This Mediterranean coastal city sits beneath the 9th-century Castle of Santa Bárbara, with a marble-tiled Explanada promenade, Gothic churches, and Blue Flag beaches along its shoreline.
Tabarca
Located off Costa Blanca, Spain's smallest inhabited island has an 18th-century walled town, clear waters with 45m visibility, and a marine reserve home to sea bass and dolphins.
Santa Bárbara Castle
Rising 166 meters above Alicante on Mount Benacantil, this 11th-century fortress spans 400,000 square meters across three levels, with views stretching to Tabarca island.
Archaeological Museum of Alicante
Located in a former hospital, this award-winning museum uses holograms and digital displays to present 100,000 years of history, including Roman streets and underwater excavations.
Hogueras de Alicante
This six-day June festival fills Alicante's streets with 30-foot satirical monuments, daily firework displays, and street parties before all 80 sculptures burn on June 24th.
Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art
This restored 17th-century granary houses 800+ artworks, including pieces by Picasso, Dalí and Miró. Three floors display Spanish modern art in a baroque building from 1685.
Explanada de España
A 600-meter marble promenade along Alicante's waterfront, with 6.5 million tiles forming wave patterns. Palm trees shade paths near Casa Carbonell's ornate domes and La Concha auditorium.
Mercado Central de Alicante
Built in 1921, this modernist market has 300 family-run stalls across two floors, with fresh Mediterranean produce, local red prawns, and tapas bars under a grand stained-glass dome.
Parque El Palmeral
This 72,000-square-meter Mediterranean garden has 2,000 palm trees, artificial lakes for rowing, multiple playgrounds, and a BMX track. A tunnel connects to calm beaches nearby.
Playa de San Juan
This 7-kilometer Mediterranean beach near Alicante has calm waters and golden sand. Visitors can join volleyball games, cycle along palm-lined promenades, or explore rocky coves at Cabo de las Huertas.
Alicante’s coastline along the Mediterranean sits below Santa Bárbara Castle, a fortress built by Moors in the 9th century and later expanded by Christians. The Explanada de España, a seaside walkway lined with six million red, cream, and black marble tiles, stretches beside El Postiguet Beach. Every June, local groups create large satirical paper sculptures burned during the Bonfires of Saint John festival. Boats leave daily for Ibiza from the harbor, while the MARQ museum, located 800 meters inland, showcases artifacts from sunken Roman ships. With over 300 sunny days a year, citrus trees thrive near golf courses and salt flats along the Costa Blanca.
Santa Bárbara Castle Fortifications
The Castillo de Santa Bárbara’s earliest structures were built in 830 AD by Muslim leaders on Mount Benacantil. Three main areas highlight different time periods: the 11th-century Torre del Homenaje tower, the Renaissance Revellín del Bon Repós defense wall, and 18th-century cannons designed by British engineers to protect the harbor. During 2021 digs near the second enclosure’s storage area, researchers found Visigoth graves. Tunnels created during the Spanish Civil War now display information about the castle’s part in the 1706 Battle of Alicante. The Torre de la Campana lookout offers views of cargo ships at Spain’s sixth-largest port.
Explanada de España Design
The 500-meter promenade, created in 1957 by Alicante architect Francisco Fajardo Guardiola, uses leftover marble from Sierra de Fontcalent quarries. Its wave-like design features 6.5 million triangular tiles in four earthy colors. On Thursdays and Saturdays, a market near the Casino Mediterráneo building sells leather items and turrón sweets. Street artists often gather between Calle Villegas and the Monumento a Canalejas statue. Recent updates added ramps for wheelchair access but kept the original 1950s lights with ship-themed designs.
Rice Dishes and Local Wines
Farmers near Calpe and Pego grow bomba rice used in arroz a banda, a dish where rice cooked in fish broth is served separately from seafood. Portside restaurants like Casa Domingo mix squid ink into rice for a black color. Fondillón, a sweet wine made from extra-ripe monastrell grapes dried on reeds, was Europe’s first officially recognized wine type in the 1500s. Wineries near Novelda offer samples of this amber wine paired with turrón ice cream. Expect to pay €15-25 for rice dishes at local eateries around Avenida de Alfonso X El Sabio.
Costa Blanca Coastal Connections
Alicante is the main transport center for 15 towns along the 244-kilometer Costa Blanca. The TRAM Metropolitano’s L3 line takes 90 minutes to reach Benidorm, stopping at Villajoyosa’s chocolate shops. ALSA buses use the AP-7 highway to reach Murcia’s cathedral in 1 hour 15 minutes, passing salt flats where pink flamingos live. High-speed Balearia ferries run six days a week from Estación Marítima to Ibiza Town in 4 hours 30 minutes. The 80-kilometer Carretera de la Costa bike path links Alicante to Santa Pola’s lighthouse, avoiding Torrevieja’s salt lakes.
MARQ Archaeological Collections
The MARQ museum, located in a restored 1920s hospital, holds 8,000 items, including 4th-century BC Iberian warrior figures from Tossal de Manises. One room uses interactive screens to show amphorae from a Roman shipwreck dated to 100 BC. Past exhibits have included Visigoth gold and 15th-century Islamic pottery borrowed from Madrid. Free Saturday afternoons let visitors see medieval Christian tombstones with Hebrew text. Kids’ workshops teach how to craft clay copies of ancient Phoenician lamps.
