Almeria province, long appreciated by Spaniards from Madrid and the North, is now very much on the list of destinations for the discerning holidaymaker. This is mainland Europe's warmest and sunniest region, with over 3000 hours of sunshine a year.

Almeria (mirror of the sea) was known to nearly all the inhabitants of the Ancient world - Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans - but it owes its name to the Moors. Except for a 10 year period in the mid 12th century, the Moors had control of the city for over 700 years before Ferdinand and Isabella finally recovered it for Spain during the reconquest.