Alicante Step by step - Universidad de Sevilla

EXCURSIONS
ALONG THE COAST:
A resort called Benidorm 42 km north of Alicante.
The top tourist resort along the Spanish Mediterranean. Everything here spells leisure, fun,
entertainment. Superb beaches called Levante and Poniente, plus an island in the bay that
looks like a sunken ship and is a must for all visitors to this bustling fun-and-sun capital.
Youngsters and adults, from home and abroad, all enjoy the limitless holiday possibilities
in this city, now even more attractive thanks to the new theme park called “Terra Mítica”.
Along the way, don’t forget to stop in the town of La Vila Joiosa and see its pretty, polychrome
houses facing the Amadorio riverbed and the beach.
La Marina 100 km north of Alicante.
The northernmost district in the province of Alicante, called La Marina, has a charm all of
it own, with towns such as Calpe, nestling under the sturdy Rock of Ifach, which has become
a symbol of the Costa Blanca; or Benissa, Javea and Dénia, combining the beauty of their
old town centres, their monuments and history, with a range of excellent sandy beaches
plus impressive cliffs and coves around the capes Cabo de La Nao and Cabo de San Antonio.
The coast here is interesting and changeable, as visitors will notice on their way through
the Mascarat tunnel and the town of Altea, with its whitewashed house-fronts and wrought
iron windows.
Sun and sand, dunes and salt flats 48 km south of Alicante.
The southern coast has a series of attractions that make it highly appealing: it is generally
flat, with broad sandy beaches and extensive marsh areas. Santa Pola is famous for its broad
beaches and its salt flats that host thousands of water fowl and especially flamingos that
take refuge here from colder continental climes. Guardamar offers the charm of its sand
dunes flanked by a thriving pine forest. The coastal lagoon of La Mata leads to another first-
rate tourist resort area called Torrevieja, which is home to beach-lovers and sun-seekers who
enjoy its beaches and flock to local property estates in and around the area.
INLAND:
The charm of Guadalest 70 km from Alicante.
Can a town with less than 200 inhabitants beat all tourist records in becoming the second most visited place
in Spain, hard on the heels of the Prado Museum in Madrid? Does Guadalest rank in first place in the number
of museums per inhabitant – one for every 20 persons? The answer is “yes” on both counts. This small
village, carved out of the rock, offers charming scenery, typical streets that cars have never driven on, and
a recommended visit to the home of Los Orduña. There is a scenic route to get to Guadalest, too, through
La Nucía, Polop with its fountain of the 221 spouts, and Callosa d’En Sarrià, offering a view of its waterfalls
and swimming holes on the river: Río Algar.
The route of the Castles 82 km from Alicante.
Come and visit an admirable succession of medieval fortresses located on strategic hilltops throughout the
region, overlooking historical towns and mountain passes, in the districts known as El Medio and Alto Vinalopó
and the Hoya de Castalla. First, stop at Castillo de La Mola in Novelda, with its unique triangular tower, then
continue with the restored Castillo de Petrer, the Sax castle on a beautiful rocky spire, then the superior
Atalaya (watchtower) in Villena, and farthest inland, Castillo de Bañeres, the top of which commands a view
over four different provinces. On your return journey, Castillo de Biar has a double wall around it, and Castillo
de Castalla offers a curious pentagonal floor plan capped with two towers, one semicircular in shape.
Elx and Orihuela: art and palm trees 59 km from Alicante.
The province of Alicante exerts an attraction on all who come
here – because of its fun and sun, its sea and mountains,
its irrigated fields and dry lands, its peace and quiet and
the bustling razzmatazz available in and around the city.
Travel round the largest palm tree plantation in Europe, now listed as World Heritage. The town of Elx has
practically one million specimens arrayed in parks that will delight the senses, such as the Hort de Baix and
the Huerto del Cura with its “Imperial Palm Tree”. Here one can visit the archaeological site of La Alcudia,
where the Iberian bust known as La Dama de Elche was found, or the Altamira Palace, the Calahorra fort,
and the Basilica de Santa María, where the famous medieval “Mystery Play” is held every year.
Orihuela, with its San Antón palm tree plantation, also has a monumental town centre to offer the visitor.
The Gothic cathedral of El Salvador, with its diocese museum of sacred art, its Gothic churches of Santiago
and Santas Justina and Rufina, its Santo Domingo College – an ancient university in Renaissance and baroque
style –, the Holy Week and Archaeological Museums, and the Home-Museum of the poet Miguel Hernández.
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