Getting around a historic city can be most gratifying on foot if the local is small and the places of interests are clustered in an area like the Vatican.  But as you visit grottos and cathedrals, museums, art galleries and the public squares and markets scattered over 340 square miles, you better get a car hire to get you to the place you want to visit. So when in Murcia, it pays to hire your private care to afford you and your family the comfort and privacy you need while getting your way around the city.

• The Museums

Savoring the history of a nation and its people starts with a tour of any of its famous museums and if you rented a car, you could be on your way to all of them in a couple of days.  The Salzillo Museum at the Plaza de San Agustin is a good place to start. It holds the most important processional religious images by the noted wood carver Francisco Salzillo. The Museo de la Archicofradia de la Sangre holds a permanent exhibition of the works of the Most Precious Blood of Christ movement with sculptures from Nicolas de Bussy and Roque Lopez, to mention some.

A church turned into a museum is what the San Juan de Dios Church is.  It houses a permanent exhibition of 18^th to 18^th century religious images and wood carvings.  Then there’s the Las Claras Art Center which is built on the remains of 12^th to 13^th century Islamic houses.  The Fine Arts Museum showcases prestigious Spanish artworks from the 16^th to the 20^th century.

For a more modern approach to reliving the country’s past, the City Museum along the Plaza da las Agustines uses interactive technologies t showcase the city’s 2000-year history.

• The Festivities in Murcia

One of the many colorful sights of a city is its traditional festivities that really bring to life the cultural values of a nation.  In Murcia, the solemn Catholic commemoration of Holy Week is embodied in the Murcia Holy Week procession considered as among the most famous throughout all of Spain. Life size finely adorned religious sculptures by the noted sculptor Francisco Salzillo (17-7 – 1783) are taken out from cathedrals and museums and paraded on elaborately festooned floats adorned with flowers and in the evening, the parade glitters with candle lights stopping at various churches meant to re-enact the Calvary route of Christ before crucifixion.

But the most colorful festivity comes a week after the solemn Holy Week in the traditional Bando de la Huerta on the following Tuesday when the locals don the traditional Huertano get-up to celebrate the Huerta parade.  Then the following Saturday gets another colorful parade treat with the Entierro de la Sarina or Burial of the Sardine.

Then there’s the Three Cultures International Festival which occurs every May organized to overcome racism and foster understanding and reconciliation between Christians, Muslims and Jews who have contributed to enriching the traditions of the country for centuries.  The festival showcases the three great cultures in exhibitions, symposia, conferences, music and the performing arts. GP