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The tapas at Pacopepe are among the best in town. Try the delicious stuffed artichokes, or one of the celebrated mushroom dishes – everything is fresh from the orchards and gardens around the city.

The most prolific Modernista architect in Cartagena at the turn of the 20th century was Victor Beltrí, who was responsible for this beautiful mansion in the heart of the old town. Profusely decorated with shimmering tiled mosaics and topped with a brilliant cupola, its corner position was chosen to ensure plenty of natural light.

Altea’s main cultural centre features regular performances of opera, zarzuela (typical Spanish operetta), theatre dance and classical music, as well as jazz, flamenco and pop concerts.

This sumptuous Gothic palace, magnificently embellished over the centuries, was home to St Francis of Borja.

For Benidorm at its most flamboyant, try this enormous hotel packed with enjoyably kitsch details. All the usual facilities, plus a special children’s play area.

This little souvenir shop close to Murcia’s biggest sight, the extravagantly Baroque cathedral (see Catedral de Santa María, Murcia), sells all kinds of gifts, from t-shirts to hard-to-find local delicacies such as hand-made sweets from inland villages.

This bland and boxy 1970s four-star parador has a stunning setting right on the beach, and it’s surrounded by lush tropical gardens. The large, light rooms have terraces overlooking the Mediterranean. Facilities include pool, gym and sauna. There’s a fine restaurant.

In a town best known until now for cheap sun, sea and sand (see Benidorm), the Parc de l’Aigüera is a landmark new development. Designed by prestigious Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, this vast, urban park spreads north of the old village of Benidorm. It draws on Classical influences, with an elegant avenue bordered by a stepped terrace decorated with vast urns. This culminates in a circular outdoor amphitheatre, surrounded, Roman-style, with stepped seating. Concerts take place here during the summer months, but it’s always a quiet place for a stroll, a world away from the bedlam on the beach-front.

One of the few surviving stretches of indigenous Mediterranean oak forest, this glorious expanse of woodland is a cool, shady Natural Park scattered with ancient snow wells (used to collect ice in the days before refrigeration) and crisscrossed with beautiful walking trails offering spectacular views of endless mountains.