How to spend a weekend in Murcia

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After a week lounging on the beach and visiting coastal tourist spots in sunny Alicante, Sam and I were ready for a city break. It was time to spend a weekend in Murcia.

Our tickets for the one hour train from Alicante to Murcia cost us £9. Each city has its own airport. This makes it easy to combine the two destinations when planning a longer trip.

We didn’t know much about Murcia and hadn’t visited before this weekend trip. Murcia is the capital of the appropriately-named Murcia region, and also the 7th biggest city in Spain.

On the 20 minute walk from the train station to our central hotel, we saw the undeniable markings of Spain. The churches were adorned with the Mother Mary (rather than Jesus). There were monuments of men in capirotes (Catholic cone shaped hats which were later adopted by a less virtuous group). There were fountains in centres of squares, and old men wearing white Cordovan hats. 

Where to stay for a weekend in Murcia

We spent the weekend at Sercotel Amistad Murcia (which was actually an NH Hotel when we booked it!) at rates just shy of £60/night. Already, the inland city of Murcia was much less expensive than the coastal Alicante, where we spent £95/night. The hotel was walking distance to everything, as was most of the town.

An afternoon plaza-hopping in Murcia

It was about midday as we arrived at the hotel. We dropped our bags and headed straight back out to the beautiful Plaza de las Flores. Here we had beer and/or snacks at just about every venue in this plaza. All of which were good value and quality, with €2.50 being the benchmark price for a beer.

We wandered around, taking in the scenes amongst the long-faded facades of the city’s grand old buildings. At Plaza Hernandez Amores – a smaller square with the ornate Catedral de Murcia at its centre – we grabbed a couple of €2.50 bottles of Estrella Galicia (our go-to beer when in Spain) at Traperia Uno.

On the other side of the cathedral was – you guessed it – yet another plaza. Plaza del Cardenal Belluga is the biggest and most touristic square of them all, and potentially the only plaza in the city where we didn’t sit down to admire the view, as the bars and restaurants were both poor and expensive. It didn’t matter though, as just through this square was our favourite kind of hole in the wall.

Bar Los Zagales has standing space for tapas and a few tables in the back. We stood by the bar and ordered a few snacks, including sliced dry charcuterie sausage served with almonds. This combo popped up a few times on this trip and it became a new regional favourite.

It was close to 4pm at this point, which across the whole of Spain means only one thing: siesta time. Don’t fight it. Nothing is open anyway. Just go back for a nap, and head back out for 7pm.

An evening in Plaza Cristo del Rescate

Siesta complete and fuelled with espresso we headed back into town.

We had earmarked Los Navarros restaurant for dinner, but embarrassingly it was not yet open when we arrived. Fortunately Plaza Cristo del Rescate provided a couple of other excellent spots. Across the square sits Pura Cepa. This is a white tablecloth Michelin-recommended establishment. It was early and their tables were empty so they let us stop for a quick snack and a couple of glasses of wine. Sam had a small plate of salazones (salt-cured fish) with almonds, and I had the most incredible/decadent snack imaginable. An open faced solomillo sandwich with black truffle butter and salt crystals on top. It might have to be categorised as one of the best sandwiches of all time. And for only €3.50. They also had a wide selection of great wines by the glass. Obviously we returned later in the weekend.

On the north side of the square is Verbena. This is a modern vermouth bar with local brands of vermouth we had not seen before. We had a drink here served with another plate of almonds.

Finally we were ready for Los Navarros (or rather they were ready for us). After all that snacking, however, we wound up staying for, well, only a snack. Another couple of solomillo sandwiches (good but not Pura Cepa level), €2 beers, and padron peppers. Classic. 

Walking back towards our hotel we saw a crowd of people outside a bar. Cafe de Ficciones is part bookshop, part bar, part coffee shop. It was hosting an international mingling night, where expats and locals came to practice their Spanish and English, respectively. We met a local who told us this was a regular event, and also that it was scarily warm for the time of year (we hadn’t worn anything but shorts for this whole trip and it was the end of October). We had a beer here to soak up the atmosphere before heading back to the hotel.

A day sightseeing in Murcia

Sam wanted churros for breakfast so we went to Casa Sagasta for a healthy start of deep fried dough with melted chocolate sauce. After breakfast we took a sugar-fuelled walk around the city.

First stop was the Real Casino de Murcia. Not a real casino but an historic building with rooms created in various architectural and cultural styles. There’s the Arabic Court – a room steeped in Moorish tilework, much like the Alhambra Palace in Granada. The English Library is adorned in brass and oak and leather. The Pompeian Court is home to some stunning Italian sculptures. Well worth a quick budget-friendly visit for the €5 entry fee.

