Murcia is a city in southeastern Spain in the region of the same name. The city was founded in 825 by the Emir of Córdoba. It was named Mursiyah, which has become the Spanish Murcia. The Moors developed the area’s agriculture through irrigation from the River Segura, and it brought prosperity to Murcia. Over the centuries, there were several governments and state formations in Muslim Murcia, before the Christian conquest made the city Spanish in 1243. After that, settlers came to Murcia from large parts of the Iberian Peninsula. With the declining importance of the Mediterranean for world trade, Murcia stagnated, but boomed again with the silk industry in the 18th century, and the city became the regional capital in 1833.

The old town of Murcia is located north of the river Segura, and here it’s just a matter of exploring the neighborhood’s cozy streets. You can start at the Plaza del Cardenal Belluga, which is one of the most important squares in the city. Here you can see Murcia’s great cathedral, which was built 1388-1467. However, it was constructed for several centuries, and therefore there is stylistic variation in the architecture. The cathedral is mainly Gothic, and in the interior, you can see several fine chapels, and under the main altar is the heart of King Alfonso X buried. The cathedral’s tower is 95 meters high and the tallest of its kind in Spain, and next to the church you can visit the cathedral’s museum. On the Plaza del Cardenal Belluga is the Palacio Episcopal as well, which is the beautiful episcopal seat of the diocese from 1748-1768.

You can also take a walk along the Segura, where the elegant Glorieta de España square is located. The square is where Murcia’s neoclassical town hall from 1848 stands, and from the square you can cross the Segura on the 18th-century bridge Puente de los Peligros. You can continue by the river to other interesting bridges such as the semi-circular Pasarela del Malecón designed by Javier Manterola in 1997. The Puente Nuevo bridge was completed in 1903 in a contemporary industrial design in a beautiful iron construction, and from more recent times you can see designs by Santiago Calatrava. From the river you can enjoy a walk in several parks such as the Jardines del Malecón, where you can visit the Mercado de Verónicas market.

In Murcia there are many other interesting buildings. One of the most famous is the Casino de Murcia, located in Trapería street. Casino was built from 1847 with a stunningly beautiful and varied interior. The house has a neo-baroque lobby, a Moorish-inspired domed hall and the neo-baroque ballroom, which was the center of the city’s social life for a number of years. You can also walk past the Teatro de Romea from 1880, the convent Convento La Merced and the house Casa Díaz Cassou, a beautiful example of Murcia’s modernism. A special attraction is the Jesus statue Cristo de Monteagudo, which since 1951 has stood on a cliff a few kilometers north-east of the center of Murcia. The statue is built on top of the remains of a Moorish fortress from the 11th century, and from here there is an unforgettable view of Murcia and the entire region.