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Travel City Guides - Alicante - Valencia Region

Alicante, Costa Blanca, Spain
all in all a maritime city

If diversity is what you are looking for, you will find plenty of it in Alicante, Costa Blanca region. Alicante combines classicism and modernity, leisure and business, fun and studying and even the mountain and the beach.

The richness of its history is preserved through the archaeological remains dating as far back as the third millennium B.C. and on through to the later Iberians. At the beginning of our era, the Romans conferred Alicante with the rank of “city” and named it Lucentum.

The wonderful beaches and mild climate all year round make Alicante one of Spain’s most important tourist areas.

The beauty of the monuments added to the charm of the various festivities and cultural events held throughout the year increase the appeal of Alicante.

Alicante is an economically active and dynamic city, immersed in a process of expansion.

All in all, Alicante is a maritime city, with its beautiful beaches, its walk along the coast, its restaurants, cafés and discotheques, its nautical club and its harbour, from which boats leave for the island of Tabarca — a surfer’s paradise.

Alicante — Where is Alicante?

Alicante, in the Mediterranean Cost, is dominated by the two castles of Santa Barbara and San Fernando. From the top of their rocky peaks, they seem to keep an eye on the city, whose houses are spread over the hills, gently sloping towards the sea, the harbour, the beaches and the coves: San Juan, the Albufereta, Cocó, Postiguet and Saladar beach to the south.

Very few cities can boast of such fine, white sand beaches with such pure water.

Alicante offers you both the hubbub of the coast as well as the calm of the inland countryside. The city is surrounded by beaches as well as by many first class tourist centres. We should not forget the smaller villages in the region of La Marina with towns like Benissa, Javea, Dénia or the white Altea. Castles, fortresses and towns like Elche and Orihuela embellish the fertile inland, full of orange and lemon groves.

Alicante, city map

The city of Alicante runs lengthwise along the coast, gradually moving inland, with neighbourhoods such as San Blas and San Blas Alto or the Altozano quarter to the West; the Benalúa or Babel quarters to the South, or the San Antón and Carolinas quarters to the North, among others. Thus, the city forms a kind of semicircle facing the sea.

Click on the map to enlarge.

Alicante — Population: How many inhabitants does Alicante have?

Around 300,000 inhabitants.

Alicante is a prosperous city, attracting people from different regions in Spain and Europe.

Alicante has grown a lot thanks the continuous expansion of its dynamic services sector.

Alicante—How to get there: cheap flights, train, coach, car rental

There are train and bus stations, a harbour and an international airport. Alicante is located 185 Km from Valencia, 60 Km from Elche, 515 Km from Barcelona and 422 Km from Madrid.

The A-7 toll motorway connects Alicante to all the Mediterranean coast cities. There is also a highway to Madrid.

Bus and train lines link Alicante to all these cities.

Airlines offering both regular and charter flights connect Alicante with the main European cities.

More information on how to come to Alicante.

Alicante—Monuments

If you go up the top of the hill of the Santa Barbara Castle, you will discover an unforgettable panoramic view of the most important monuments in Alicante: the church of Santa Maria, the Cathedral, the Town Hall façade, the monastery of Santa Faz, the San Fernando Castle and much more. Seeing all these magnificent monuments from above will invite you to go down the hill and walk among them.

Along the streets, you will come across large and small palaces, as well as traditionally painted white, yellow and pink houses. Everything is illuminated by the blue light of the Mediterranean Sea and encourages you to continue walking around and discovering places. You can find the old Mercy House, the Asegurada House, where nowadays the Contemporary Art Museum is situated, the Marquis del Bosch palace, the Quijano Pantheon, with its romantic garden, the House of the Witches or the Alberola House.

The widest avenues, such as La Rambla or Doctor Gadea will lead you to Alfonso X el Sabio (Alfonso the wise) Street with the Luceros (Creole fish) on one side and the Central Market on the other, just in front of Zador School of Spanish. This area, including Maisonnave Street, is the most commercial part of the city, where you will see many people shopping.

After so much walking, you will be ready to sit at one of the many outdoor cafés. You can also relax on the beaches of the oceanfront promenade or sit on the chairs in the Explanada (forecourt) de España and watch the masts of the boats in the harbour, the constant movement of the waves on the beach, the people going to and from...

Discover Alicante: don't miss these places

Castle, Churches, Monasteries, Museums, Archaeological sites... and much more to see in Alicante during your stay.

Here you have a short description of some interesting places and monuments.

