# Sunday in Caravaca de la Cruz, from the basilica to the Fuentes del Marqués

The Vera Cruz basilica and castle, the Wine Horses Museum before it closes at 14:00, lunch and a stroll at the Fuentes del Marqués. An hour from Murcia.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/region-of-murcia/caravaca-de-la-cruz/itineraries/basilica-and-fuentes-del-marques · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## El día
- 09:15 · Salida: 1 h by car (from Murcia via the Northwest motorway (RM-15))
- 10:30 · Vera Cruz Castle and Basilica (basilica free · Vera Cruz Museum €3)
  - 10 min on foot
- 12:15 · Wine Horses Museum (€3 · closes at 14:00 on Sundays)
  - 5 min on foot
- 13:00 · From the Templete to the plaza del Arco through the old town (from Plaza del Arco to the Templete)
  - 8 min by car, 3 km
- 14:00 · Fuentes del Marqués Restaurant (game and rice dishes · phone ahead: no published hours) · Fuentes del Marqués Restaurant, €€
  - 3 min on foot
- 16:00 · Fuentes del Marqués site (springs and Templars' Tower · dogs on leads)
- 17:30 · Vuelta (via the RM-15; in Murcia around 18:30)

Caravaca de la Cruz is at the end of the Northwest motorway, an hour from Murcia. A Sunday has one rule: the museums only open in the morning, from 10:30 to 14:00. This plan sees them first, starting with the basilica inside the castle, goes down through the old town and leaves the afternoon for lunch and a stroll at the Fuentes del Marqués, a spring site on the outskirts.

## The day, hour by hour

9:15 · Set off. From Murcia to Caravaca on the RM-15, about 55 minutes. Park on the Gran Vía or next to calle Pabellón.

10:30 · Castle and Vera Cruz Basilica. Walk up the Cuesta del Castillo. The church, from 1617 to 1703, with a doorway of red and black marble, is visited free; the Vera Cruz Museum, with the oil paintings of Hernando de los Llanos and a medieval dungeon, costs €3. Also walk round the esplanade and the walls.

12:15 · Wine Horses Museum. On calle Gregorio Javier, ten minutes' walk: embroidered mantles and the 2 May race on video. €3; it closes at 14:00.

13:00 · From the Arco to the Templete. Go down calle Mayor and El Salvador to the Templete, where the Cross is bathed every 3 May.

14:00 · Lunch at Fuentes del Marqués. The restaurant on the site, a few minutes by car, does traditional cooking, game and rice dishes. It does not publish its hours: call beforehand on 968 70 00 87.

16:00 · Walk round the site. The Sartenes springs, the grove and the Templars' Tower. Dogs on a lead; no swimming.

17:30 · Head home. In Murcia around 18:30.

## Cómo llegar

### By car
RM-15 from Murcia; from Albacete, via Hellín and Calasparra; from Almería, via Lorca.

### Without a car
Caravaca has a bus station, but its lines are not published on the town council website: ask on 699 91 75 18.

## Consejos

### Museums in the morning
On Sundays they close at 14:00.

### Confirm lunch
The Fuentes restaurant does not publish its hours.

### Comfortable shoes
The castle hill and the old town are sloping.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does the day cost?
Two museums at €3 and lunch, between €20 and €35: between €35 and €50 per person with coffee.

### Is it a good plan with children?
Yes: the museums cost €1.50 for ages 6 to 14 and the walk to the springs is flat.

### And in May?
From 1 to 5 May are the fiestas of the Cross and the Wine Horses: a different plan, with lots of people and accommodation booked months ahead.