Top Things to do in Province of Almeria
What to do and see in Province of Almeria, Andalucia: The Best Free Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in Province of Almeria, Spain including Cactus Nijar, Conjunto Monumental de La Alcazaba, Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata, Playa de los Muertos, Museum of Almeria, Cabo de Gata Lighthouse, Playa de los Genoveses, Faros de Mesa Roldan, Torre del Pirulico, Serena Beach.
Restaurants in Province of Almeria
1. Cactus Nijar
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 39 reviews
Reviewed By christinem883 - Velez Blanco, Spain
We live an hour and a half away from here, but make the journey regularly. It is mainly a specialist seller of succulents and cacti, plus other xeric type plants and trees. However they also show beautiful avant garde stone statues you won’t find anywhere else. There is a lot of land here, and it has been sectioned off into different types of styles of landscapes. There’s an area to meander through ancient olive trees that are stupendously planted at least 60 cm’s higher than the path we walk on, in dappled shade. Fascinating idea. Plus another area has various water pools fashioned from concrete, and so on. The wonderful sample plantings of agaves, aeoniums, a. Haworthii’s, etc etc are all sensitively placed and without fail get me spending in order to take home the latest plants I’ve fallen in love with. They have a good selection of pots, too and if you need a particular plant potted up in a new pot, they will do it for you, using the correct porous medium. The last time we visited we were walking quietly across the land, looking down into the cañada before us when three baby ibex (a type of goat) walked out in front of us followed by four adults. They look more like deer than goats, I’ve always thought. Beautiful things. They were aware of us but kept walking or trotting slowly, climbing up the rocks and inclines until they disappeared some few minutes later, quite unconcerned. Wonderful! What a spot to go searching for plants, as well as commune with nature. I bought a desert cactus (huge thing, so pleased with it) and several large pots, plus various big succulent specimens to further widen my collection. The guys here are very knowledgable and full of information about their plants and care so it’s a pleasure to chat to lovely people and gain practical help at the same time. We’ve been to a few music gigs here, too. Great layout, different types of music and food too. Ask to go on their mailing list and you’ll then receive emails to find out when their music events are. Forget how much it is, but it’s super-cheap. If you’re interested in Mediterranean gardening, do go along and have a good look around. I read a good review on it in the Financial Times a while ago so google for that to find out their London gardening journalist’s viewpoint, too. Enjoy!
2. Conjunto Monumental de La Alcazaba
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,238 reviews
Monday Closed
Reviewed By hilanne2016 - Manchester, United Kingdom
We spent over 2 hours wandering around and exploring this magnificent site. The gardens are beautiful, views from the towers stunning and overall this is a must see for anyone visiting Almeria. It is a steep climb and there are a lot of steps involved if you want to see all of the palace however, there are plenty of places where you can sit and rest for a while if you need to.
3. Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,382 reviews
Reviewed By PSHTraveler - Middlebury, United States
We have always wanted to visit Cabo de Gata and finally had our chance. We don't have a car while visiting Spain, so booked a tour with Costa Almeria Tours, highly recommended! (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187429-d12500803-Reviews-Costa_Almeria_Tours-Almeria_Province_of_Almeria_Andalucia.html) The scenery is stunning, but we were surprised to find so much variety -- beautiful inland landscapes, historic sites, fishing villages, flamingos, excellent restaurants, and so on. We had only one day and hope we can return for a longer visit!
4. Playa de los Muertos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,438 reviews
Reviewed By V273YOrichardb - Witney, United Kingdom
Like everyone is saying, it’s a beautiful beach but it’s a 10-15 min walk down a rocky path. I walked our baby down using a sling but we took the folding pram down for shade. The beach slopes off quite fast but it’s lovely to swim, the water looked so clean irrespective of the giant industrial site just off one end of the beach. We parked along the side of the road leading to the car park nearer the beach. Didn’t buy a ticket but noticed a sign about parking when we got back to our car later on. It’s early October so we were fine. The guy selling drinks from a cool bag must be so fit walking up and down the shingle beach and rocky path all day.
