Castle of Lorca — Attraction in Lorca

Looks spectacular and enticing from the A-7 road but absolutely not worth the visit. The castle scores points for the overall appearance from a distance and the setting and views from it as it is situated on a hilltop with fine vistas of the surrounding countryside but once you get out of the car and pay the admission fee the experience is very disappointing. Virtually nothing worth seeing on site as the synagogue is an excavation site and not worth the 4 euro (there should be no admission price at all as what little there is can be seen in one minute), the Espolon tower has good views from the top but is very basic and when we visited the Alfonsina tower which is the most impressive structure on the site wasn't even open. We were really looking forward to visiting this castle and took a lengthy detour from Cartagena to get there and we wished we hadn't. Much better castles to spend your time and money on...

A gentle paced walk around the ramparts, the audio guide is well thought through and again, gentle paced. The boards,dotted around, around are informative and in English and Spanish. There are tours around the Jewish and 2nd tower but only in English on certain days. The car park wasnt easy to get to (we ended up back on the motorway) but found it with percaverance (off the motorway there's a road just to the side of it,you think it's a service road as there is a sign of that ilk but that's the one you want). Much of the walking round is outside so have cover up for the mid day sun. We visited a Wedsnesday in May, arrived at 11am and it was very quiet. It's good value for money as €6 each (adults) and takes a good 1.5hrs to stroll around. There are seats in the amphitheatre and by the exit for a picnic, and a coffee shop...

Lovely castle, which is kept well. You can walk round the gardens for free, pay €4 for each tower or €10 to see all 3. Each tower opens for 45 minutes at 12:00 13:00 and 14:00. We saw all 3 & I would recommend this. The carpark at the bottom is free to park. There is a steep walk up to the castle, and the walks can also be difficult, I wouldn't advise this for people with mobility difficulties. The lady on the front desk was really friendly and knowledgeable about the castle and the ruins. We had a drink and ice cream from the shop which were reasonably priced. The staff in the cafe were also very friendly, the cafe was clean and tidy...