What to see in Almeria capital

What to see in the city of Almeria is what we are going to see in this article.

Almería welcomed us to spend three days there, and what we are going to talk about is what we discovered and the suggestions for visits that we make if you are planning a trip to Almería.

In previous posts we saw our start of the tour, Mojácar in the first and Cabo de Gata in the second, now we came to the capital……… travel companions let’s start?, what to see in Almeria !!

Throughout the tour of what to see and do in this city we will pass by many places that have served as settings for very famous films and series.

Free city tour

We chose to do this free walking tour in the evening, and it was a wonderful idea. Our first contact with the city was with Marcos, a phenomenal tour guide from the city of Almería, who introduced us to the history of this city that was founded in 955 by the Arabs, becoming one of the great capitals of Al-Andalus and its main port.

Almería became a great city which, after Córdoba, was the most influential and prosperous city in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the richest in the entire Islamic world.

►Book your free tour of the city of Almeria

Alcazaba of Almeria

After the tour we choose our first visit to see in Almeria and we go to the Alcazaba.

The Alcazaba is one of the largest Muslim buildings in Spain, which was built by Abd al-Rahman III in the 10th century, after the foundation of the city.

We did this tour in the morning to be able to enjoy it with fewer people.

Visiting information: closed on Mondays, the rest of the week from 9 am, but closing times vary depending on the season and on Sundays it closes earlier. Admission is free for EU citizens, €1.50 for other visitors. There are possibilities to book a guided tour, which I think may be interesting for the information provided.

For more information we leave you here the site of the Monumental Complex of the Alcazaba of Almeria

Here we find one of the first film locations we are going to see during this video. It is actually from a series… Game of Thrones.

It appears in the sixth season in two of the chapters as the Water Gardens in the Kingdom of Dorne.

The citadel is currently divided into three enclosures; the first two are of Islamic origin and the third is a castle built by the Catholic Monarchs after the Christian conquest of Almería in 1489.

Before Game of Thrones, countless films have been shot in the Alcazaba and its surroundings, including Cleopatra, Patton, Conan the Barbarian and Indiana Jones, among others.

Although we would spend hours walking with the sound of water in the background through this wonderful construction, we left it and headed to our next point of interest in Almería.

The Almedina

The Almedina is the oldest neighborhood in the city, and another important point to see in Almeria, it is next to the Alcazaba and although we have already toured it with the free tour, it is always nice to take a walk through its streets again.

This is how we find another movie setting, this time Indiana Jones.

During the filming of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Almanzor Street, below the Alcazaba, served as a setting to represent the Turkish city of Alexandretta and Indiana’s escape while being pursued.

Leaving this point we go to the next thing to see in Almeria, its cathedral.

Cathedral of the Incarnation

All the tours that we are going to show you within the city are done on foot, it is very easy to make the transfers, the distances are not long so just walk.

The Cathedral of the Incarnation appears imposing before our eyes, it is beautiful. Its construction dates from 1522 to 1562.

It is worth visiting the interior, but also stop to observe all the exterior details.

The schedule for the visit is from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The price of general admission is €5.

The Plaza de la Catedral was also the setting for a film. Scenes from the 1970 film Patton were filmed.

Let’s go to the next must-see in the city, the Plaza de la Constitución or Plaza Vieja.

Plaza de la Constitución (Plaza Vieja)

Here we find the City Hall, the Monument to the Martyrs of Liberty, and the Heritage Interpretation Centre of Almería. We will head to the latter and now you will see the pleasant surprise you will find there.

An interesting museum consisting of a permanent collection and temporary collections spread over three floors.

Tip: Go up to the rooftop. You’ll have phenomenal views of the city of Almería, judge for yourself with these images.

Admission is free and opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

I recommend them, you will get one of the best views to see in Almeria.

The next visit we will make will be to the Shelters of the Spanish Civil War.

Shelters from the Spanish Civil War

The underground shelters of Almería are a structure built as a result of the air and sea bombardments suffered by the population during the Spanish Civil War. This led to the decision to build underground shelters, more than 4 kilometres long in total, with an operating theatre and capacity to house around 40,000 inhabitants of the city at the time.

