With many natural parks to visit, the coastline, mountain ranges, monuments, museums, skiing in the mountains and scuba diving off the coast, flamingoes in the salt pans and more churches than you can shake a stick at, this is a very varied area! :-) If I had to choose a city in Spain to live in, this would be my choice. Both here and in the towns outside the city, if you order a drink (not coffee or tea!) the local custom is to charge for the drink and the tapas comes free: not absolutely every bar does this, so do check, but it's a regional practice which applied to most of my lunches and snacks during my 2 month stay. The shopping is eclectic, with world brands like H&M, Sophora and Zara, but mostly individually owned shops, and quite stylish. :-) City life in Spain is all about starting the day with coffee, dipping churros in it for a quick or leisurely breakfast.
This is not a beach holiday atmosphere, with lots of people speaking English and shops and bars open all day long, so try further along the coast either way if that's what you enjoy. Once you try it, siestas are addictive, and going out to shop and to eat late in the day is a calmer and more enjoyable experience. Seems odd to us, but as we are in their country, we should adapt and don't fight it or get frustrated, or you'll risk soiling your stay. Some shops on the main streets will stay open all day, but even banks shut for siesta. Therefore, fewer people will speak English and the timetable of most days will observe the siesta hours of 1:30 to 5:00 when everyone stops to lunch and rest, starting up again at 5:00pm. There are English speakers about, but as this area is not spoilt by tourists, you will find this is a much truer representation of how the Spanish live, and it's not a beach obsessed, bar and ice cream venue. Almeria is thankfully not clogged with tourists, and the people eating and drinking outside bars and restaurants are more likely to be locals than tourists.
Spanish obsessed plus#
City dwellers live in apartments, walking and playing in the many parks plus accessing the close beaches only minutes walk away. It is situated on the south east coast, with a port and harbour from which large ferries arrive and depart to North Africa. The city of Almeria is a fully working city and not a holiday seaside town.