La Unión Today

La Unión Tourist Information

La Unión is a municipality of around 19,000 inhabitants enclosed by the municipality of Cartagena on all sides except the south, where it borders the Mediterranean sea and forms part of the Comarca del Mar Menor.

The most outstanding feature of the municipality is both historical and geographical: the mines, their exploitation the focal point around which the History of La Unión revolves.

La Unión For over 2000 years the mines of the Sierra Minera, which stretches from Cartagena to Cabo de Palos, were exploited for their reserves of minerals. The Romans tunnelled deep into the hillsides 2000 years ago, and the process ended with open cast mining gouging the landscape, millions of tons of waste material dumped into Portmán bay and in the area surrounding the town. In 1991 the mines finally closed when there were too few La Unión minerals left to make continued activity economically viable.However, the waste left behind by open-cast mining has left a distinctive landscape, scarred with slag heaps and abandoned mineworkings.

To exploit the tourist potential of the mines the Parque Minero, a mining park has been built, with the imposing Mina Agrupa Vicenta at its heart, and the town has also opened a Mining Museum, the Matildes Mine and a flamenco museum.

Further plans exist to increase the tourism potential of Portmán Bay through regenerating the bay into which millions of tons of sterile wasters were dumped, building a new marina and further residential accommodation.

The Cante de las Minas is the other important attraction of La Unión, the most prestigious celebration and competition relating to Flamenco in Spain, filling the historic old marketplace, the Catedral del Cante with flamenco every summer. Parallel to this, the town is also developing its potential with the addition of a flamenco school, and regular flamenco performances in the mine itself.

Where is La Unión?

La Unión is just a half hour drive from the regional airport at San Javier and is accessed via local rail and main road connections laong the shores of the Mar Menor and via Cartagena.

Click for map, La Unión

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18th to 20th April, La Unión Minerals and Fossils Fair The 23rd annual Feria de Minerales y Fósiles in La Unión The municipality of La Unión has a long tradition of activity associated with mining, the mines in the Sierra Minera dating back over 2,000 years, and every year the town holds..

Mina Las Matildes open from Thursday to Sunday in March 2019This is a fascinating step back into the mining history of the Sierra Minera The Mina Las Matildes is an interesting morning out for anyone interested to learn about the history of the Sierra Minera, the boom the mining industry created in Cartagena..

€76950 Apartments for For Sale La Union - Murcia Villas La MangaRef: LU10 Beds: 2 Baths: 1 Pool: 1 Surface Area Built: Surface Area Plot: Exceptionally well presented Penthouse apartment located in the highly popular Ribera Golf resort in La Union, only 15 minutes drive from beautiful Mar Menor. The property comprises..

€109950 Town Houses for For Sale La Union - Murcia Villas La MangaRef: LU09 Beds: 2 Baths: 1 Pool: 1 Surface Area Built: Surface Area Plot: Charming, smart and modern Townhouse for sale with access to four communal pools in a nice residential location known as “Sabina Golf” which is within close proximity to the thriving..

Potential setback for regeneration project in the bay of Portmán Legal wrangling continues over the re-awarding of the works contract in 2016 It is reported in regional newspaper La Verdad that the regeneration project in the bay of Portmán, which is scheduled to be completed in the autumn of 2020, could.. 25/03/2019

Earthquake shakes eastern Murcia The tremor on Sunday afternoon reached 4.0 on the mbLg scale The calm of Sunday afternoon was interrupted for many people in the eastern half of the Region of Murcia by an earthquake which struck just off the coast of Torrevieja, in the province.. 25/03/2019

Chiringuito El Lastre, tapas, meals and drinks on the beautiful seafront of the bay of PortmánSeafood, sunbed hire and unrivalled scenery in the spectacular Bay of Portmán After a winter of refurbishment and upgrades the Chiringuito El Lastre beachfront bar in Portmán reopened in March 2019 to welcome the new spring and summer season..

Weekly street market in La Unión Tuesday is market day in the Calle Mayor in La Unión For many expats and visitors, one of the great joys of shopping in Spain is the opportunity to buy fresh products and bargain clothes in the weekly local markets, which are awash with colour..

Weekly markets in the municipality of Cartagena Year-round and summer-only street markets in Cartagena Not all weekly markets are set in stone, and if they coincide with public holidays they may be cancelled or postponed. In addition, days can change, so if you're not sure a call to the relevant..

Introduction to the beaches of La Unión The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are attractive in their own right and are very popular..

La Unión beaches: Playa LastreA charming wild beach with popular bar and small port The La Unión municipality has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..

La Unión beaches: Playa de PortmánA wide curving bay popular with fishermen The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..

Train services Los Nietos - La Unión - Cartagena The journey between Los Nietos and Cartagena takes around 30 minutes The main railway station of Los Nietos marks the eastern end of the local FEVE line which runs between Cartagena and the Mar Menor, with approximately 15 services per day running in both..

Introduction to Portmán Portmán is a pedanía of the La Unión municipality Portmán is without any doubt one of the most surprising places in the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida and lies within the municipality of La Unión...

The history of Portmán Portmán was a natural harbour at the service of the mining industry which eventually ruined it What is now the village of Portmán in the administrative district of La Unión lies in a natural sheltered harbor at the foot of one of the..

Hospital de la Caridad archaeological museum in Portmán Museo Arqueológico de Portmán A former mining hospital is now home to the archaeological discoveries made in Portmán The building in which the archaeological museum of Portmán is now housed was founded as a hospital in..

Cante de las Minas