It is a visit that I recommend you do if you are interested in history. We enjoyed doing it, it moved us at every moment. The visit begins with an audiovisual with stories from people who lived in that era, in this way they introduce us to what we are going to see in a few minutes.

The visit is guided through a section of these underground shelters in the city of Almeria.

The recommendation is to buy your ticket in advance. We had done it online before starting the trip and it was lucky because there were no more tickets left at that time. Keep in mind that there are now limited seats, so it doesn’t cost anything to book in advance. As always, I’ll leave you with the links to the site.

The entrance fee is €3. Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am and closing times vary depending on the season. For more information and reservations, please visit their website.

After this essential point of what to see in Almeria, we go to the Central Market

Central Market

A tour of the markets of the cities is something I always like to do, if you have been watching the videos before these of Almeria, when we were in Barcelona, you will have seen that we toured a few. So in Almeria a visit to its market could not be missed.

This building from the late 19th century, a magnificent example of the so-called ‘Iron Architecture’, is a nice stop if you want to mingle with the locals. In one place you will find a very beautiful architectural space and many stalls with samples of Almeria products.

A tempting ride, isn’t it?

The Central Market of Almeria was the first food market, and the largest for a long time in the city of Almeria. It is located near the Purchena Gate, where we are going now.

Purchena Gate

The Purchena Gate is this large square, which until the mid-19th century was home to one of the entrance gates to the walled city. In Arab times, this entrance to the city was known as the Puerta de Pechina, but due to an error by the Christians, since the reconquest it has been known as the Purchena Gate.

It was from 1855, with the demolition of the walls that the square began to become the heart of the modern city.

Here we find the Casa de las Mariposas, it is an emblematic building declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.

We continue a few steps away and we are going to visit the Algibes of Jairán

Cisterns of Jairán

The Arab cisterns of Jairán are a work of Andalusian hydraulic engineering, built in the 11th century under the command of Jairán, king of the Taifa of Almería.
They were part of the water network created to supply the population and troops. The water network of Almería did not supply water to private homes, so public fountains and pillars were used.

A total of three interconnected brick naves have been preserved, with an octagonal barrel vault, all supported by Roman columns and Caliphal arches.

Today, the so-called Arab cisterns of Jairán are an exhibition and conference space.

It is a route that will take you very little time, it is as we said very close to the Puerta de Purchena, so if you have a little time to spare, go and see.

Admission is free. On Mondays it is closed, the rest of the days the schedules vary, so I leave you the same ones on the blog.

Paseo de Almería

We now continue along the Paseo de Almería, which is a promenade of the city , which runs between the Puerta de Purchena and the Plaza Emilio Pérez where it joins the Rambla de Belén. It is the main commercial concentration, now we will head to the Walk of Fame.

Walk of Fame

We said during the video that Almería was the setting for many films, so it welcomed many artists, both directors and actors, and on this Hollywood-style walk we find the stars of them. We find them next to the Cervantes Theatre.

Many of these actors and directors who came to the city to shoot their films stayed at the Gran Hotel Almería, and so we find the photos inside that commemorate this.

Plaza de las Velas

A nice walk takes us to the Plaza de las Velas.

This square with several ornamental fountains that lead to the port and the beaches of the capital is used as a meeting point for many events and here you will find the typical sign with the name of the city to take some nice photos to have as a souvenir of Almería.

English Cable

And from here, visit another part of the city with a different charm, the one you have when you reach the coast and the landscape of the cities changes.

This is how we arrived at the English Cable.

The English Cable is an ore loading dock that was in use from 1904 to 1970. It was built by the society for the transport of iron ore from the mines of Alquife, linking the station with the port.

In 1998 it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest for being an example of iron architecture in Andalusia.

As we were saying, the Cable Inglés de Almería is an old mineral port loading dock that was used during the 20th century to transport cargo between the train station and the ships in the port of Almería. The structure, which fell into disuse in 1973, has survived to this day as an important example of the industrial heritage of that era, a symbol of the mining and railway explosion that Europe was experiencing.