We continued on our way, stopping for a quick caña of Estrella de Galicia whilst overlooking the neighbourhood Church of Saint Eulalia from the terrace of La Isla Beer Club. We were off to see La Plaza de Toros, the still active bullfighting ring.

Across the street I was taken by Carniceria, an old fashioned butcher shop run by an equally old man who gave me many free samples of charcuterie. I regret that we didn’t go back later, but we had to eat elsewhere. For nearby, a restaurant which had placed in the top 10 of a national tortilla making contest, was calling to us.

Cucu did in fact have a truly delicious tortilla, but we only split one because it was lacking in vibes. This was also one of the only places we ate or drank that wasn’t in a lively or beautiful square overlooking some cathedral or church or other fantastically beautiful landmark.

We wandered to Plaza Julian Romea, where our desire for a lively and beautiful square was met. The stunning Teatro de Romea the backdrop to our beers.

Cervezas, siestas, and cena

Right outside of this square was the aluminium box of Cafe Bar Gran Via, with its lively retro counter inside.

We headed back via one more drink and snack at Meson La Cadena, which was down a side street and without a view, but still absolutely heaving. The food was amazing and I had the best Rioja of the entire 10 day trip here. We ordered a generous plate of jamon and artichokes, sitting at a high table outside.

After our siesta and a stroll through Jardin El Salitire, we went to Bodega Pepico del Tio Gines. This was just our type of place. We ordered a selection of montaditos, smoked potato, and a few beers at a table outside. There was a bit of a wait but it was worth it.

We walked back to the grandest of all squares, which was lit up for night-time, and hit a couple of our favourite places from the day before.

Walking home we stopped at a couple of bars, El Alamo and Lo Tipico Murcia – the latter of which made me feel terribly old as it was almost exclusively frequented by minors.

Saturday morning Murcian mercados

Saturday mornings mean one thing in Spain – a trip to the market. We wandered through Mercado de Abastos, primarily a fresh food rather than bodega market, with a very working-class vibe.

We got our first meal of the day from the tiniest imaginable bar/kitchen inside – Cafe de Picaor. An older couple turned out a full hot menu with about two square metres worth of space behind the bar and one griddle.

We had a few dishes including some excellent mushrooms and more pisto, but the sausage sandwich was next level and ridiculous in size. We enjoyed our food on barrels set up just outside of the market. The owner would scream out when your order was ready so you knew to go pick it up.

After this we went to another market, the Mercado Saavedra Fajardo. Here it was was much cleaner, more modern, and perhaps less lively than Abastos. We had a drink and snack at Rincon de Paco which was delicious but a bit quiet.

We walked back towards the hotel contemplating siesta, and grabbed a drink in our local plaza, Plaza de Las Flores. It was our last night and we were going straight to the airport in the morning. I decided to forgo siesta to take in the sights and sounds of the square. Señor Sam disagreed and returned to the hotel for his nap.

A surprising end to a weekend in Murcia

Nearly as soon as Sam set off, a procession of drummers came around the corner led by a group of men in suits carrying a deep purple flag with a gold cross on it. I watched the procession go past the square, and then ran around the block to try to catch the front again. I was successful and watched the whole thing take place.

Following the drummers were men in purple robes and matching capirotes marching with sceptres (‘penitents’ as I later discovered they were called). Following, were more penitents, carrying what looked to be an incredibly heavy wooden stage with a scene of Jesus and an angel depicted on top of it. They would place the stage down by resting it on top of wooden legs, one each carried by each penitents, and then carry on down the narrow street. I’m sure I’m explaining this poorly (hopefully not offensively), but it was an incredible and moving procession to watch.

After the stage had passed, an entire band and more drums followed as it went by. One penitent came right up to me. He took a photo of Jesus, some candy, and a boiled egg out of his robe pocket and put it in my hands. I tried to give the candy away to some of the kids next to me but I wound up carrying it (and the egg) around for most of the evening.

The final night of a weekend in Murcia

I met Sam, post-siesta, right where we left off earlier and filled him in on the afternoons events. We then headed off for our last night of our weekend in Murcia. We started with a couple of glasses of red at Yavino, a modern wine bar with a good selection by the glass. To celebrate and lament our last night on vacation we had a few dinners. First we had a fish dinner at the white table clothed La Pequena Aberna. Next a casual second dinner at the stainless steel bar of Bodegon Los Toneles. Much more our style and an excellent experience. We may have revisited Los Navarros and Pura Cepa too.

The only realistic way to get to Murcia airport is by taxi. We pre-ordered a GetTransfer (our go-to taxi transfer app for value and reliability) for €25 in the morning. Murcia is an incredible city to spend a weekend. It is beautiful without seeming even remotely touristic, and you can walk around absolutely everywhere you need to go. We loved the plaza culture and the iconic food of the region.

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