Águilas: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 39 - 173 El Paso
 This hotel is ideally located in the coast town of Aguilas, on the outskirts of the province of Murcia. This area offers beautiful landscapes and 28 k… MoreEUR 29 - 500 Hotel Puerto Juan Montiel Spa & Base Nautica
 Hotel Puerto Juan Montiel Spa & Base Nautica is situated directly opposite Águila’s marina and the Mediterranean Sea. Guests have free internet and… MoreEUR 45 - 170 Don Miguel
 This hotel is located within landscaped gardens and surrounded by the countryside of Murcia. Only 1.5 km from the beach and a short drive from the cen… MoreEUR 100 - 100 Complejo Playas de Calabardina
 Situated just 5 minutes from the city centre and the beaches, the Complejo Playas de Calabardina offers beautiful and familiar apartments in a tranqui… MoreEUR 75 - 130 Apartamentos Turisticos Los Geraneos
 Apartamentos Turisticos Los Geraneos are set within 1 km of Murcia’s Costa Calida. Each stylish, air-conditioned apartment features free Wi-Fi, flat… MoreEUR 49 - 177 Apartamentos Turisticos Aguilas de los Collados
 Apartamentos Aguilas de los Collados are situated less than 1 km from Playa del Arroz Beach in Aguilas. The complex features a large outdoor swimming … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Águilas: Guide
Águilas is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Almería (province)|Province of Almería. Its population in 2005 was around 31,218.
Location and geography
The municipality has an area of approximately 253.7 square kilometre|km², with some 28 kilometre|km of coastline. It is 105 km from the provincial capital, Murcia.
Águilas is built on the landward side of a small peninsula, between two bays--the Puerto Poniente, a good harbour, on the south-west, and the Puerto Levante, which is somewhat dangerous to shipping in rough weather, on the north-east. The town is at the terminus of a railway from Huercal-Overa.
Águilas houses numerous beaches, including Cala de la Cueva de las Palomas, Cala de la Herradura, Playa Amarilla, Playa de Calabarilla, Playa de Calacerrada, Playa de Cope, Playa de la Cañada del Negro, Playa de la Casica Verda, Playa de la Cola, Playa de la Colonía, Playa de la Galera, Playa de la Higuerica, Playa de la Rambla Elena, Playa de las Pulgas, Playa de los Cocedores, Playa de Poniente, Playa del Arroz and Playa del Barranco de la Mar.
History
Known in Tarraconense. Various civilisations settle Águilas, including the Alans, the Suebi and the Visigoths. It formed part of Spanish Carthage until the Arab invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. It has belonged to the Córdoba, Spain|Córdoban caliph|caliphate and the Kingdom of Valencia, later coming under Almoravides|Almoravidan control and finally ending up definitively included in the Kingdom of Murcia in the 18th Century.
During the second half of the 19th Century, a vast Great Britain|British colony arrived at the town, a definite presence of which still lingers in Águilas. Many of their diverse buildings and infrastructure still stand, such as the British cemetery, the municipal annexe, the Hornillo Pier, facing the Isle of Fraile, and the old house of an England|English merchant, situated on that island.
The town as it is now was designed by Restoration, owing to the great investment by the British, a route was laid between Lorca, Baza, Granada|Baza and Águilas in order to transport esparto or the other exported minerals, making the town one of the principal ports of the Mediterranean. It is in this period that the Hornillo Pier, a great architectural work of the time made of iron and concrete, was constructed.
Today, the economy of the locality depends principally on summertime tourism by middle-class visitors and the intensive agriculture of greenhouse vegetables. The construction of various luxury residential and hotel complexes is planned, primarily aimed at foreigners and high-worth domestic purchasers. The ubiquity of these new developments in locations designated as 'protected' by the European Union (for example, the Regional Park of Cabo Cope-Calnerge, or La Zerrichera, and the foreseeable construction of ancillary golf complexes, has generated much hostility amongst ecological, agricultural and neighbourhood resident groups, although the bulk of citizens of the municipality have accepted the proposals without protest. However, in November 2005, the issue escalated with the resignation of a Partido Popular member and close advisor to Mayor Juan Ramírez Soto due to financial interests in La Zerrichera, and the expulsion from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|Partio Socialista Obrero Español of four advisors for not attending the plenary session on the re-classification of the areas concerned. According to local newspaper La Verdad, the Mayor stated that these farms has been categorised "by accident".
Another major problem suffered by the town is its political instability, caused by a strange boom in regional political parties during the mid-1990s (there were no less than three in the 2003 elections) and by political defections.
Culture
The football (soccer)|football team based in the municipality, Águilas CF, plays in the Spanish Second Division B competition. The notable Spanish actor, Francisco Rabal|Francisco "Paco" Rabal, was born here.
References
External links
info & photos from the province of Murcia
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Águilas". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.