Whilst staying at ALEGRIA Colonial De Mar Aquafun, we decided to take a day trip to the city of Almeria. We’d considered booking a tour here but believed we could do it ourselves just as easily and we were right! So here’s how our day visit to the historical Almeria went.

We started by catching the bus from outside the Gran Plaza Mall and it was a disappointing start to the day. We arrived nice and early only for the bus to allow 2 passengers to board then drive away because it was too full. We waited a whole 30 mins for the next one and whilst it doesn’t sound too long, that’s a long time in the heat with no shade and a toddler! We started to wonder if we’d regret not booking a coach trip if the next bus passed us by too. Luckily we were able to board and reached the city in about 30 minutes. Costing just 2 euros each we were pleased with our gamble.

We made it to Almeria and got off at the final stop within the bus and train station. What a pretty building to start our visit – A little more interesting than the modern train stations back home.

We were ready to explore! Problem now was it was nearly lunchtime already and we knew most places would be closing for siesta shortly. Luckily most of our plans were to see the sights but nevertheless we needed to eat.

We’d been given a map by the rep in our hotel and honestly without it, I’d have had no clue what we should be visiting. We probably would have just wandered around aimlessly admiring the buildings but this was a nice bonus having a little knowledge about what we were actually looking at.

Whilst we stopped to look at the map we met a very large moth who our daughter, Hilda, made friends with.

Looking at the map I was surprised to find a Film and TV route due to the amount of things that have been filmed in the city. We decided to focus on a couple that we recognised and headed towards those. We started with a walk towards the harbour in hopes of finding somewhere to grab a drink.

It was very hot with not a cloud in the sky and very minimal shade.

It was a beautiful day in October but we never imagined it would be as hot as it was. My husband was a lifesaver carrying Hilda around so often after we decided not to take the pram out with us for the day.. Oops!

We walked for what felt like forever and when we did get to the waterfront there were no bars or restaurants at all. It was more of a port than anything with a tall viewpoint bridge that looked cool. We also found there was a festival being packed away that had ended yesterday to celebrate the Spanish fiesta. So we continued our walk and headed inland.

We eventually came to a collection of pretty dancing fountains and a very scenic area including a walkway stretching onwards. This was the Compass Rose I later learnt via Google Maps.

We continued to walk along the promenade admiring the scenery. It was really pretty here and really reminded me of parts of Paris I’ve seen on TV. Very quiet and lined with benches and trees. It was a nice peaceful area within a bustling city and I often find this is the one thing that is lacking in UK cities.

When we reached the halfway point we came across a restaurant that unusually was located below ground level. So as we walked, Hilda could peer in through the windows. It wasn’t open but she said she wanted to go in there. It smelt delicious and a quick Google search told me it was a pizzeria that would open in less than an hour. So our lunch stop was chosen by our 3 year old!

To pass some time we ventured further into Almeria where I was happy to stumble upon my favourite Spanish shop – Ale Hop of course!

This would later supply us with lots more rubbish for Hilda to take home.

Eventually we came to another point on the map we’d been following. This was the School of Arts and Crafts where they filmed for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I thought this was pretty cool even though I’ve never seen it!

After walking around for what felt like forever in the sun, we stopped at a courtyard for a break and some snacks. We also had the pleasure of seeing the Cathedral Square which was very beautiful.

Turns out Almeria had a lot to offer when it came to beautiful architecture and places to visit and the best was still to come.

So time for our break we headed back to Gamerro Napoletano for our 2 year anniversary celebratory meal.

Hilda made a great choice with this one. The menu was in Spanish so we kept it simple and ordered 2 large pizzas to share between us alongside a beer, water and delicious Limoncello Spritz!

When the pizzas arrived they looked delicious! The addition of scissors to cut them up with was a real novelty for Hilda and she enjoyed being able to cut up food. As did I probably a little too much but I’m easily pleased!

With lunch in our bellies we were ready to head for likely the main attraction of Almeria.

Conjunto Monumental de la Alcazaba de Almería. Alcazaba in Almeria is a Moorish fortress and one of the largest in Spain! What an impressive sight it was too.

We could spot it a mile off and knew we had to venture up. Even if our legs weren’t quite up for it, we knew it couldn’t be missed.

The place is free to enter which is a great bonus because it really does need to be visited to be admired even more.

We got here about an hour before close and planned only for a quick visit because we’d already done over 20,000 steps around Almeria and that’s a lot for little legs! (Both mine and Hilda’s!)

So after we climbed to the top and walked around the gardens we stopped to admire the view.

We could see everywhere we’d already walked and across the whole city.

There was even a break room with picnic benches at the top and I found the addition of vending machines particularly amusing. The contrast between history and the modern day! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this in any UK historical attraction.

One of my favourite facts about this place is that it was used as a filming location for Game of Thrones.

It is where they filmed the scenes set in the water gardens of Dorne. This was part of the House Martell.

I seem to be forever stumbling upon GOT filming locations so I definitely must have an interest in historical beauty spots that make great backdrops. I’ve added Almeria with Malta, Girona and Dubrovnik to my tick list.

After too many steps we ventured back down towards the seafront to catch the bus back towards Roquetas de Mar. Once again, the bus drove straight past the stop as it was too full again so not wanting to risk missing another we found ourselves walking all the way back to the bus station. Hilda had a nap and we finally got to have a much needed rest with a seat on the bus.

Another day exploring a new city – My favourite kind of travelling.

I loved Almeria, I thought it was a very pretty city with lots of culture. There were barely any shops or usual highstreet chains that you normally see in the popular cities of Spain. It made a change to get away from it all, like we were stepping back in time to a location not consumed by mainstream Western society.

It’s been years since I explored a new city abroad and it was great to get the opportunity again. It looks like there may be more city breaks on the horizon.