Cartagena in 1 day: what to see in the ancient Roman city of Murcia

A while ago, in a conversation with my friend Guillermo I commented that between journalists and bloggers of travel there was a consensus (probably due to ignorance) about the few tourist attractions of the Murcia region.

That is not the case of the Murcian friend Paco Nadal, nor the aforementioned Guillermo, who told me: “The next time you come to visit me in Alicante, we will go to Cartagena, and you will see how wrong you are".

Said and done, this happened a couple of summers ago, when I took advantage of a short getaway to Alicante to visit Cartagena. And now with the experience of our visit, I can confirm that Guillermo I was right…

In this case, as I've been doing lately, I preferred to travel without first researching so I could let the place surprise me.

And I attest that this has happened in Cartagena.

Curiosities of the history of Cartagena, a thousand-year-old city

Although of course I had an idea, the truth is that I did not know to what extent Cartagena has been such an important enclave in the History of Spain.

In fact, you will see it summarized in a large ceramic plate that you find in the section of maritime wall located in front of the imposing Town Hall of Cartagena, former headquarters of town hall.

Even better, the historical evolution of the city founded in 227 BC, by the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal, later conquered by the Romans, who began to call it Carthage Nova, you can see it in the very interesting visit of the Roman Theater Museum.

What are the Roman archaeological remains of Cartagena like?

On this visit you will understand how this large venue that once had capacity for 6.000 spectators, little by little disappeared, covered by houses during the Byzantine, Muslim and medieval periods.

But now the great heritage of Roman archaeological remains has become one of the greats tourist attractions of Cartagena, which to know them you can sign up for various activities and guided tours.

Cartagena, it is also a city whose history has been marked by its great mineral wealth, with lead and silver mines, and also because it is one of the most important natural ports in the Mediterranean.

Its great industrial activity Currently it focuses on the nearby Escombreras Valley, with impressive facilities petrochemicals y refineries that were born from the 50s of the last century.

Cartagena has always been protected by walls, but also for numerous artillery batteries that are distributed over the hills that surround the entrance bay to the city's port.

Tips for visiting Cartagena for tourism

I can't tell you what it was like CartagenaFor example, fifteen years ago, but now you discover a luminous city, with gardens and walls that look out to the sea.

For its part, the historic center extends at the foot of the castle hill and is almost entirely pedestrian.

In the aforementioned historic center of Cartagena you can see some monuments, like the one mentioned Town Hall.

But also various buildings of modern architectureand Casino or Great Hotel, which makes for a very pleasant city to walk around.

Furthermore, Cartagena It is now a city well prepared to facilitate your tourist visit.

This is undoubtedly thanks to the development of the city brand project Cartagena, Port of Cultures which in a coordinated way offers visitors an interesting proposal of cultural visits.

Therefore, my advice is that before starting your walk through the city, go to one of the offices or tourist spots, like the one in the Town Hall and also to plan your Cartagena tourism visit.

There you have extensive information about the tourist places to visit in CartagenaWith its Visiting schedule, and the ticket prices.

Taking into account the visits you will ultimately make, it may be worth purchasing the allowance Cartagena Port of Cultures.

This tourist card allows you visit four to nine monuments at an advantageous price.

You can also add to the fertilizer Transportation Supplement If, for example, you want to make a boat cruise through the bay of Cartagena or take a tour with him tourist bus.

This is the experience of visiting Cartagena in 1 day, what to see and do

To plan your visit, and guide you on what to see and do in Cartagena in one day, it will surely be useful for you to know the experience of our visit during a day of sightseeing in the city.

We started this day with advice at the tourist spot located in front of the sea ​​wall, in the park next to the port.

Roman theater of Cartagena

My advice is that the first thing you should do is visit the Roman Theater museum, where, as I have mentioned, you will understand what the historical evolution of the city has been.

There's others archaeological remains from the Roman era that you can also visit in Cartagena, such as the House of Fortune, the remains of a Roman house from the 1st century BC where you will see mosaics and paintings.

Roman Forum neighborhood of Cartagena

But in this regard, the best thing after knowing the Roman Theatre es visit the Roman Forum Quarter.

Located at the foot of one of the city's small hills, the Pinwheel, In recent years, the archaeological remains of a block of the ancient Roman city have been brought to light, which can be visited since 2012.

Currently you can walk through about a thousand square meters on which an imposing iron ship structure has been placed, with metal columns strategically placed to allow a view of the whole.

In these excavations you find the remains of the so-called Atrium House, of which its paintings stand out, a good part of which are in the process of restoration.

And you will also see some rooms of some Roman termsWith its peristyle, a 600 square meter patio that precedes the thermal circuit.

Also noteworthy is the old Roman road from the 1st century that you will see under a nearby building, and thanks to a large window you will be able to see the great difference between its layout and that of the current streets that have covered it.

A tip to keep in mind is that you take advantage of the possibility of visiting the aforementioned places (the Roman theater, the forum...) within the guided tours already included in the price, which are carried out on the hour.

Boat trip through Cartagena Bay

Another different facet of you visit of Cartagena must be doing the bay cruise.

With a duration of about 45 minutes, you will navigate the Cartagena bay and you will discover the importance it has had throughout history.

At the same time you will see the numerous defensive batteries that are distributed throughout the mountains that surround them, among which is the longest range cannon among those installed on the Spanish coast, with 35 kilometers.

If you wish, you can make a stop and visit one of the coastal fortifications, the Christmas Fort

ARQUA Museum of Underwater Archaeology

Also next to the port you can visit ARQUA, Museum of Underwater Archeology, Dependent of National Heritage, where above all you will see the work carried out in the Mazarrón coast to recover ancient Phoenician ships.

Finally, a visit of Cartagena It will not be complete if not you climb castle hill to see the panoramic views of the city and the bay.

You can do it on foot, but it is advisable ride the Panoramic Elevator, 45 meters high, which from the Gisbert Street, to the east of the hill, allows you to reach the height of the castle.

Museum-shelter of the Civil War in Cartagena

Before you can visit the museum-shelter of the Civil War.

There you can tour a shelter that housed up to 5.000 people, one of the many that were created to protect themselves from the frequent bombings that Cartagena suffered during the aforementioned Civil War.

In this regard I remind you that Cartagena It was the last city in Spain to surrender to the troops Francoists.

And once up, you can visit the Castle of La Concepción, a small defensive tower, but the essential thing is to go to the viewpoint of Cartagena and its bay that opens in this place, with the Roman Theatre spotlight.

Cartagena Viewpoint

This is really worth it, and it is a good place to wait for the sunset and complete your tourist day that will surely make you change the prejudice you may have (as was my case) about the tourist attractions of the city.

Also note that if you decide visit Cartagena during the month of July, you can attend some of the performances of the The Sea of ​​Music festival which is celebrated every year in said Murcian city.

Map: where Cartagena is and how to get there

The historical Cartagena is in the Murcia, about half an hour south from the city of Murcia, and an hour and a half from Alicante.