	Santa Barbara Castle This is one of the Europe’s biggest medieval fortresses. It is located on the peak and hillside of the Benacantil Mountain, so, from its privileged position, you can see the entire Bay of Alicante. It has three areas, differentiated by the stages in its construction, from the 11th to the 18th century. You can enter the castle either by a pine-tree lined road or using the lifts that have been dug into the mountain. You can get on the lifts at the end of the tunnel, opposite the Postiguet Beach. More information about Santa Barbara Castle.
	Cathedral of San Nicolás It was built throughout most of the 17th century over the remains of an old mosque, although it also preserves traces of a 15th century cloister. It is of late Renaissance style, and therefore, it is sober in its external aspect. Inside, the Cathedral is spaciously proportioned with a delicate dome; the altars of the patrons of Alicante, San Nicolás of Bari and the Virgin of Remedio are on the lower and upper sides of the presbytery. The cloister dates from the 15th century, and the baroque rear main fronts are outstanding. The baroque style comes to its highest splendour in the Communion Chapel, dating from the 18th century, as well as in the organ.
	La Asegurada Museum This is the town's oldest preserved civil building. It was built in 1685 by the Municipal Council as a corn storehouse. However, throughout its life, it has been used for a variety of purposes: it became the Town Hall headquarters while the present one was under construction; it has been a prison and a storehouse for artillery during the Peninsula War, a secondary school, a business school… One the most important contemporary art collections was donated by an important sculptor from Alicante.
	Archaeological Museum The Archaeology Museum is located in the old Hospital of San Juan de Dios, and its exhibits span the Palaeolithic to the Modern Age, with a special emphasis on Iberian art. Discover Alicante's past and origins, the legacy of the different civilisations that left their imprint on the province and its ways of life. Take a walk inside caves and around archaeological sites, where you can learn about excavation and restoration techniques. Visit a sunken Roman ship and tour its holds full of amphorae and treasures. These are only some of the many activities on offer at the MARQ, a place that brings history to life in a new way. It received international recognition as the 2004 European Museum of the Year for the "originality and intelligent approach" of its exhibits. Through room after room, we can travel to remote prehistoric times; to the Iberian culture and later Roman invasion of these Mediterranean lands; to the Middle Ages; and finally, moving on, to the modern, contemporary Alicante we know today. This trip through history is complemented by spectacular
	Alicante - Town Hall Baroque-style building from the 18th century, whose magnificent 49-metre façade is flanked by two unique twin towers. At the foot of the main staircase is set the "zero mark", which served as reference for measuring the height over sea level of the whole Spanish geography.
	Principal Theatre Built in 1847 following the Neoclassic style, it presents a façade with a six-columned porch.
	Old Fish Market Peculiar building showing Moorish influence conceived by civil engineer Próspero Lafarga at the beginning of the 20th century. Nowadays, it serves as a spatious and well-equipped Municipal Exhibition Hall.

Alicante - Weather forecast

Costa Blanca enjoys over 2,800 hours of sunshine throughout the year, with an average annual temperature of about 19.3ºC, giving its microclimate ideal characteristics for living there all year round. The numerous clear, sunny days make the province of Alicante an excellent place for leisure and holidays, because it is possible to enjoy the fresh air every day of the year.

The Alicante Weather is well known for a very mild climate amongst the cities at the Costa Blanca. Covered in the north by small hills and further north by rather high mountains (about 1600 m high), the area keeps the Alicante weather in a kind of microclimate. This limits the rain days per year to just about 20 per year. The average temperature even in winter time does not fall below 16° C.

The current Alicante Weather as of today:

If you want to know the weather forecast not only for Alicante, but for other places as Alcoy, Benidorm, Denia, Elche, Novelda or Torrevieja visit Costa Blanca website.

Alicante, Costa Blanca, enjoy a typical mediterranean cuisine

Fish and seafood from the Mediterranean sea, with vegetables and fruits from the orchards, accompanied by the inland wines, make up the main part of the healthy and natural cuisine of Alciante, whose basic ingredient is the rice.

All these flavours of mediterranean sea and land are mixed together in the delicious rice “a la alicantina”, the cauldron, the black rice or the salt pork.

To finish your meal, try the fruits and the ice cream and, above all, the typical universal dessert —the “turrón” with its varieties from Jijona (soft) and from Alicante (hard), accompanied by “fondillón”— old wine.

If you want to do more than just read, click here and try some of the typical recipes of the Alicante andCosta Blanca region: paella, arroz negro and much more...

Leisure areas in Alicante: nightlife, discotheques, cafés, bars

There are many leisure areas in Alicante where the most varied entertainment is guaranteed.

