Almería (province)

Almería is a province in Andalusia, Spain. It is largely unspoilt for the time being. The province has a lot to offer, with great beach resorts, national parks, desert and mountains as well as the city of Almería.

Cities

 * — called "the Hollywood of Spain"
 * — has some nice beaches, and a museum
 * — the coastal strip, especially in Balerma and Almerimar, has a marina and the Almerimar golf course
 * — a village that is a nice place to have lunch facing at the sea, but it is especially worth going to a nearby beach called "El Playazo"
 * — part of the network "the most beautiful towns in Spain"
 * — an extremely picturesque, typically Moorish, agricultural town close to the breathtaking Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park
 * — has many long, blue-flag, beaches which are kept meticulously clean
 * — made up of simple houses, with one or two floors, with whitewashed walls and tiled roofs

Other destinations

 * — Andalusia's largest coastal protected area, a wild and isolated landscape with some of Europe's oldest geological features

Understand
With the most hours sunshine and lowest rainfall in Europe, Almería is often regarded as one of the most desirable destinations to live. Summer days are long, warm and plentiful and even in January you might still be wearing a t-shirt if the sun comes up bright enough. The area is known as one of high unemployment but with its hot climate, new wealth is arriving in the form of agriculture; fruit, vegetables and flowers. Due to the climate much of the landscape is dry and desert-like, but lunar landscapes and fabulous rock formations are abundant and this amazing terrain made Almería home to some of the greatest spaghetti westerns ever made.

The most important economic activity is greenhouse farming. Millions of tons of vegetables are exported to other European countries and other parts of the world each year.

Tourism is also a key sector of the economy, due to the sunny weather and attractive areas such as Roquetas de Mar, Aguadulce, Almerimar, Mojacar, Vera or Cabo de Gata.

By plane
Almería's international airport is about 10 km outside of the city of Almería. The nearest international airports outside the province are in Málaga and Alicante.

By car
The province can be reached via the following highways:
 * Mediterranean Motorway   : Perthus (France) - Girona - Barcelona - Tarragona - Castellón de la Plana - Valencia - Elche - Murcia - Almería - Motril - Málaga - Algeciras
 * motorway: Seville - Antequera - Granada - Guadix - Almería

See

 * Los Millares, Europe's most important settlement from the Copper Age, near Almería.
 * The Moorish fortress of Alcazaba in Almería
 * Research and development for solar technologies is carried out on the Plataforma Solar de Almería test site near Tabernas

Do
For resort type beaches try Roquetas de Mar or Mojácar north towards Murcia which has lovely sandy beaches, Med sea and in season is full of laid back beach bars and clubs.

For the more unspoilt feel, try Cabo de Gata (Nijar) which is a national park containing a stretch of rocky/ covey coastline with small villages. Los Escullos is a beach with a large Moroccan marquee bar during the summer season, a nightclub, a hotel and a hostel. A great place to see the dawn in.

Mini Hollywood is inland from Almería (Tabernas) - the studios where many Spaghetti Westerns were shot which put on cowboy shows and have a museum of Western films there.

The Landscapes of cultural interest in Almería route could be an excellent way to delve into the landscapes and ethnography of the province.

Eat
In Almería near to a town called Tijola, you will find a traditional, quiet and charming village named El Higueral. Here on the main road through you will find an inconspicuous bar/restaurant called Bar Azahara; and here they serve steak that will probably be better than any you have had in years. The food is delicious, reasonably priced and your meat is cooked in a fire that dominates the rustic décor. It really is worth a detour.

Go next

 * Granada