The Absolute BEST Things to Do in Cartagena, Spain espanaguide.com

List of the best things to do in Cartagena, Spain with photos, information & tips about its famous roman theater, old town, naval museum, nearby beaches & more.

Cartagena is a small port city with a big history. Since its founding in 227 BC, the city has been ruled over by Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs and finally the Kingdom of Spain. There are numerous archaeological sites, including the Roman Theater that was only just discovered in 1988!

Cartagena is also home to a world-class naval museum and a charming old town with plenty of modernist architecture to discover.

Cartagena’s Roman theater (7€ entrance fee) is the city’s main tourist attraction and visiting it is at the very top of the main things to do in Cartagena.

Built by the Romans in the 1st century BC, the theater had space for about 7,000 spectators. Remarkably, houses were built on top of it and it remained buried for almost 2,000 years. It wasn’t discovered until 1988!

Access to Cartagena’s Teatro Romano is done through the theater museum, which occupies the Riquelme Palace located on the town hall square (Plaza del Ayuntamiento).

The visit to the museum starts along an underground corridor with an exhibition of archaeological remains found while excavating the theater.

After touring two more exhibition rooms, you will finally cross one last corridor running under the Santa Maria church until reaching the imposing Roman Theater, which you can tour freely.