2 things you must do in Murcia, Spain

First thing first, for those of you that hadn't read about my experience in Murcia, here few points summed up for you in this post, but in case you want to read more, here the link for you: Erasmus Experience.

No worries if the post is in Italian and it happens you are not able to speak Italian, the Erasmusu team has translated this experience for you in English.

How to get to Murcia

I have personally arrived in Murcia from London and for my luck I have spent very little money to go to Spain during the period of February, particularly, I have arrived in Alicante, which is about 1 hour away from Murcia.

I had to take a bus to Murcia from the airport of the beautiful city of Alicante. The bus service runs about every hour and the journey to Murcia takes around an hour time to arrive specifically to the city center.

However, if you don't find a flight that goes to Alicante, another possible airport which is not too far is Valencia, which is 3 hours away by bus, if you want to go cheap or by train it would be less time, but obviously more money. However, I would strongly suggest Alicante for its proximity or finally, San Javier. San Javier is an airport which is located on the coast, away from Murcia of about 1-hour car, from London to San Javier flights were too expensive, that's why I flew to Alicante instead.

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Accommodation

Before heading to Murcia, I have checked some Hostels and I was happy to find some good one, cheap and nice hostels. However, I believe that depending on what's the length of your journey, to rent a flat would be the cheapest choice and ideal compared to sleep in a hostel. I paid, to my surprise, absolutely nothing every month and I lived just in the city center, well it is 5 minutes walk away from the city center, which could be considered central for sure. Expenses were all included in the price, few things weren't, such as the light's bill which we had to pay, with the rest of the flatmates, every two months. Life is very cheap in here, food, drinks, clothes, everything is very affordable and that is why life is very happy here.

Find an internship

I was lucky to have found a very nice internship that I have found (for you to know) through an Erasmus web page on the internet. I do not recall the name, but I can ensure you that if you do a search here in Erasmusu, you can find accommodation, tips on how to get to the city center and also a job. However, I think would be not too hard to find a job in Murcia, even if you haven't found an internship before arriving in Murcia. The city has indeed, many shopping centers, restaurants, offices, bars, and a lot more, where you could find an employment. The salary might be not as high as expected and above all compared with England, the salary is quite a small amount of money, but then again, remember that Murcia is very cheap.. However for what you will have to pay for living in the city, the salary are quite modest.

Lifestyle in Murcia

The lifestyle in Spain is absolutely awesome and enjoyable. People are very relaxed, and it is not a stereotype, trust me. In fact, the way they live life is one of those ways we all would love to live the rest of our lives, relax free, eating well, sleeping afternoons' siestas, when they can of course, some of them work in the afternoon, drinking Cerveza or any kind of drinks really, as long as it is with some friends.

Going out

Going out in Spain is a completely different concept from the usual night out in England or Italy or France, which are all places where I have been living for quite a period. You can’t, in fact, go out before a certain night time, if you are in Spain. If you are wondering why, it is because if you do, you will end up being the only one in the club at such an early time. So there are certain time rules in Spain, whereas in other places you can go out almost whenever you want. Time is a different concept, for example, having lunch and dinner it happens always later than in the Northern countries of Europe, where in Spain is a very normal habit, elsewhere is being crazy. The sun is always up, people are generally happier and willing to share their day with you, that possibly because as I mentioned before, people are more chilled and stress-free. In order to do so, you can possibly go to the beach as Murcia is about 35 minutes car away from the beach, which make things even better, right?

But now let's go with the 2 things that you must do if you are visiting Murcia.

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Tapas

Tapas in Spain are absolutely amazing and also, they are absolutely a must thing to do.

Yes, tapas is one of the most common things to do if you are in Spain.

However, there is no point for you to go in a specific city and take any tapas, you need to know what tapas to take, which one is really typical and where to go in order to enjoy cheap tapas, but also extremely good quality tapas.

As I have been living in Murcia, Spain.

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Murcia's most typical tapas is 'Marinera' with the anchovies on top as you can see in the picture above or a 'Bicicleta' if you opt for the other option, basically without the anchovies on top of the tapas.

Murcia is a wonderful place, very sunny and extremely cosy. People are very outgoing and welcoming, and I have basically fallen in love with Murcia. Being Italian, food is very important to me, therefore, trust me if I tell you that tapas in Murcia, are the top tapas. I have already tried out many tapas bars and I have loved each one of those bars, particularly because they were offering different things within a standard range of tapas and with a good price. The Murcian typical tapas are something to look forward to, as they differ from any other tapas. It is a must to do tapas in Spain, it is like when you go to France and do an ‘Apero’ in France or else, when you go to Italy and do an ‘Aperitivo’, or an ‘Aperitive’ in England, I mean you could be from no matter where in the world, you have to try tapas out, because they are nothing like other places aperos' food. Moreover, tapas are usually served with a drink, which is included in the price, and as real a good Italian I always opt for a classic Martini, and obviously white, but you can, of course, choose between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Finally, it is a very social event, as no one in Spain would say no to an invitation for tapas. I would add a Smoöy to end up your night in the best way you can. A Smoöy is a yogurt ice cream that you can eat in San Domingo square, with up to 3 toppings of any sort (kit kat, oreo, peanuts, crunchy caramel and so yummy and so forth) for a total price of maximum 5 euros if you take the big pot, which trust me is enormous. You can enjoy the nicest frozen yogurt ever, in central Murcia, strolling down on a warm summer night.

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Clubbing

And finally, it all comes down to clubbing. And fortunately for you, clubs are absolutely another thing to do in Murcia, no excuses. I mean you need to dance in order to digest all the tapas you have been eating. I know you couldn't think of yourself to be able to eat all the tapas you actually have been eating, but yes you did, don't lie to me. And if you haven't yet, trust me you will.

Ok, so there is a very large range of clubs among which you can choose that have a different style, price, and music. However, many times the party is on the street, which is basically the well known typical Spanish 'Botellón'.

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Most of the clubs in Murcia are free to entry, which is amazing. Also, most of the clubs have really, cheap price when it comes buying your drinks to enjoy the night English style, or Spanish style. Yes, indeed, Spanish drink as much as English people do, unbelievable, but absolutely true.

Clubs in Murcia usually close late in the morning, for example, the pub Revolver, which is located in the center, closes at 4 am, being the club that closes the earliest, with the Badulake, which also closes as early as 3 am and it is a nice bar located in the center, where the early night life starts. Most of the young people go to Badulake and so do the Erasmus students. However, there are many other places which stay open until 7 am in the morning, and where you can go and continue your night, until you are exhausted and only dream about your bed.

If you go to Murcia then, you will need to party, no excuses.

http://www.vivezone.com/en/Murcia/DondeSalir/ZonasParaSalir/ZonaTascas/