Almeria City and Province

Located on the southeast coast of Spain in a beautiful bay, Almeria was once a thriving Moorish capital said to rival Granada in splendor. It has a 10th-century Moorish castle (the Alcazaba), which is probably the best remaining example of Moorish military building.

Other sights of interest in the city of Almeria include a fortified cathedral (you read that right -- Almeria has a fortified cathredal), built in the 1500´s when pirates terrorized this coast. Also of note is Almeria´s cave quarter, the Barrio de la Chanca.

The Almeria area has many beaches, castles, and quaint villages. For beach lovers, warm weather comes even earlier here than in the rest of mainland Spain, so Almeria should be considered for early or late season beach trips. In summer, it can become blazing hot.

While in the Almeria province, also consider visiting the Tabernas Desert, which was used for a number of the ¨spaghetti western¨ movies as well as the film ¨Lawrence of Arabia.¨ Some of the old film sets still remain.