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Cartagena Today

The city of Cartagena

Cartagena is a city of contrasts, its rich cultural and military history merely a backdrop for the industrial and commercial activity which supports the second largest city in the Region of Murcia.

Its natural strategic port has offered shelter to traders for thousands of years, and the rich mines of the Sierra Minera provided a reason for the frequent wars which were fought in order to possess it, Cartagena still being a major naval base today, as well as boasting a rich military heritage of patrimony. The history of Cartagena charts its development and the cultures which have shaped it today.

The city has developed a lucrative tourism industry based on the number of historical places which tourists can visit and enjoy, including the RomanTheatre Museum, ARQUA, MURAM, Casa de la Fortuna, Cartagena Municipal Archaeology Museum, the Augusteum, the Molinete and other well preserved Roman buildings and museums.

In addition there has been major investment in the creation of a new market for cruise ship tourism.

Cartagena

These days the port remains a major focal point for commercial activity, and the Escombreras industrial area has attracted major businesses including the Repsol refinery, SABIC petrochemicals and Holcim concrete plants within a concealed industrial zone. Cartagena is also the home of the regional parliament building of Murcia.

The Campo de Cartagena is a major source of agricultural employment, copnsisting of flat and fertile irrigated areas where salad crops, peppers, potatoes and courgettes are grown, while non-irrigated crops include olives, carobs and almonds.

The more mountainous outlying districts of Cartagena boast extensive areas of beaches, stretching around the coastline from Isla Plana in the west to Cabo de Palos in the east. Here, the spit of La Manga del Mar Menor encloses the Mar Menor, giving Cartagena an extensive offering of prime sandy beaches with safe bathing conditions in Europe's largest saltwater lagoon.

This in turn creates a varied leisure industry, with watersports, a motor racing circuit, some of the best diving facilities in Europe and one of Spain's most prestigious golf and residential complexes, La Manga Club, all creating leisure and tourism opportunities for local businesses.

Cartagena has a rich cultural offering, with important Semana Santa and Romans and Carthaginians fiestas, Carnival, the Mar de Músicas and Cartagena Jazz festivals. The El Batel auditorium and congress centre enhances an already rich cultural programme.

LOCATION

Click for map, Cartagena Spain

There is often confusion on map searches as there is another Cartagena in Columbia. Cartagena Spain is located in the south of the region of Murcia and is a major port and industrial centre.

The municipality of Cartagena covers an area of 558 square kilometres, with a population of 218,000 making it the second most populated municipality of the 45 in the Region of Murcia.

It shares boundaries with Torre Pacheco, Los Alcázares, La Unión, Mazarrón and Fuente Álamo.

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CARTAGENA

Licor 43 opens new restaurant and leisure centre on the seafront in CartagenaThe Cuarentaytres centre is the new flagship of Cartagena gastronomy and fine dining Zamora Company, the owner of the Licor 43 brand which is Spain’s favourite liqueur and is produced just outside Cartagena, has added a new restaurant and leisure.. 07/12/2023

Club MMGR Mar Menor Golf Resort welcomes new recruit to the familyNew fitness coach and personal trainer arrives at Club MMGR Club MMGR on the Mar Menor Golf Resort are excited to introduce new fitness coach and personal trainer, Andy Gray. Andy will make you sweat while helping you get fit and meet your goals.. 07/12/2023

Cartagena kicks off the Christmas season with 300 activities for the whole familyThe festive season is in full swing in the Mar Menor with a calendar packed with music, parades and more Cartagena has prepared more than 300 special activities to celebrate Christmas which will officially begin on Tuesday December 5 with the inauguration.. 06/12/2023

Beach cleaning resumes on the Mar MenorAlgae and sludge will be removed from four Cartagena beaches The Scientific Advisory Committee of the Mar Menor gave the green light this week for several specialised teams to begin removing the unsightly sludge from four Cartagena beaches: Punta.. 06/12/2023

Construction of Playa Honda-Villas Caravaning cycle path to begin in early 2024The work is being put out to tender now, and could be open as soon as April next year Work to create a new cycle and pedestrian path to join Playa Honda and Villas Caravaning near the Mar Menor is due to begin “in the first quarter of 2024&rdquo.. 04/12/2023

S-81 submarine Isaac Peral made in Cartagena formally handed to Spanish NavyTwenty years after it was commissioned, the Isaac Peral sub is finally complete The S-81 submarine ‘Isaac Peral’, built in Cartagena in the shipyards of the public company Navantia, is now officially property of the Armada, the Spanish.. 01/12/2023

New Mercadona opens in La Rambla shopping centre, CartagenaThe opening could be the start of a new golden era for La Rambla A little over 4 years since the Eroski supermarket and other shops in Cartagena’s La Rambla shopping centre closed down, the facilities have now thrown open their doors once.. 27/11/2023

New free car parks being built in CartagenaThe city will have new free parking spaces next to the Mandarache and La Rambla shopping centres Cartagena City Council has approved the creation of two new car parks which between them will have more than 800 spaces for vehicles. They are to be located.. 24/11/2023

S-81 Isaac Peral submarine will be ready to launch on November 30The Cartagena-built vessel will be handed over to the Spanish Navy in an official ceremony It’s been 20 years in the works, but the Isaac Peral S-81 submarine is about to get its sea legs as the state-of-the-art war ship is scheduled to be handed.. 22/11/2023

Medications and cosmetics pose a new threat to the Mar MenorScientists are examining the impact of new contaminants on the ecosystem of the Murcia lagoon The cosmetic and medical industries continue to develop innovative products in response to consumer demand but the trouble is that these items inevitable.. 20/11/2023

Cartagena Christmas lights: This is when the Xmas lights are switched on 2023The festive decorations will be in more Cartagena city streets than ever this year, but what Christmas lights are planned and when will they be turned on? This year, the Christmas lights in the streets of Cartagena will be bigger and more widespread.. 20/11/2023

Crisis as 200 homeowners in El Portus Naturist Camping to be evictedSuicide and depression have suddenly hit this community near Cartagena as more than 200 owners are given less than 15 days’ notice of eviction by new owners, with more to come There are several Spanish families and residents of many other nationalities..

1m-euro project to restore San Leandro Battery in Cartagena put out to tenderThe 18th-century gun battery will form part of the route of visitable defensive forts in Cartagena The bidding phase of the project to restore the Batería de San Leandro, the coastal battery next to the La Curra dock in Cartagena, has been opened..

Mini golf at Club MMGRLook out for lions, gorillas and other animals while enjoying 9 holes of Mini golf at Club MMGR Club MMGR at the Mar Menor Golf Resort welcomes you to its Safari themed mini golf, a unique experience that will transport you to the vast plains of Africa while..

Area around Cartagena shopping mall Espacio Mediterraneo gets a massive faceliftThe new owner of Parque Mediterráneo has launched a comprehensive renovation to improve the facilities The Parque Mediterráneo is going to undergo a profound transformation in the coming months to give greater prominence to pedestrians.. 08/11/2023

Judas Priest to headline at the 3rd Rock Imperium festival in Cartagena in June 2024Other top acts in Cartagena include Extreme, Yngwie Malmsteen, Doro, Uriah Heep and Saxon Legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest, who were formed in Birmingham as long ago as 1969 and have sold over 50 million albums worldwide since, have been inked in to..