Things to do
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Barrio de Santa Cruz
Climbing the lower slopes of Mount Benacantil, this quarter of whitewashed houses, potted geraniums and painted tiles is the oldest-feeling corner of the city. Its lanes are mostly stairs, steep in places, so comfortable shoes matter. Early morning is quietest, before the heat. The Holy Week procession that squeezes through these alleys is one of the city's busiest nights of the year.
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Basilica of Santa María
Raised on the site of the old mosque, the basilica pairs a Gothic nave with an ornate Baroque doorway carved in golden stone. It is the oldest working church in the city and sits at the foot of the Santa Cruz quarter. Half an hour is enough. Combine it with MACA, which faces it across the same small square.
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Co-cathedral of San Nicolás
Plain and severe outside, the co-cathedral rises in sober grey stone in the heart of the old town, crowned by a large blue dome. Inside, a quiet cloister and a richly decorated chapel make a calm break from the streets around it. A visit takes about half an hour. It stands a few minutes from the town hall and the Rambla.
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Explanada de España
Laid in millions of marble tiles in a red, cream and black wave pattern, this promenade runs along the harbour under four rows of palms. It is the city's evening walk, busiest after dark when the heat lifts and the terraces fill. Weekend stalls and summer concerts at the bandstand keep it lively. It joins the port to Postiguet beach in a few minutes on foot.
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Guadalest
Perched on a crag in the mountains inland from Benidorm, this village is entered through a tunnel cut in the rock, with a bell tower on a pinnacle and a turquoise reservoir below. A car is the easiest way up. Coach tours crowd its single lane from late morning, so arrive early or in the late afternoon. Two hours is enough for the lane, the viewpoints and the reservoir.
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MACA
Facing the Basilica of Santa María, the contemporary art museum shows twentieth century work, with pieces by Miró, Dalí, Picasso and the Alicante abstract painter Eusebio Sempere. The building joins an eighteenth century granary to a clean modern extension. An hour covers the permanent collection. It sits in the old quarter, so it fits easily between the castle and the seafront.
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MARQ Archaeological Museum
Housed in a former hospital, the archaeological museum takes the province from its first hunters through Iberian, Roman and medieval settlement, using lighting and staging to bring the finds to life. It won the European Museum of the Year award in 2004. Allow an hour and a half. It sits a short walk inland from the old quarter, and the large temporary exhibitions often justify a second visit.
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Mercado Central
Built in the early twentieth century on Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio, the covered market holds two floors of fish, cured meats, rice, olives and local produce. Mornings are when it is busiest and best stocked, as the stalls wind down by early afternoon. Fish and seafood stalls fill the lower floor, where locals buy what goes into a paella.
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Palmeral of Elche
Planted across the town of Elche, this palm grove is the largest in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with tens of thousands of date palms in walled orchards. The Huerto del Cura garden holds the multi-trunked Imperial Palm. Trains and buses link Alicante and Elche. Allow two hours, and walk the signed palm route in the cooler morning.
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Playa de San Juan
Stretching for kilometres north of the city, this broad beach of pale sand is the place for room to spread out when Postiguet is full. The TRAM runs along the back of it from central Alicante. A long promenade backs the sand, lined with restaurants serving rice dishes at lunch. In high summer the far end near Muchavista is usually calmer.
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Postiguet Beach
Right below the castle and a short walk from the old quarter, this is the city's own beach: fine sand, calm water and showers along the promenade. Its position makes it the most crowded strip in Alicante in July and August, when towels go down early. Arrive before ten in summer, or come in the late afternoon once the day trippers leave.
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Santa Bárbara Castle
Crowning Mount Benacantil above the city beach, the fortress gives the widest view in Alicante, across the port, the old quarter and the coast. Entry to the castle is free. A lift cut into the rock rises from opposite Postiguet beach, and the last lift up leaves 40 minutes before closing. Walking up through Parque de la Ereta takes longer but passes the old town on the way.
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Tabarca
Only inhabited island in the Valencian Community, Tabarca is a walled fishing village on a strip of rock about 1.8 kilometres long, surrounded by a marine reserve. Boats from Alicante port take about an hour, and shorter crossings run from Santa Pola. Snorkellers find clear water off the rocks; feeding the fish is banned. Day boats empty the island by late afternoon, so an overnight stay has the village almost to itself.
