Cartagena in a day: a walking route

Park at the port and start at the Roman Theatre Museum. The route through it climbs from the entrance on the seafront up through the excavation and out onto the tiers of the theatre itself, which is the best way to arrive at it.

From there, walk up to the Castillo de la Concepción for the view over the harbour and the naval base, then down into the modernist streets — Cartagena had a mining boom in the late nineteenth century and spent the money on architecture.

Finish on Calle Mayor, the pedestrianised spine of the old town, which fills up from about eight in the evening. Allow six hours and wear something you can climb a hill in.