Los Alcázares on the Mar Menor
- Driving time
- About 25 minutes by car
- Area
- Mar Menor
- Town
Los Alcázares is a seaside town on the western shore of the Mar Menor, with seven kilometres of beach on shallow, calm water. It is about a 25 minute drive from Lago Rosa Apartment.
In the early 1900s people from the Murcian huerta came here in August for the novenarios, a series of nine baths in the Mar Menor. You can still sense that in the relaxed feel: a palm-lined promenade from Los Narejos to Punta Brava, beach huts in summer and water so calm that many people learn to sail or paddleboard here.
The Mar Menor is shallow and calm, and so is used all year for sailing, canoeing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Playa de Las Salinas is the first designated water sports beach on the lagoon.
History sits close to the surface. Hotel La Encarnación, from the early part of the last century, still stands on the water. The Museo Aeronáutico Municipal tells the story of the seaplane base that started here in 1915. Just outside the centre stand the medieval Torre del Rame among the palms and the Roman Balsas de Los Diegos in Los Narejos, whose purpose is still not entirely clear.
Tuesday market
Every Tuesday morning on Calle de la Rambla.
Food
Order caldero, fish with rice, served here all year round. On the beach, try marineras, potato and tuna with anchovy on bread, and mussels.
With children
The water is shallow and calm, good for splashing about. Do check with the town council on the current water quality before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Mar Menor a sea?
It is a salt water lagoon connected to the Mediterranean by narrow channels, shallow and calm.
What day is the market in Los Alcázares?
Tuesday morning on Calle de la Rambla.
What can you do besides swimming?
Sailing and surfing, visiting the aviation museum and seeing the Torre del Rame.
