Alicante
About
Discover the history of Alicante
Alicante grew around a bare rock planted at the water's edge, with Santa Bárbara Castle on top and the whole bay spread out beneath its walls. At its foot, Postiguet Beach runs along the city itself, and the harbour and its terraces take over where the sand ends. The pale sand of San Juan Beach stretches for kilometres further up the coast, while Levante Beach, to the north, never quite goes quiet. Offshore, Tabarca Island became Spain's first marine reserve in 1986, and boats cross to it from the harbour. The cooking is built on rice — arroz a banda, fish paellas — and on turrón, the almond nougat made in the villages inland. Behind the coast the land turns to rock: the turquoise pools of the Fonts d'Algar, the underground chambers of the Canelobre Caves, the cliffs of Serra Gelada Natural Park dropping straight into the sea. In the evening the Santa Cruz quarter fills up and the tapas bars stay busy late.
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Discover the best attractions in Alicante and its surroundings
Santa Bárbara Castle
The fortress of Moorish origin perched 166 metres up on Mount Benacantil, taking in the whole bay and port. Entry to the site is free, and a lift bored through the rock rises from Postiguet beach, saving the climb.
Archaeological Museum of Alicante
The MARQ, named European Museum of the Year in 2004, runs from the Iberians through Rome to the Middle Ages in an audiovisual staging inside a former hospital. It stands near the bullring, fifteen minutes' walk from the centre, and closes on Mondays.
Serra Gelada Natural Park
A coastal massif whose 400-metre cliffs drop straight into the sea between Albir and Benidorm, dotted with old watchtowers and fisheries. The Albir lighthouse path is flat, paved and signposted — the easiest way into the park.
San Juan Beach
Seven kilometres of fine sand north of the city, the beach locals use, wide open and patrolled in season. Tram line 3 runs there from the centre in about twenty minutes, which spares you the summer parking.
Montgó Natural Park
The starting point for trails on the Montgó massif, 753 metres above Dénia and known for its endemic flora and views to Ibiza on clear days. Maps, path conditions and route advice are available here — pick them up before heading uphill.
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