Cartagena - this name always reminds me of Carthage, the once significant maritime power whose sphere of influence stretched all the way from northern African coast (modern day Tunisia, parts of the coast of Libya, Morroco, and Algeria) to southern Spain, the Belares Islands, as well as Sardinia, Corsica and parts of the island of Sicily.
Founded by a Carthaginian general in 228 BC, the city of Carthagena has been long an important naval base throughout its long history due to its strategic location and the natural deep-water harbour. The town is now the main military seaport of the Spanish Navy, and is home to a big naval shipyard and a regular port-of-call of several renown cruise lines.
Although Cartagena is not as popular as neighbouring Alicante or Benidorm as a tourist destination, the town is quite well-endowed in terms of tourist attractions. The wealth of archaeological and architectural sights in the centre of the old town includes a cleverly restored Roman theatre and museum, ruins of town walls from the 3rd century B.C. when the town was known as Carthago Nova, Byzantine ramparts, medieval cathedrals, various buildings built in the Baroque and neo-classical styles, as well plenty of beautiful early 20th century art nouveau gentry houses and public buildings (an example of which is the grand Town Hall), many of which are still in use today.
A stroll within Carthagena's old town will delight you with its selection of eclectic modernist buildings, Roman ruins, traditional restaurants serving home-made regional specialities and tapas, and an abundance of family-run cafe bistos with plenty of authentic snacks, tasty coffee and freshly prepared sandwiches on the menu.
The recently restored Roman theatre, whose entrance is via a long underground tunnel, is probably the most significant tourist sight in Carthagena and certainly well worth a visit.
Tickets to the Roman theatre can be bought at the main entrance housed in a small buiding right across the city's Town Hall.
The harbour district of Carthagena is a popular gathering place for both locals and visitors. This area has underwent extensive re-development and now houses a museum, a nice open park with views of the harbour, a marina with open terrace gardens lined with palm trees, cafes and restaurants, as well as several nteresting sculptures on the square.
In the summer months, world-class luxury cruise liners, such as the recently inaugurated Queen Elizabeth of the Cunard Line fleet, also make scheduled stops at the port of Cartagena during their seven day cruise of Western Mediterranean. On the day I was in Carthagena, two Cunard cruise ships called at the harbour and the whole city centre was full of English, German and Scandinavian tourists who spent just a few hours in Carthagena.
One of the unusual sculptures - a whale fully submerged in the sea except for its tail - at the left side of the harbour square.
As I was too lazy with move around with my luggage, my visit to Carthagena was limited to a few hours in the afternoon, in the form of a day-trip from nearby Murcia, about an hour away by train. There are frequent regional train connections linking the two towns, but make sure you use the 'Regional' train and avoid the more expensive 'Alaris' or 'Euromed' trains, as these two types of trains have much less frequent schedules, they cost almost three times more expensive than the 'Regional' trains, and the journey time is almost the same. No need to spend the extra euros for the supposedly 'faster' trains using the high-speed carriages, unless you are feeling sufficiently rich.
To a certain extent, I kind of regret not choosing to stay overnight in Carthagena, as this town has really come alive when the sun goes down. The whole city centre was lit up, as cafes, restaurants and bars all recover from their long siesta and every residents of the town rushed onto the street to enjoy the cool autumn evening breeze. The atmosphere inside the Old Town after dark is quite remarkable indeed, with all the grand art nouveau buildings lit up in white flash lights and many local bars and restaurants crowded with diners The variety and quality of night life in Carthagena do seem very attractive, it is a pity I had to return to Murcia with the last train. If time allows, it is worthwhile to spend one evening in Carthagena, enjoys the view of sunset over the ocean, and explore this city of many heritage in your own pace.
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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