5. Museum of Almeria
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 214 reviews
The Museum was initially set up in a building on calle Javier Sanz, and shared the site with the School of Arts and Trades and subsequently with the "Celia Viñas" Secondary School. The name, Luis Siret, was added to the museum's name in tribute to the memory of this distinguished archaeologist. The collections and the museum were declared a Historical and Artistic Monument in 1962 (Decree no. 474 of 1 March). In 1979, the museum was transferred to the National Ministry of Culture which decided to adapt the former Colegio Menor de Santa María del Mar as the museum's new home, in 1981. It stands in this same square today. The inauguration took place on 22 October 1982. After that, it was called the Museum of Almería although this only became its official title in 1994. Because of the structural problems due to aluminosis, the building's poor state of conservation led to its closure to the public in 1991, although the museum's internal services continued to function. To reduce the impact of such a prolonged closure as much as possible, two permanent exhibitions were opened in 1995, with a small representative show of Prehistory and Ancient History in Almería outside the museum site, in two places at the Provincial Historical Archive and the Villaespesa Library. At a later date, a single exhibition was organised in the Villaespesa Library called "Archaeological Testimonies in the province of Almería". The Ministry of Culture decided to erect a new building on the same plot following the demolition of the old site. In the meantime, the inside areas were moved to buildings belonging to the Provincial Council, in the former Colegio Virgen del Pilar. Some of the storerooms were also moved there. The remaining items in storage were moved to the former Psychiatric Hospital. Architects Ángela García Paredes and Ignacio García Pedrosa were responsible for designing the new museum site. The result is a building in contemporary style. Its architectural design is primarily intended to provide a strategic makeover of the museum's location. The block, where it used to be, has been reorganised following the creation of a large public square that looks over the city, with an extensive gardened area intended as an area for relaxation. Inside, the spaces are impressively arranged to combine light, contrasting heights and aesthetics in attractive woodwork. The central space of the hall and double stairs give structure to the approach adopted in the architecture and museography, helping visitors to move freely on various themed tours. The building was awarded the PAD and ARCO 2004 prizes and was a finalist in the FAD awards in 2005. On 23 March 2006 the Prince and Princess of Asturias inaugurated the new site and opened the Museum of Almería to the public.
Reviewed By KL569 - Leeds, United Kingdom
Laid out over 4 floors, with an enormous pillar reaching to the ceiling which represents the layers of history. The roman times are almost at the top! There are some videos with music which tell of the history of Almeria in an interesting way without using language; very well done. Small children were entranced by the moving patterns of one which was projected onto the floor. Most interesting to me were Islamic gravestones from 12th & 13th century, beautiful pottery & burials in pots. As well as being in Spanish, the description boards are in English which has been translated very directly, sometimes to our amusement or bafflement. It added to the experience. It was very quiet when we went on Sunday morning. Highly recommended.
6. Cabo de Gata Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 537 reviews
Reviewed By 994frederickw - Gravesend, United Kingdom
We visited the lighthouse on a coach trip to the national park. The views from the lighthouse of the Mediterranean were spectacular. We noticed when we were there that it is part of E.U. dark sky's project in the summer months. We would like to go back and see the stars.
7. Playa de los Genoveses
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 493 reviews
Reviewed By gill01966 - Manilva, Spain
I visited this beach as I had seen a review that said it does not get many waves. Last Tuesday, 10/09 it was windy and all the beaches with the Cabo de Gata Nature Park had many waves, so I gambled a 30 minute drive and sure enough, this playa was calm as a duck pond. Dogs are allowed so we made our way to the shoreline and set up camp. The water was crystal clear and so so warm, far warmer than the western Costa del Sol where I had come from. Fabulous place. Will visit again when not as windy!
8. Faros de Mesa Roldan
9. Torre del Pirulico
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 115 reviews
Reviewed By TravellingHats
For some reason we decided to walk to the Torre del Pirulico from our hotel in the hottest part of the day in early August. With the temperature approaching 42 degrees C, we walked out of our hotel (Beat Pueblo Indalo) and down the sea front path all the way to the end where you then have to cut through the car park. In the far corner you will find your way onto the coast path that leads up through the cliffs with some lovely views, some parts are steep so if your a little unsteady on your feet I would avoid this route and take a car instead. Along the path there are lots of little bathing spots (used mostly by the Spanish) and some heritage signs that provide some interesting snippets of information. It’s worth mentioning at this point we had our two year old in a buggy and managed to easily push through until the other side when the path went sandy for a few 100 yards. The path then opened out onto Playa Castillo, a nice basic beach but had no shade at any point. We were hot by this point and was worried we had little water left, no obvious shops were this side until we spotted a shack at the far end of the car park. This turned out to be Chiringuito Macenas, a lovely place to stop and have a nice cold drink and a meal (the swordfish is recommended). The path continues up past the building and along a king dirt track path, locals drive through here and it can be a little tight on the cliff edge so stay safe. The track leads directly to the Torre del Pirulico, we left the buggy at the bottom of the steps and walked up to the foot of the tower. A large steel staircase leads up into the heart of the tower giving some great views, my wife struggles with walking over raised platforms but managed it with a little encouragement. Inside it’s a little cool and to one side a small opening that leads through to a narrow stair case. You can stand at the very top and enjoy some lovely views. It’s a good photo opportunity so well worth the trip. As I mentioned earlier in this review you can drive here, but I don’t think you get the same feel for the surroundings. It was then time to enjoy the long walk back.
10. Serena Beach
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,000 reviews
Reviewed By KayD482 - Enniscorthy, Ireland
Spent long hours on this beach last week in beautiful sunshine. Shingley and shifting sand did not appeal to me so did not swim there but did enjoy sun beds and reading and an incredible massage right there on the sunbed. There is a long and brilliant cycling track many kilometres long up to nearly Best Sabinaal and right down to the national park which I enjoyed on many days. |The prominade is ideal for walking or cycling and not too over populated and it was pleasant to stop after a while cycling to enjoy a coffee. Wonderful memories
