On 13 October 1983, the town was granted municipal autonomy, in respect of which it holds an annual week-long celebration featuring live music, shows, windsurfing competitions and firework displays.

Los Alcazares was used as a location for the 2008 movie of Ernest Hemingway's posthumous novel The Garden of Eden, starring Jack Huston, Richard E. Grant and Mena Suvari.

A partly disused historic military air base at the southern end of the town was also used for location filming for the 2010 war movie, Green Zone featuring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear and Jason Isaacs.

The Roman occupation of Los Alcazares started in 210 B.C., with them recognizing the salt properties of the Mar Menor and the La Manga 'strip' as a band of security from any invaders.

An aviation museum - the Museo Aeronautico Municipal - opened in 1998 on the opposite side of the main road to the camp and now displays a comprehensive collection of archive film, photos and models as well as some original artifacts, all dedicated to the history of this nationally significant air base - the home of Spanish flying boat heritage.

Los Alcazares has generally some of the best beaches in the Murcian region, many of them had been awarded "Blue Flag Status" from the Spanish Tourist board based on their cleanliness, safety and atmosphere.

However, all its beaches have lost the "Blue Flag Status" in the recent years due to the bad state of the coastal salty lagoon that faces Los Alcázares Beaces (Mar Menor) and the high level of pollution of the water landform.

[5] With a surface area of nearly 170 km2, a coastal length of 70 km, and warm and clear water no more than 7 m in depth, it is "the largest swimming pool in the world", in the opinion of famous swimmer and Hollywood actress Esther Williams.