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Off-the-map Almería worth a stop
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A visit to ramshackle Almeria is full of surprises
Almería, a ramshackle port city along Spain’s Andalusian coast, is one of those places that most people go to only to go somewhere else.
The desolate beaches of Cabo de Gata, the white-washed village of nearby Mojácar (www.mojacarweb.com/ ) or the desert-like scenery around Tabernas made famous in Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns (www.fort-bravo.com/ ) are the top regional attractions that send most travelers through Almería.
But the somewhat decrepit city has its own charm that makes it worth a few days’ respite if you’re rambling along Spain’s southern, sun-fried Med coast.
Unlike its glimmering port-city cousins, such as Malaga to the south or Valencia to the north, Almería isn’t overloaded with tourists and provides a relaxed glimpse of how coastal Spain used to before the hoards invaded.
The star attraction is the expansive is the Moorish fortress overlooking the city (www.hernandezrabal.com/espana/andalucia/almeria/almeriac.htm).
The “Alcazaba” is the second-largest Moorish fortress in Spain, topped only by the Alhambra in Granada. The views of the port and the distant Cabo de Gata are spectacular (www.degata.com/index.htm).
A stroll through the narrow alleyways of the Moorish neighborhood leads toward the main cathedral and are much like Granada’s “Albaicín” neighborhood, minus the ticky-tacky shops.
The modern “rambla” features the city’s main shopping area and leads to string of pleasant palm-lined plazas packed with tapas bars, ideal for a cold cerveza and some Spanish serrano ham.
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