Alicante – The Costa Blanca’s Hidden Jewel
October 31st, 2008 at 12:47am Under Travel and Leisure
Since it’s a gateway to the Costa Blanca, Alicante is an excellent touring base. Offering a pleasing melange of old and modern culture and traditions, Alicante is situated within the popular tourist area of the Costa Blanca. Alicante’s visitors will enjoy warm and sunny climate, some of the best beaches Spain has to offer as well as some great examples of Moorish architecture.
Found on the coast between the resorts of Elche and Benidorm, The city sits in the shadow of its mountain-topped castle. Alicante and the surrounding areas are peppered with churches with the most recognised of them all being that of the Iglesia de Santa Maria. This is the oldest church in the city and was constructed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries with the church at one time being a mosque. St Nicholas Cathedral in the city was built in the seventeenth century in honour of Alicante’s patron saint and is thus one of the most significant buildings for miles around.
Alicante has lots of monuments to satisfy sightseers and historians alike and can be found all around the area with columns and statues adding interest to a number of once boring sites. Offering a sharp eye across Alicante Bay, the Castillo de Santa Barbara is recognised as one of the biggest medieval fortresses in Europe. Readily accessed by car or by lift (elevator) from the Paseo Maritimo, the fortress offers unrivalled vistas of the picturesque local area. In addition to the excitement the Castillo offers, Alicante offers further ancient treasures including the Provincial Gallery, formerly the Gavina Palace, plus its its nineteenth century bull- ring. The vast majority of the Alicante attractions are readily reached with the help of a hire car from Alicante Airport. Booking your car hire online will normally produce big savings as well as ensuring that the model of car that you want to book is actually available when you arrive at the airport.
Alicante is the ideal resort to come to enjoy yourself and the leading reason guests come back every year. With such a varied range of hotel rooms available, there’s a great selection of of luxury Alicante hotels to suit all pockets and tastes. The beaches here have the most golden sand and consist of both accessible as well as secluded bays ideal for private sunbathing. Drive over to Albufereta Beach where there is really good range of water sports. It is a peaceful spot that is relatively undiscovered by the tourist masses.
The Playa del Postiguet is the perfect location for an evening stroll. You will be joined by the locals along this attractive seaside walk – it’s a ideal location for a romantic evening. Once the Port serving Madrid, Alicante Harbour combines fishing and sailing and is the perfect place to visit to find the best fish restaurants around. Alicante harbour provides an ideal venue for activity night and day. Here is where visitors come to eat wonderfully fresh, delicious fish, learn sailing and end the day with a bit of clubbing into the early hours.
Nobody enjoys a knees up as much as the locals and visitors of Alicante! Here you will find an event of one type or another taking place throughout the year, no matter when you decide to go. One of the more sombre of festivals in the Costa Blanca is that of the Easter Procession. Dressed in black and carrying lighted candles, an effigy of Jesus is paraded on a cross through the streets. Each November, in remembrance of the Patron Saint Crist del Bon Encert, each town has its own fiesta. Don’t be surprised to find that shops are closed all day, every day as the town closes down for this amazing combination of singing, dancing and firework displays. On a less religious note, one of the most famous local festivals is that of the International Puppet Festival.
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