Alicante City is famous for its miles of soft sandy beaches and breathtaking mountains, excellent weather, palm trees and attractions, it is a starting point to many destinations in the Costa Blanca. Don't miss a visit to this city of contrasts.
Alicante offers the life style that includes everything you need, but it is small enough to make it easy to get from one place to another.
With a population of just 300,000 Alicante is a major travel destination for many European tourists. Over the years this has injected a cosmopolitan feel to the city, while retaining much of its traditional culture.
Alicante has a decent number of shopping areas, and you can easily spend all day long walking the city centre shops or you can visit the popular Street Markets where you will find just about everything, antiques, fresh fruit and vegetable produce of their particular region, virtual florist and plant garden centres, etc. So what are the best places in Alicante City? They all are! Every place in Alicante is unique, each with its own qualities that makes it special. However, we also discovered lots of other things to do.
Known for its classical Mediterranean cuisine and simple Spanish dishes, restaurants and dining venues in Alicante are popular with both visitors and locals. If you want to taste the local delights follow the Spanish restaurants guide in Alicante, where you´ll be able to try the most delicious local dishes including Paella, obviously. In the school in Alicante you will learn to cook Paella . Why don´t you surprise your friends and family and cook your own Paella.
What will you discover in Alicante? Alicante is a city with a village atmosphere. You will still find those old Spanish shops where the owners sit outside on a stool to gossip with the locals as they stroll by. No-one is ever too busy to chat.
It's an elegant city with much to offer – an as yet, undiscovered gem which can delight for a day trip or a weekend break.
To get a sense of the history of Alicante and breathtaking views of the coast, make the trip up to Santa Barbara Castle. Originally built by the Moors in the 10th century, and extended and modified over the years, the castle has everything you could wish for; a palace, cannons, a moat, dungeons and plenty of places where boiling oil was thrown over attacking marauders!
Down on the ground - the heart of the city is the Esplanada de España, a long promenade dotted with cafes and craft stalls and shaded by four rows of palm trees on either side. It’s the perfect place to soak up the atmosphere, but don't stop there - across the road you will find the marina complex with its fabulous bars and fish restaurants. Popular with the boating crowd, you can see fine examples of what a few million pounds would buy you! Well, we can all dream!
Leading off the Esplanada is La Rambla, the main road in the city. Here you will find the tourist centre and many of the city's interesting buildings, such as the Cathedral of St Nicolas, hidden in the back streets.
Sunday is the official 'strolling about' day in Alicante, when you can also enjoy a free concert performed on the Esplanada. Whilst in the warm evenings open air concerts are held in many of the squares along with entertainment for children.
A final suggestion would be to take a stroll around Santa Cruz, the most picturesque area of the city. Its narrow cobbled streets wind upward towards the quaint chapel built into the old town wall. As you climb you pass small, colourful houses with geraniums overflowing from wrought iron balconies, and when you reach the top - panoramic views; you'll kick yourself if you've forgotten your camera
Everything in this user-friendly city is within easy reach. So, have we managed to whet your appetite? Then why not explore more of Alicante with us!