Nick, living in Cartagena, a private message. He posts a lot on the forum and has good ideas. He recently posted on the thread about Toledo train stations, so you can find him from it.

The aforementioned Roman Theatre is certainly the jewel in Cartagena's tourist crown and where you would be best advised to go first.

For eating/people watching, you probably want to stay in the centre given your limited time. The entrance to the theatre is off Plaza Ayuntamiento which is attractive, but the cafes in it are very touristy and aimed at the cruise passengers. Worth a quick stop for a drink, perhaps, but for eating go a few steps to Plaza José María Artes. Or, better, walk up calle (street) Mayor which ends at Plaza San Sebastián, both of which have lots of good choices, especially if you take a side-street detour along the way or continue beyond the plaza. Remember that Murcia Region is famous for having the best food in Spain, so you have opportunities to blow you socks off here.

As to other sights, it depends on your interests - though nobody would claim the city is awash with "wow" sights like London or Rome (but at least it's better than Brussels). Ones to consider:

• Peral, the world's first useful military submarine.
• Underwater archaeology museum; I'd expected to be bored rigid, but it's actually fascinating, there is a Phoenician boat, treasure from various sunken ships and a hands-on display of how scientists explore undersea.
• the castle; it's no Alhambra, but there is a lift up to the top, it's interesting enough if you've never seen a castle before and the views are fantastic. Even better, the lift stops half-way for the Civil War Museum in a shelter carved into the cliff. Very good to visit. On the matter of the Civil War, from the castle you can see the remains of the cathedral which was destroyed by the Germans or Italians when they were supporting Franco.
• the Punic wall museum; frankly there isn't much left, certainly compared to the Roman, mediaeval and early modern walls you'll see. On the other hand there isn't much left anywhere in Europe by the Carthaginian civilisation and this may well be the only bit you'll ever see.

Thanks to all, your responses were just what I was hoping to receive.

Nick, what dish(es) is/are the region known for and what wine should we order with lunch? While we’re not big drinkers I always like to taste a region’s spirits; what should I ask for?

Thanks agsin to all.
Jon

I can't think of a drink specific to Murcia, although it has its own wines. Though not as famous internationally as Rioja for example, there are some regional wines with a "denomination de origen" such as Jumilla, which is mostly Monastrell grape red.

For food, some specialities may not appear in a lunch menu (unless you're here on a Sunday), as they'd be more served at dinner. Also Murcian style tapas is well-known (especially in Murcia city, but also available in Cartagena), although again you might have left before when that's generally eaten - but I'm sure it will be available in the centre. One dish you should see on lunch menus is a "caldero" - it comes in different versions (e.g. often with seafood) and different names such as arroz (rice) caldero or caldero murciano. It sort of a local version of paella, but tastier (using the region's calasparra rice, only grown here). You might get some other ideas from the below blog; the specific restaurant recommendations are in Murcia city, not Cartagena, but the food is the same or similar:

https://www.emilyluxton.co.uk/spain/murcia-food-guide

I hope you enjoy your holiday. To help you do so, I recommend you definitely try some of the local sweets and puddings (deserts) as you walk around.