El Ejido is one of the most popular tourist destinations along the Almerian coast for beaches and sunshine, with an interesting artistic and cultural heritage for visitors to enjoy. The area also offers a rich natural setting in the Reserve of Punta Entinas-Sabinar, a complex of dunes, beaches and lagoons which is home to various, mainly aquatic, birds.

As well as sun, beaches and various water sports, Adra offers its visitors a rich cultural and artistic heritage based on its extensive past. The town has around 24, 900 inhabitants. Adra was founded by the Phoenicians during the eighth century BC, however, according to archaeological remains found on the Montecristo hill, a site classified as being of important cultural significance, the area has a Punic past.

Vera is another important ‘sun and beach’ town in the province of Almería that attracts a lot of tourism, especially from those who practice naturism. It is not surprising, then, that there are numerous lodgings and hotel accommodations providing exclusive services for nudists. However, the town also has a very interesting cultural offering due to its artistic and historical past. It has around 15,800 inhabitants.

Turre’s name comes from the Latin turris, meaning ‘tower’, and since the Ibero-Roman occupation of the town, it has acted as a settlement for numerous Mediterranean civilizations, inclucing the culture of Los Millares and the Argaric. Steeped in this history, it encapulsates the socio-cultural history of Almeria. Today, it has around 3,300 inhabitants.

Sorbas, also known as Cuenca la Chica, is an extremely impressive village. It is located on a small plateau over the Río Aguas, and its white houses are almost suspended over the ravine. It has around 2300 inhabitants. Several prehistoric settlements dating from the Neolithic and Metal Ages have been found in Sorbas. Some found in the town centre at the beginning of the twentieth century have been dated as far back as the Bronze Age.

Pulpí is home to the Giant Geode of Pulpí, a beautiful volcanically formed cavern covered in transparent gypsum crystals, considered the best preserved in the world. It is therefore no surprise that is has been officially declared a Natural Place of Interest. It was discovered on the inside of an abandoned mine in El Pilar de Jaravia.

Lubrín is an ideal destination for lovers of rural tourism. Visitors can discover its charm by walking through the residential areas, and the centre offers the typical narrow, steep Andalusian streets flanked with whitewashed houses adorned with flowers. The town has around 1,400 inhabitants. During the sixteenth century, in the time of Felipe II, there was an morisco uprising of in Granada city and the villages of the Alpujjaras.

Los Gallardos is neatly situated in a valley, 8km from the sea and 5km from the mountains. It is 73km from Almeria city and has around 2,800 inhabitants. The town finds its origin in the beginning of the mining operations of the Sierra Almagrera in the early nineteenth century. The origin of the name is thought to have come from a nineteenth-century family, however, it has also been suggested that it originates from a Captain Gallardo.

The area surrounding Huércal Overa is a haven for lovers of hiking. Visitors should especially look out for the walking program organized every year by the Town Hall. The town has around 18,800 inhabitants. It is said the origin of Huércal-Overa can be pinpointed to the Moorish period, with two castles forming, together with other fortresses.

Garrucha has a rich history spanning fishing traditions and industrial mechanization, all of which can be observed throughout the town. It has around 8,800 inhabitants. The earliest reference to a settlement in Garrucha dates to 1327. The spot was fought over by nearby Vera and Mojácar until royal intervention offered the diplomatic solution of a tax on its port activities to be paid to the competing neighbouring towns.

Cuevas de Almanzora owes its name to its caves (cuevas) and the Almanzora river that runs through it, and offers visitors a rich variety of things to do, including an excursion to the cave houses of Calguerín. Among over 200 excavated caves in the rocky cliff face, some have been set up as rural lodgings providing accommodation, and one as a museum.

Sitting in a unique and spectacular environment, Carboneras is a perfect destination for nature lovers. Visitors can enjoy the views, or practice open-air sports including hiking or scuba diving. It is set within the Nature Reserve of Cabo de Gata-Níjar, one of the most arid protected areas in Europe and the only one in Andalusia with a coast, including Los Muertos beach.

Bédar has a strong mining past which is evident in the area of El Pinar (which has now been urbanized), from which the first cableway in the province was erected in 1888. This cableway ran to the blast furnaces of Garrucha. Bédar now has around 920 inhabitants. Although we do not know when the town was founded, the origins of Bédar date back to the Moorish period, when it was part of Vera.

Almería as one of the eight provincial capitals of Andalucia houses various museums. True historians will appreciate the Almeria Museum which contains numerous objects discovered by the well-known Belgian mining engineer, Louis Siret. The contemporary art museum is well worth visiting. Take a stroll around Almeria and discover for yourself numerous examples of beautiful street art.

This fortified behemoth of a basilica was designed in the 16th century with a dual role: as a place of worship, but also to protect the citizens when pirates attacked the city of Almeria after the Reconquest. Built in 1524, after an earthquake destroyed the previous structure, the cathedral is constructed, like so many churches in Spain, on the site of a mosque.

Mojácar clings to a rocky hillside watching over the Mediterranean. An hour’s drive from Almeria City. It actually comprised of two distinct areas; Mojácar Pueblo (town) and Mojácar Playa (beach), roughly 2km apart. It has around 6,300 inhabitants.

Roquetas de Mar is a fishing town just 15 minutes by car from the provincial capital, Almería. It is famed not only for its fishing traditions, which are preserved today through gastronomy and annual festivals, but also as a coastal resort town. It has around 94,900 inhabitants.

The charming small town of Villarícos is located approximately ten kilometres north of La Garrucha, a lively fishing harbour in the process of development with villas, hostels and hotels, as well as some fine seafront fish restaurants. Villarícos is situated in a unique position on the mouth of the Rio Almanzora and the coast. There is a strong fishing community here, as well as several unspoilt beaches.

San José sits beside a shallow bay at the south end of the Cabo de Gata Natural Area. Once a small eighteenth-century fishing village, it is now the most important touristic hub of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar National Park; this tourism has supplanted fishing as the town’s principal economy.

Níjar is renowned for its superb handcrafts in pottery, ceramics and textiles. This exceptional corner of Andalusia is a stunning natural enclave, right on the edge of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. It has been described as one of the most picturesque towns in the whole of Spain. A visit to Níjar guarantees the traveller a flavour of the ‘real’ Andalusia.