Climate and Nature

TThe Region of Murcia’s climate, with more then 3,000 hours of sun each year, makes outdoor sports and activities a reality all year long. With average yearly temperatures of 18ºC (65ºF) and only occasional rain, Murcia is an ideal place to live. The average of minimum and maximum temperatures is 9ºC (48ºF) and 27ºC (80ºF), respectively. This makes Murcia the perfect place for outdoor activities throughout the entire year.

Nature

Murcia has more than 274 Km of coastline with both intimate beaches and coves and craggy cliffs. The area known as La Manga is unique in geographical terms in that a sleeve of land juts out into the sea creating the “Mar Menor”, the largest salt-water lagoon in Europe.

Sand dunes, beaches, salt-water lagoons, mud baths ... the Murcian coast offers a number of destinations of unquestionable beauty and great natural value. In fact, many of these sites have been declared Nature Reserves, home to many autochthonous varieties of flora and fauna such as the Cartagena Cypress or the Iberian toothcarp, a unique species of small fish.

Culture

The Autonomous Community of Murcia has an extensive and varied offering of cultural venues and activities including 39 museums and collections, 8 theaters, a large auditorium and conference center and 33 spaces designed for exhibits and competitions.

Throughout Murcia’s history there has been a blending of cultures, and this, together with its strategic location on the Mediterranean and its role as a bridge between the Meseta Central (Inner Plateau) and Andalusia, makes it an ideal point of convergence, one in which the Region’s history and traditions, all infused with new life and energy, are generously offered to all of its visitors.

Our historical and archaeological sites include cave drawings that date to the Iberian period, reminders of the splendor of ancient Rome and its refined urban design, Visigoth settlements, Arab medinas, Christian castles, lookout towers, churches and temples, civilian and military constructions ….
This wealth of historical, artistic, architectural and cultural patrimony can be admired in beautiful natural settings or in museums and spaces specifically created to highlight and protect our cultural heritage.

 

Gastronomy

Murcia is proud of the excellent quality of the produce grown in its orchards and truck gardens, the variety of its local meats and fish, and of the special cuisine prepared using age-old methods passed down through the centuries. The Romans taught us the art of preserving and salting; the Arabs introduced us to a wealth of foods including spices, condiments, aromatic plants and rice, and how to use them.

In the fertile valleys of Murcia we produce wheat, olives and grapes, which is to say bread, oil and wine, the three pillars of the Mediterranean diet.