The curious construction of iron, steel and concrete is a pier that raises the level on the beach of Las Almadrabillas to bring the cargo closer to the ships, thus facilitating its deposit directly in the hold of the boats. Through a railway branch it was connected to the nearby Almeria train station, where it would link up with the rest of the network.

Today, the Cable Inglés is preserved as an important port monument and is listed as a Asset of Cultural Interest. Today it is another element of the Almería coastline.

Gone are the days when trains loaded with minerals circulated through the Almería station towards the Cable Inglés. And passengers no longer pass through the old Almería train station. New times in the railway world bring modern stations. But this station that we said was connected to the Cable Inglés in the port is worth admiring, so on this quiet walk we will approach it to see it. The beauty and elegance of the century-old structure is well worth the visit.

Memorial to the Almeria victims of Mauthausen

But returning to the Cable we are going to see the Monument to the victims of the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Around 1,500 Andalusians were interned in the Mauthausen concentration camp, of which only a third came out alive. Of the more than a thousand fatalities, 142 were from Almería.

Promenade

But now let’s clear a little and let’s go to the beach! The coast of Almeria is beautiful as we have already seen, and the city of Almeria could not be the exception.

This area is beautiful, relaxed, very different from everything historical that we saw such as the Alcazaba.

What I can tell you is that you will now be realizing that you will need at least two days for this whole tour, if not three. Because… we are not talking about gastronomy, and eating out in the city is a walk in itself, the variety you will find is spectacular, and the prices are not high, you have already seen the same with the prices of the tourist attractions, either it is free or it is low. We had a great time, but these are personal opinions, tell me yours.

San Cristobal viewpoint

We are now going to a point to see in the capital of Almería that we have been seeing from afar since the video began and we are leaving them as the icing on the cake. The San Cristóbal viewpoint and the walls of Jairán.

From the Alcazaba, a line of wall descends to the Hill of San Cristóbal, built during the time of King Jairán (1012-1028) in the 11th century. These are the remains of the walls of the Musalla neighborhood.

We have seen it from the Alcazaba, from the Almedina, from the rooftop of the Heritage Centre, but now we are going to go up to the San Cristóbal viewpoint.

Jayrán al-Amiri, Jayrán or Jairán, first king of the taifa of Almería ordered to encircle the suburb of the Musalla, lowering the wall from the same alcazaba to the Hoya, and from what today is known as the Cerro de San Cristóbal to the very edge of the sea. These walls are known as the walls of Jayrán.

On the hill, which is an impressive viewpoint of the city, there is on a large pedestal, the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this was built and blessed in 1930.

The wall of Jayrán joins the Alcazaba of Almería with the Cerro de San Cristóbal going down the Cerro de la Hoya.

From here you have beautiful views of the city. We could say goodbye from here to see what there is to see in the city, but there are more things to see in the surroundings of the city of Almería, such as the Tabernas desert, and you know what? We will find more movie sets there.

If you would like to add any more places, the guitar museum could be one, we found it closed, and the Doña Pakita art museum could be the other.

Where we stay in Almeria

And since we are talking about prices we go to our hotel, I show it to you and I tell you how much we pay, so you see it and then compare it with what you are seeing

We chose Torreluz Centro. It is right next to the Nuevo Torreluz. I don’t know if it always works like this but at least when we went, it functioned as an annex, that is, we were accommodated there, but the reception was in the Nuevo Torreluz, as well as breakfast and the garage that was also the same.

What I mean by this is that for a lower price we probably got a room that was not as new, because the hotel has a style from a certain period, but then the breakfast was the same in both hotels.

Booking.com

The room was spacious with a view of the street, and the price we paid in October was €52 per night with breakfast, we paid for parking separately. I think it was a very good price, but as I always say, check the prices for your dates among several hotels to get a good option.

How we stayed connected

Do you come to Spain from far away like us and having internet all the time is a problem? In our case we have used the Holafly eSim for travelers, a very good option. In the link you will find all the information as well as a discount for followers from Europe accompanied by the following code: EUROPAACOMPAÑADA5.↓

We are not saying goodbye to Almería for good, we still have to explore the Tabernas desert, some of the film sets in this province and the plastic sea… do you want to come?