Live cameras in Almería, Spain

Almería is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, in southeastern Spain, and the capital of the province of the same name. The municipal register counts a little over 200,000 inhabitants. Above the old town stands the Alcazaba, a hilltop fortress begun in the tenth century under the Caliphate of Córdoba, with walls running along the ridge and gardens inside its enclosures; it is one of the largest Islamic fortresses in Andalusia. The cathedral below was built with towers and battlements to defend against raids from the sea, and the port still has ferry links to Morocco and Algeria.

Almería is known as one of the driest cities in Europe and among the sunniest, with more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. The landscape around it is unlike anywhere else in Spain. To the north, the Tabernas Desert served as the set for many western films of the 1960s and 1970s, and some of the movie towns are still open to visitors. To the east, the volcanic coast of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park hides quiet coves and white villages, while to the west the plain is covered by plastic greenhouses that grow vegetables for much of Europe.

Motorways of the southeast

For Almería the map draws on the Dirección General de Tráfico, whose roadside cameras publish a new still frame every few minutes. They follow the main highways around the city, including the A-7 Mediterranean motorway, which passes just north of Almería on its way along the coast, and the A-92, which heads inland toward Granada and Seville. Truck traffic from the greenhouse farms is heavy on these roads, and in summer holiday traffic heads to the beaches.

Although its longitude is far closer to London's than to Berlin's, Almería keeps Spain's standard clock, one hour ahead of UTC in winter. Late June sunsets come around half past nine, and December sunsets just before six. Rain is rare and winters are mild, while summers are hot. The city's biggest celebration is the Feria in late August, honoring the Virgen del Mar, the patron saint of Almería.

The beaches of San José and Mónsul in Cabo de Gata, and the hill town of Níjar with its pottery, are within an hour's drive.

Sources: Almería - Wikipedia · DGT - Dirección General de Tráfico.