# Sunday in Cartagena: Roman theatre, castle and a boat trip round the port The Roman theatre first thing, the castle by lift and the air-raid shelter, caldero in the centre and the port by boat in the afternoon. 40 minutes from Murcia, also by bus or train. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/region-of-murcia/cartagena-and-calblanque/itineraries/roman-theatre-castle-and-boat · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 09:15 · Salida: 45 min by car (from Murcia by the motorway, about 40 min; park in a car park in the centre) - 10:00 · Cartagena Roman Theatre Museum (Opens at 10:00 and on Sundays closes at 14:00 · €7) · Cartagena Puerto de Culturas, From €7 per person - 3 min on foot - 11:45 · Castillo de la Concepción and the Panoramic Lift (Panoramic lift €2 · castle €5) · Cartagena Puerto de Culturas, From €5 per person - 2 min on foot - 12:45 · Civil War Shelter Museum (At the foot of the lift · €4 · 45 min) · Cartagena Puerto de Culturas, From €4 per person - 15 min on foot - 14:00 · La Marquesita (Caldero with mullet · open on Sunday 13:00 to 18:00 · booking) · La Marquesita, €€€ - 15 min on foot - 16:00 · Tourist Boat Around the Harbour and Fuerte de Navidad (Last Sunday departure in November · €8 with the Fuerte de Navidad) · Cartagena Puerto de Culturas, From €8 per person - 17:30 · Vuelta (In Murcia around 18:15) A Sunday to understand Cartagena from the bottom up and from the water. In the morning you go down through tunnels to a Roman theatre that was buried for two thousand years, take the lift up to the castle to see the whole natural harbour and enter the shelter where the city withstood the bombing. You eat caldero in a pedestrian square and end the afternoon on a boat, among castles and batteries, as far as Fuerte de Navidad. From Murcia it is 40 minutes, and it can be done without a car. ## The day, hour by hour 9:15 · Set off. From Murcia, take the motorway to Cartagena, about 40 minutes. Leave the car in a public car park in the centre: the old town has pedestrian streets. Without a car, the Interbus bus arrives at the Estación Central, on Avenida Trovero Marín, a few minutes' walk away; there is also a Renfe train. 10:00 · Roman Theatre Museum. On Sundays it opens from 10:00 to 14:00, so it comes first. You enter through the Riquelme palace, cross under the street to the room of finds, go up to the second tunnel under the church of Santa María and come out onto the seating of a theatre for about 7,000 people. €7, €6 reduced. 11:45 · Castillo de la Concepción. The panoramic lift goes up from calle Gisbert, for €2. At the top, the castle sums up three thousand years of history, from Hasdrubal to the 18th-century arsenal, and the view takes in the theatre, the city and the port. €5. 12:45 · Civil War Museum-Shelter. At the foot of the lift. Galleries dug into the rock, testimonies and an audiovisual on the bombings. €4, about 45 minutes. 14:00 · Lunch at La Marquesita. On Plaza de Alcolea, with a terrace. On Sundays it opens from 13:00 to 18:00. Order the caldero with grey mullet to share, and first some croquettes or a maripuri of Russian salad. Book on 968 50 77 47. 16:00 · Tourist boat. In November, the 16:00 is the last Sunday departure. You sail slowly round the dock and disembark at Fuerte de Navidad, included in the €8 ticket. Buy the ticket at the ticket office or on the Puerto de Culturas website. 17:30 · Head home. In Murcia around a quarter past six. ## If it rains Swap the boat for the ARQVA, the national underwater archaeology museum, opposite the port: free on Sundays, from 10:00 to 15:00. If you are going to use it, do it before lunch. ## Cómo llegar ### By car From Murcia, 40 minutes by motorway. From Alicante, an hour and a quarter on the A-7. From Albacete, about two hours on the A-30. ### Without a car From Murcia, Interbus bus to Cartagena's Estación Central or a Renfe train. Check the Sunday timetables on their websites: the whole plan is on foot from the station. ## Consejos ### Start with the theatre On Sundays it closes at 14:00. ### Go on a Tuesday if you can On Tuesday afternoons the theatre, the castle and the Punic wall are free for some hours. ### Ask about the family rate Two adults and two children under 12 pay the reduced rate at the Puerto de Culturas sites. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Murcia to Cartagena? About 40 minutes by car, and a little more by bus or train. ### Are Cartagena's museums open on Sundays? Yes: the Roman theatre from 10:00 to 14:00 and the castle and shelter until 17:30, in November. They are closed on Mondays. ### How much does the day cost? About €26 in tickets per person, plus lunch. ### Can you do it with children? Yes. They like the boat and the lift; the shelter's audiovisual makes an impression on the smallest.