Caravaca de la Cruz, a castle with a basilica and horses that race up at a gallop.

Caravaca de la Cruz is the capital of the Murcian Northwest, a large inland town with a castle on a hill and, inside the castle, a Baroque basilica. The Cross of Caravaca is kept there, drawing pilgrims who arrive on foot along the Camino de la Cruz (GR-252). For anyone travelling from Murcia it is a comfortable Sunday outing: a motorway to the door, an old town that you walk around, two small museums and a spring-fed spot on the outskirts.

How to get there from Murcia

By car, on the Northwest motorway (RM-15), which leaves Murcia towards Mula and Bullas and ends at Caravaca: allow about 55 minutes by our estimate. From Alicante, a little over an hour and a half on the A-7 and the RM-15; from Albacete, around an hour and three quarters via Hellín and Calasparra; from Almería, about two hours. Without a car, Caravaca has a bus station, but the town council website does not publish the lines: call 699 91 75 18 before counting on them.

Where to park

Outside the old town. The Gran Vía, the main avenue, and the area around calle Pabellón, where the coach car parks and the motorhome area are, are five or ten minutes' walk from the centre. The old town has narrow streets and the hill to the castle is climbed on foot. For motorhomes, the municipal area has 20 spaces, water and emptying, for a maximum of 72 hours.

How long do you need?

A full day: the morning for the basilica, the Museo de la Vera Cruz and the walk from the Templete to the plaza del Arco; lunch; and the afternoon for the Fuentes del Marqués or the Museo de los Caballos del Vino. If you arrive on a Sunday, bear in mind that the museums open only in the morning, from 10:30 to 14:00, while the basilica also opens in the afternoon. With a night you can add a stretch of the Vía Verde del Noroeste or visit Cehegín, the neighbouring town.

What to do

The must-see is the castle and the Basílica de la Vera Cruz: a walled enclosure with 14 towers, of Islamic origin, which belonged to the Templars and to the Order of Santiago, and a basilica begun in 1617 with a façade of red and black marble. The church is free; the museum, €3. On the way down, the walk from the Templete to the plaza del Arco takes in the settings of the festivals, and the Museo de los Caballos del Vino explains the festival of 2 May, Intangible Heritage of Humanity. A little over 2 km away, the Fuentes del Marqués are a spot of springs and woodland with the Torreón de los Templarios. The Vía Verde del Noroeste, the old Murcia railway, starts here for anyone who wants to walk or cycle.

When to go

From 1 to 5 May, if you want to see Caravaca at its peak: the festivals of the Cross and the Caballos del Vino, with the horse race up the castle hill on 2 May from 14:00 and the Bathing of the Cross on the night of the 3rd. On those days the town fills up and accommodation is booked months ahead. To see it quietly, April, May outside the festivals, October and November. In July and August midday is very hot: go up to the castle early. In winter it is inland-cold, but the town stays open.

Where to eat and sleep

The tourist office publishes a long list of restaurants with their speciality and phone number, but very few have a website with opening hours: call before going, especially on Sundays. On the way back from the springs, the Restaurante Fuentes del Marqués serves traditional cooking, game and rice dishes; for something simple, Castillo de la Cruz has a pilgrim's menu; for a special meal, El Molino del Río, in Benablón, serves organic, zero-mile cooking. To sleep in the centre, the boutique hotel Círculo Artístico 1911, opposite El Salvador, or the Neo Hotel, on the Gran Vía; in the countryside, El Molino del Río Argos.