In El Barrio, the name of the Alicante old town, there is a high concentration of bars and restaurants with excellent atmosphere, as well as some places with live music, preferably jazz.

Some must-see stops in Alicante are: La Zona, just behind the Explanada de España (forecourt), which is for the young and lively crowd, or la Ruta de la Madera, behind Alfonso el Sabio Avenue, near Zador school of Spanish and El Puerto, with their more modern spots, discotheques and out-door cafés.

Festivities and events in Alicante

If you take part in the Alicante festivities you will enjoy truly magic moments.

We recommend the pilgrimage of Santa Faz or the processions of Moors and Christians, the Porrate of Saint Anthony around the 17th of January with its stands in the streets, the processions of Saint Nicholas, or the Carnivals.

On June 24th, the eve of San Juan, or Saint John, traditional bonfires are lit all over Alicante and the streets filled with music, celebration and fireworks. Huge papier-mâché; monuments are consumed by the flames during the purifying rituals of this magical night.

And these are only some of the most significant festivities in Alicante. There are many others celebrated throughout the year.

All year round Alicante offers you an extensive cultural programme. You can choose among a variety of concerts, conferences, theatrical productions or a medieval market at the end of June.

There is also a summer festival on the forecourt of the harbour with its theatre plays and concerts. Do not forget the nights of the Castle, the International Festival of Contemporary Music or the International Puppets Festival.

More information about Festivities and events in Alicante.

The province of Alicante- Costa Blanca coast and inland Costa Blanca

Alicante is a rich province, whose charm lies in its diversity: sea and mountain, irrigated areas and dry lands, calm corners and noisy tourist centres. Benidorm is located 42 km up the coast to the north. It is the best tourist-town in all the Mediterranean.

The excellent beaches of Levante and Poniente, the cafés, pubs and discotheques and the great Terra Mítica attraction park will guarantee your fun.

Further up North, you will find the charm and class of Calpe, in the shadow of the Peñón de Ifach. Javea and Dénia are also worth a visit for the beauty of their old town- centres and beaches.

Towards the South, the coast is flatter and there are extensive sandy areas and wetlands. Alongside Santa Pola beach, the Guardamar dunes and pine forest will lead you to Torrevieja, a tourist centre in the South of the province.

Inland, you must visit Guadalest – a typical town set in a dream-like landscape. Take the route of the castles and visit the La Mola Castle in Novelda or the La Atalaya Castle in Villena. The farthest one is Bañeres Castle, 82 km from Alicante. Walk around the palm tree forests in Elche, situated 59 km away, or around the historic town-centre of Orihuela.

There are mountains for horseback riding or biking, beaches for water sports, as well as golf courses to improve your swing.

More information on the province of Alicante

The Autonomous Community: the Community of Valencia

The sea and the valleys full of vegetable plantations and fruit groves, the historic villages and the economically booming cities make for a region with an old history and an innovative economy, squarely facing the future.

This land offers you an eminently Mediterranean landscape.

There are kilometres of coast combined with enormous coastal plains and mountains where you can enjoy the excellent climate all year round. Big cities and tourist centres with all kinds of services and activities mix with small and quiet villages, that have preserved their millenniums of history and culture, but at the same time stay open to the future.

More information on the region

Cities near Alicante: Valencia, Elche, Orihuela, Murcia...

The biggest city is Valencia, founded in the 2nd century B.C. Many historic events have left their imprint throughout the centuries and enriched the heritage of this city. Nowadays, it has become one of the most important Spanish cities in the cultural and economic fields. It is also the capital of the Community of Valencia.

A tour around the centre of the city will bring you closer to its history and some of the monuments like the Town Hall, the Post office building, the church Saint John of the Cross or the market of Christopher Columbus.

The coastal road will lead you to the harbour, to the Fish Market, or to the Royal Atarazanas (famous building) and the oceanfront walkway.

If you are attracted by modernity, visit the Valencia of the Third Millennium, with architecturally impressive City of Arts and Sciences.
More information about the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia

In Elche - 60 km from Alicante, you can walk round the largest palm forest in Europe, declared Common Natural Heritage.

In Orihuela you can see the largest monumental grouping in the province – the gothic Cathedral of El Salvador (The Saviour), the Churches of San Jaime, Santa Justa (Just) and Santa Rufina, and its palaces and museums among palm trees

As you can see, this friendly land, where everybody is welcome, has a great variety of things to offer you.

See you soon in Alicante, Spain !

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