Cartagena Spain
Rich History, Vibrant Culture, and Coastal Splendor in Murcia
by Celeste Lipford and Terry Lipford
We were onboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines 'Epic' on a
repositioning cruise from Port Canaveral, FL to Barcelona with various stops along the way - the fifth stop
being Cartagena.
Cartagena is 4,796.5 sea miles from Port Canaveral and 199 sea miles from Malaga. It is a
major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2018, it has a population
of 213,943 inhabitants, being the Region’s second-largest municipality and the country’s sixth-largest non-Province-capital city. The metropolitan
area of Cartagena, known as Campo de Cartagena, has a population of 409,586 inhabitants.
The Norwegian Epic had been in Malaga, Spain during our previous stop and even though the distance to Cartagena was approximately 390 kilometers, cruise ships generally do this hop as an overnight run. So our arrival in Cartagena was early morning, and since neither of us had ever been to Cartagena, we were looking forward to explorinig the city.
Much of the historical weight of Cartagena in the past goes to its coveted defensive port, one of the most important in the western Mediterranean. Cartagena has been the capital of the Spanish Navy's Maritime Department of the Mediterranean since the arrival of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. As far back as the 16th century it was one of the most important naval ports in Spain, together with Ferrol in the North. It is still an important naval seaport, the main military haven of Spain, and is home to a large naval shipyard.
The confluence of civilizations as well as its strategic harbour, together with the rise of the local mining industry is manifested by a unique artistic heritage, with a number of landmarks such as the Roman Theatre, the second largest of the Iberian Peninsula after the one in Mérida, an abundance of Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine and Moorish remains, and a plethora of Art Nouveau buildings, a result of the bourgeoisie from the early 20th century. Cartagena is now established as a major cruise ship destination in the Mediterranean and an emerging cultural focus.
Where is Cartagena Spain? Map
Cartagena is a port city on Spain's southeast Mediterranean coast, in the province & autonomous community of Murcia, southeastern Spain. It is the site of Spain’s
chief Mediterranean naval base. It is 527 kilometers northeast of Gibraltar and 626 kilometers south of Barcelona
Click the map link (above) to see the area.
Exploring Cartagena
This was day 14 of our transatlantic cruise on the Norwegian Epic. The ship arrived in Cartagena harbor at 9AM, and as neither of us had ever been here - and - there was a major Roman Ampitheater ruin here, we were eager to go ashore and explore. Because of the relatively short stay here (passengers must be back aboard by 5:30PM) we made haste to go ashore as soon as possible.
Once the Epic was in position at it's pier and the passengers were allowed to go ashore, we set out for the Roman Theater.
Because the Cruise Dock is so close to the city, it was only a 700 meter walk to the Roman Theater entrance, and the street performers were already out & performing. Once we arrived at the entrance, we found that the line to get in was quite long, and we decided to walk around to the area above and to the rear of the Roman Theater.
Cartagena Roman Theater Map
The walk to reach the area above the Teatro Romano de Cartagena was very steep, but once we arrived we had an incredible view of the theater area below as well as the city and harbor. The theater is very well preserved, and considering it's age, it looked like it could be used again today!
There was a kitten laying on a retaining wall, that greeted me in a friendly manner. I did not have anything that a cat could snack on, so all I could do was give it a friendly rub and we continued our explorations.
Area around the Cartagena Roman Theater
At the far side of the Roman Theater we saw that the Castillo de la Concepción could be reached via another steep trail. This castle was even higher than the Roman Theater so we walked up and explored it in more detail. You can see in the above pictures, that several peacocks were making that incredible squawk that they are known for! Beautiful birds, but very loud!
The castle grounds can be explored for free, but to enter the castle requires an inexpensive ticket, which we purchased to allow us to explore the interior. Most of the interior has now become a medieval museum.
We decided to exit the Castillo by a different direction from which we got there, as we already knew that way was quite steep. As we went down the hill towards the city, we saw that there was a large elevator structure that would have allowed us to exit faster, but by then were nearly at the bottom of the hill!
With no specific place in mind, we decided to explore the city and see what we could find. Since the weather was so nice, and the city so walk-able, we enjoyed walking and exploring areas of the city. We wound up in the Plaza de San Francisco area, which is a nice park surrounded by shops of various types.
The tree in the plaza is a Moreton Bay Fig and was planted there in 1826.
Click here to view a Google Images set for the Plaza de San Francisco.
After we had explored as much ground as we could cover, and because the ship was scheduled to depart at 5:30PM, we decided to head back to the cruise port area.
The plaza was approximately 1.2 kilometers from the cruise port, and the walk took us past the Castillo de la Concepción and the Parque Torres - a pleasant walk.
Paseo Alfonso XII
City Hall of Cartagena
Palacio consistorial de Cartagena
Cruise Port Area
City Hall on Plaza del Ayuntamiento Cartagena
Paseo de AlfonsoThe area that we walked through back to the Cruise Port was very well maintained and there were a number of beautiful buildings along the Paseo Alfonso XII. There are several large museums along the Paseo, including; the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology and The Batel Auditorium and Convention Center.
Some Useful Links for Cartagena
- Just Traveling Thru European Travel Tips
- Just Traveling Thru Travel Planning Tips
- Cartagena History on the 'Britannica' site
- Discovering Cartagena on the 'Culture Trip' site
- Google Search Results list for "Cartagena Restaurants"
- Google Search Results list for "accommodations in Cartagena"
- Cartagena Tours from the "Get Your Guide" Site
- Amazon Search Results list for "Cartagena Spain"
- Youtube Search Results list for "Cartagena Spain"
- Visit our Youtube Channel
- Our Image Gallery for Cartagena
- Wikipedia Article for Cartagena
- Google Image Gallery for Cartagena
You should be aware that Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) varies where their ships go, as well as what ships they will reposition. To determine where NCL is sending what ships, you should visit their website. Our list of ports below, is based upon what the "Epic" did when we were onboard in 2019.
Norwegian 'Epic' Cruise Overview
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Funchal Madeira Portugal
Cadiz/Seville, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Cartagena, Spain
Mallorca, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
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