Multicultural city: tradition and modernity 443.243 population (INE, 2017)

The municipality of Murcia is the seventh most populated in Spain with 443,243 inhabitants (Spain's National Institute of Statistic, 2017). It is the capital of the Region and center of its metropolitan area and of the famous Murcian orchard district. The natural environment of the municipality is characterized by a landscape of orchards and the Segura River. It sits in a fertile valley surrounded by a mountain range on the South side, where Sierra de Carrascoy and the Valle Natural Park stand out.
Residential tourism gained a significant momentum in the early 21st century, mainly for Europeans from Northern Europe who chose the Murcian countryside.
However, the most representative tourist segment of the city is cultural tourism, which is evolving to a new model based on the search for different experiences. In this context, culture has positioned itself as a dynamic axis of the city's tourism, integrating its rich historic and artistic heritage with an emergent sense of innovation and avant-garde. This fact has resulted in a diversified portfolio that meets the needs of visitors, who have access to the city's vast cultural tradition, from remote civilizations to modern Murcia, a city that hosts multiple festivals, exhibitions and shows aimed at promoting art and new areas for expression and thought.
Visitors will also learn that Murcia is an ideal city in which to enjoy peaceful walks in a climate of everlasting spring, not to mention the large commercial and gastronomic scene of the Region's capital.
Furthermore, the city of Murcia is open to all kinds of social and cultural events. That is the main reason why it has been able to develop a complete range of services to host national and international congresses, events, conventions, conferences and symposiums. The Murcian capital is prepared to hold professional and business meetings. In this area, the Auditorium and Congress Center Víctor Villegas, awarded the Q mark of quality in tourism in 2006, is an ideal location.