You are looking for a wide, elevated paved walkway bordered by vintage style black metal street lamps and a sturdy metal railing on one side, flanked by a dense line of tall trees on the other. What looks like a casual pedestrian boulevard is actually a massive piece of defensive engineering.
This is the Paseo del Malecón, an earth and stone barricade built three meters above the ground, stretching out for over one point five kilometers. Its original job was to stop the winding Segura River from completely drowning the west side of the city. It turns out, when you build a giant, flat wall with a great view to hold back water, people will inevitably decide it makes a fantastic place for a stroll. In fact, by the year seventeen thirty-six, the wall was so heavily damaged by rain and horse carriage traffic that an architect had to rebuild it entirely.
It was a solid investment. During the infamous Santa Teresa flood of eighteen seventy-nine, the river absolutely raged, but this retaining wall held firm. Unfortunately, the water simply bypassed it and flooded the city center from an entirely different direction, which is a classic engineering technicality. Today, this Bien de Interés Cultural, or Cultural Interest Asset in Spanish law, acts as a protected historical bridge between the urban grid and the old agricultural orchards. For your convenience, the walkway is open twenty-four hours a day, Monday through Sunday.
It stands as a charming reminder that sometimes the best civic defense doubles as a pretty nice place for a walk. Take a moment to soak this in, and when you are ready, we can head to the Almudí Palace.
