Benicarló

Benicarló is a town located on the Mediterranean coast. The ancient settlement of "Puig", built on a Puig de la Nou hill, dates back to the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age. That is proven by the discovered remains from the 8th century BC. It can be visited through MUCBE museum.

Originally, Benicarló was a Muslim farming settlement known as "Benugazló" or "Benigazlúm." However, in the oldest known written records from 1236, it is referred to as "Benicastló." It wasn't until 1359 that Benicastló gained independence from Peñíscola.

Benicarló has a big harbour for public and commercial purposes that offers a variety of activities for water sports lovers. This is one of the reasons we go to Benicarló a few times a week - to check on our adorable fishing boat. Another reason - to work on the goal to eventually be speaking Spanish with the help of our sweetest language teacher. So let's take a walk to see what we can find here.

- Benicarló has several city and wild beaches. We like one called Mar Xica. It's outside the central Benicarló and has a few lovely restaurants. Besides, it is a pebble beach which my husband loves because he can't stand the sand in his swimming trousers.

- Just in front of the City Hall you won't miss a Parroquia de San Bartolomé (eng. Sant Bartomeu Church) dedicated to the Saint of the town. It's a gigantic building with an impressive entrance. The architecture is typical of the late baroque style.

- Ayuntamiento (eng. City Hall) is a nicely decorated building being used as a town hall since 1988.

- The old prison is worth a visit. It dates back to the 15th-16th centuries. Visits are possible upon request correu.mucbe@ajuntamentdebenicarlo.org

- Several architecturally interesting buildings: Casa Bosch (eng. Bosch House), built in 1904 and Juzgado de Paz (eng. Courthouse).

- Carrer Ample (eng. Ample street) is one of the oldest streets in Benicarló with a rich history.

- Central Market with a wide range of products as well as Mercat Vell (eng. Old Market square), location of an old market, that was active until 1961 summer.

Personal favorites from Benicarló:

- Convento de Sant Francisco (eng. San Francisco convent) is a baroque-style religious building built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Since 2005 the building is used for the Mucbe Museum which isn't very big but is interesting to visit when in Benicarló.

- Jardín del Papagayo (eng. Papagayo garden) is a small zoo, mainly focused on parrots. The fun part is that you get to feed some of the animals such as parrots or turtles yourself while they are walking/flying around you. Very entertaining, especially with children, I look forward to bring our son there one day.

- Artichokes festival. Artichokes are a big deal in Benicarló, with an old tradition and a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) certificate since 1998. Every year, throughout the month of January, the Artichokes festival takes place. Since recent years there are many side events related to artichokes organized as well, including guided visits, concerts, barbeques and gastronomic demonstrations. See you in January, I wouldn't miss it.

Here you can read more about what Benicarló has to offer: https://benicarlo.travel

Feel free to send me your suggestions for must-visit places in the province of Castellón and beyond.