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The Alcazaba and its walls above the white houses of Almería, with the port and the bay in the background

Almería,
where the light
tells the story

A city between the Alcazaba and the Mediterranean. Come and walk through a thousand years of history, share a tapa and discover landscapes that cinema turned into legend.

Discover the city See the 48-hour route

One city. Many ways to feel it.

Almería is best discovered without hurry, with all five senses. Wander its streets steeped in history, let the aromas of the table carry you along and look at the city through the eyes of cinema.

A thousand years above the same bay

Founded as a city in 955, Almería was an international port of al-Andalus, a taifa of poets and merchants, a fortified stronghold, a mining city and a shelter from the bombs.

Walk through the history
  1. 955 The birth of al-Mariyya
    The medieval fortress on the hill and the bay at the time of the city's founding
  2. 11th century A port of silk and words
    Sailing ships off the port of the taifa of Almería, with the medina at the foot of the fortress
  3. 1489–1522 Conquest and rebuilding
    Walls and towers of the Alcazaba beside the town after the Christian conquest
  4. 19th century Port, grapes and a bourgeois city
    Bourgeois architecture and palm trees on the Paseo de Almería in the 19th century
  5. 1937 A city underground
    Vaulted underground gallery of the civil war shelters, lit with warm light
  6. Since the 1960s Market gardens, cinema and transformation
    A sea of greenhouses between the mountains and the Mediterranean, symbol of the agricultural transformation

From the fortress to the shore

A downhill walk links Almería's great layers. It begins above the bay and ends walking on iron.

Open the route
  1. 1La Alcazaba
    The walls of the Alcazaba dominating the white houses and the bay
  2. 2La Almedina
    Whitewashed street and flowerpots in the Almedina, the oldest quarter of the city
  3. 3La Catedral
    The fortress cathedral of the Incarnation with its buttresses and palm trees
  4. 4Puerta de Purchena
    Eclectic buildings and city life at the Puerta de Purchena
  5. 5El Cable Inglés
    The riveted iron structure of the Cable Inglés reaching out over the sea
Almería tapas table with chérigan, migas, gurullos, jibia and tomate RAF, shared at sunset
On the table: chérigan, migas, gurullos, jibia and tomate RAF.

Here, a tapa opens the conversation

Almería's cooking brings together the market gardens, the port and the ingenuity of a dry land. Order a drink, choose a tapa and let your appetite decide the next stop.

Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2019

Learn the tapeo like a local

The year is celebrated in the street

Faith, the sea, music and neighbourhood life shape a calendar that belongs to the people who live it.

Hands preparing a May cross covered in red and white flowers next to blue ceramics
  1. January Romería de Torregarcía
  2. Spring Holy Week and Cruces de Mayo
  3. 23 June Noche de San Juan
  4. 16 July Virgen del Carmen
  5. August Feria de Almería
  6. 26 December Día del Pendón
Bonfires and groups of people on the beach during the Noche de San Juan
Seaborne procession of the Virgen del Carmen aboard decorated boats

Always check each year's official programme and conditions in the festivals guide.

A city capable of being every world

The Alcazaba was a fantasy kingdom. The Almedina, the Orient. The Parque Nicolás Salmerón, Cairo and Messina. Since the sixties, the light of Almería has lit not only the city: it has lit the cinema too.

The Almedina and the walls lit up at nightfall, like a natural film set
  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • Patton
  • Conan the Barbarian
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Game of Thrones
  • Wonder Woman 1984
Follow the film trail

1966. John Lennon in Almería.

During the filming of How I Won the War, the city became part of the emotional landscape in which Strawberry Fields Forever began to take shape.

A 1966 still life by a window: acoustic guitar, handwritten notebook, film reels and a clapperboard

The guitar that changed music

In La Cañada, Antonio de Torres transformed the modern guitar. In the peñas, the flamenco clubs, the taranta and the taranto preserve the mining echo of the flamenco of the Levante.

Listen to the city
A luthier's hands tracing the rosette of a guitar in his workshop
A flamenco singer and guitarist sharing a night of flamenco in a peña
The church of the Salinas de Cabo de Gata reflected in the water, with flamingos in the foreground

From the seafront to a volcanic landscape

Start the day by El Zapillo. Follow the coast towards Retamar and Torregarcía. A few kilometres on, the salt flats, the dunes and the ancient volcanoes of Cabo de Gata completely change the horizon.

Explore the coast
Walkers and cyclists on the Paseo Marítimo as evening falls

City beaches

Everyday sea, promenade and sunset.

Mounds of salt and sheets of water in the salt flats, with birds in the background

Salinas de Cabo de Gata

Water, salt and migratory birds.

The old salt-works buildings of the Almadraba de Monteleva beside the sea

Almadraba de Monteleva

Salt-making memory facing the Mediterranean.

Volcanic cliffs and blue coves along the Cabo de Gata-Níjar coast

Cabo de Gata-Níjar

Biosphere reserve and UNESCO Global Geopark.

Choose your way to experience Almería

24 hours The essential city Alcazaba, Almedina, tapeo, Catedral and Cable Inglés. The Alcazaba gilded by the sunset light 48 hours History, table and sea Add museums, neighbourhoods, the beach and a night of flamenco. A tapas dinner facing the illuminated port 72 hours Into the landscape Set aside a day for Cabo de Gata or the Tabernas Desert. Gullies and badlands of the Tabernas Desert
See all itineraries

Almería, at your own pace

When to come

Spring and autumn for walking; summer for the sea and the festivals; winter to enjoy soft light and generally pleasant temperatures.

Getting around

The centre is easy to explore on foot. For the Cabo de Gata area, it is best to plan transport in advance.

Travelling with respect

Water, shade, comfortable footwear and special care in protected areas.

A terrace in the shade of the trees on a square in the city centre
Two people strolling along a whitewashed street in the Almedina
A hiker refilling their water bottle overlooking the protected coast
Check official information
The bay and port of Almería lit at dusk beneath the walls

Let the light guide you

Some cities you simply visit. Almería reveals itself: stone by stone, tapa by tapa, frame by frame.

Start your journey