The N-340 is a major highway in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is over 1,000 km long starting south of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and running predominantly along the coast to Chiclana de la Frontera and the N-IV to

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. In many places the road has now been by-passed by the

Autovía A-7 The Autovía A-7 (also called ''Autovia del Mediterráneo'') is a Spanish autovía (toll-free limited-access highway) which starts in La Jonquera, near the French frontier and ends in Algeciras. It was finally finished in late 2015 upon complet ...

and

Autopista AP-7 The ''Autopista AP-7'' (also called ''Autopista del Mediterráneo'') ( ca, Autopista de la Mediterrània) is a Spanish autopista (controlled-access highway). It runs along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. AP-7 has two different sections (911+ ...

. It follows the former Roman road ''

Via Augusta The ''Via Augusta'' (also known as the ''Via Herculea'' or ''Via Exterior'') was the longest and busiest of the major roads built by the Romans in ancient Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). According to historian Pierre Sillières, who has super ...

'', that was one of the main roads of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

. The N-340 route passes the

Arc de Berà The Arc de Berà (sometimes written Barà) is a triumphal arch some 20 km north-east of the city of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, close to Roda de Berà. This monument is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, which was added to the ...

, a Roman arch. The road starts at the Passeig de Josep Carner in Barcelona. It follows the Avinguda del Paral·lel, Plaça d'Espanya, Carrer de Sants and Carretera de Collblanc before becoming the Carretera de Cadiz a Barcelona and heading through a series of suburbs and industrial areas. The road crosses the

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...

valley with a junction with the

Autovía A-2 The Autovía A-2 (also called ''Autovia del Nordeste'' and ''Avenida de América'', ca, Autovia del Nord-est) is a Spanish autovía and autopista route which starts in Madrid and ends in Barcelona. It replaces the former N-II. Sections Maj ...

and Autovía B-24, it heads through the

Garraf Massif The Garraf Massif ( ca, Massís del Garraf, ) is a mountain range of the Catalan Coastal Range, Catalonia, Spain. Its cliffs reach the Mediterranean waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is La Morella, 593 metres above sea level and furth ...

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

. It then heads along the coast to

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

, changing to the A7 until

Cambrils Cambrils () is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is near the tourist town Salou and is frequently visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport. History Roman empire to Middl ...

, then crossing the

River Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

(

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

) and on to Peníscola. Then it passes through

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

after which much of the road has been superseded by the Autovía CV-10 and Autovía V-21 to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. South of Valencia the road is the Autovía V-31 before becoming the N-340 after junction 536 km of the A-7. The road then heads inland with a junction with the Autovía A-35 before crossing the Sierra de Benicadell through

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

. The road then branches off along the Rio Torremanzanas towards

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

. Through traffic now takes the Autovía A-36. The N-340 then passes through

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

, where the road is at parts dangerous. after which the road is downgraded and joins the A-7 for several stretches. It goes through Lorca. At junction 516 km the road branches in two with the N-340A heading west to

Tabernas Tabernas is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, as well as the name of the principal town of the municipality. It is located on the edge of the famous Tabernas Desert, the filming location of many ...

and the

Autovía A-92 The Autovía A-92 is a highway in Andalusia, Spain. It is a major east–west route running south of the Sierra Nevada and is known as the Carretera Sevilla a Granada and Autovía de Andalucía. It starts in Seville heading parallel to the Rio ...

. The main N-340 becomes the A-7 past

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

until

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

where the Autopista is under construction. The N-340 passes along the coast past

Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. Hi ...

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about 50 ...

where the A-7 begins again. After Málaga the road heads through

Torremolinos Torremolinos () is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still th ...

and Fuengirola before becoming the A-7 again. The N-340 re-emerges at

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the reg ...

and

Puerto Banús Puerto José Banús, more commonly known simply as Puerto Banús, is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía (Marbella), Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, ...

and follows the coast south to

Estepona Estepona () is a town and municipality in the comarca of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its district covers an area of 137 square kilometers in a fertile ...

where it joins the A-7 again to

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

past

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. The Autovía A-381 takes most traffic west to

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...

through the Sierra Blanquilla. The N-340 passes

Tarifa Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...

past the Punta Marroquí o de Tarifa. It then passes

Vejer de la Frontera Vejer de la Frontera is a Spanish hilltop town and municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the right bank of the river Barbate. The town of Vejer de la Frontera occupies a low hill overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar and surrounded ...

and ends at

Chiclana de la Frontera Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial c ...

and the N-IV. The last section is being upgraded to the

Autovía A-48 The Autovía A-48 is a highway in Andalucia, Spain. It follows the route of the N-340 around the southern tip of Spain. It is currently under construction, and upon completion it will serve as a continuation of the Autovía A-7 from Algeciras, l ...

Major Incidents

On 29 August 2001 Binter Mediterráneo Flight 8261 (Registration EC-FBC) crash-landed adjacent to the N-340 near Ruiz Picasso International Airport at Málaga, Spain. Of 44 people aboard, four were killed. The aircraft was scrapped.

Autovía A-36

The Autovía A-36 is an upgrade of the N-340 which provides a more direct (and toll free) route between Alicante and Valencia than the

which runs along the coast. It is scheduled to become the

References

External links

Pile-up closes N-340 in Tarragona
{{coord, 36, 27, 02, N, 6, 08, 17, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title National roads in Spain Roads in Catalonia Transport in Andalusia

Major Incidents

Autovía A-36

See also

References

External links