Murcia, Spain

Murcia sits on the Segura River in southeast Spain and is home to roughly 450,000 residents. The Emir of Córdoba, Abd ar-Rahman II, founded the city in 825, and centuries of irrigation turned the surrounding Huerta de Murcia into one of the largest market gardens in Europe. The 1465 Murcia Cathedral anchors the old centre with a 93-metre baroque bell tower, the second-tallest in Spain, while the 1272 Real Casino de Murcia pairs neo-Moorish interiors with a restored 19th-century ballroom. Tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, born here in 1980, is the city's most recognised modern export.