Alicante, Spain: The Complete Travel Guide to Costa Blanca's Capital

Most people fly over Alicante on their way to somewhere else.

The budget airlines use Alicante's airport as a hub for the Costa Blanca — the stretch of Mediterranean coastline that runs from Dénia in the north to Torrevieja in the south — and most passengers who land here pile into hire cars and head straight for Benidorm or a villa rental with a pool somewhere in the hinterland. The city itself, the actual capital of the province, is an afterthought in an itinerary that never quite gets there.

This is a mistake worth correcting.

Alicante is a proper city — 380,000 people, a working port, a genuine old town, a castle that has been watching over the bay since the 9th century — that happens to have a beach at its feet and a climate that produces around 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. The food is serious. The nightlife is the kind of unhurried Spanish late-evening culture that other coastal resorts simulate but rarely achieve. And the day trip options — Tabarca Island, the mountain village of Guadalest, the pink lagoon of Torrevieja — are among the best in this part of Spain.

The crowds haven't caught up yet. They will. Go now.

Getting There

Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is one of the busiest in Spain by passenger volume, with direct connections from most major European cities and a growing number of transatlantic routes. From the airport to the city centre the options are simple: the C6 bus line runs frequently and costs around €3; a taxi is a fixed rate of approximately €19–22 depending on traffic; a hire car is straightforward if you're planning excursions into the surrounding region.

From other Spanish cities, the high-speed AVE train connects Alicante to Madrid in about two hours and to Barcelona in around three and a half. Valencia is 90 minutes by train or two hours by car — close enough to combine into a longer itinerary without feeling rushed.

The Castle

Santa Bárbara Castle — Castillo de Santa Bárbara — is where you understand Alicante.

The fortress sits at 166 metres on the summit of Mount Benacantil, the bare rock promontory that rises almost vertically from the sea at the edge of the city. It has been occupied in various forms since the 9th century, rebuilt significantly by the Spanish crown in the 16th century, and used as a military prison until 1963. Now it is free to enter and offers a 360-degree view over the city, the bay, the palm-lined Explanada, the white geometry of the old town below, and the Mediterranean extending south until it disappears into haze.

The access question is worth thinking about before you arrive. You can walk up via a path through the old town — about 20 minutes of fairly steep climbing — or take the lift from a tunnel entrance near Postiguet Beach, which costs €2.70 each way and deposits you near the upper fortifications. The walk is more satisfying; the lift is more practical on a hot afternoon.

Allow a full hour to wander the castle properly. The lower fortifications, the Macho del Castillo main keep, and the Philip II battery each occupy different levels of the rock. The views shift at every turn. In the late afternoon, the light on the pale limestone of the old town below is remarkable.

The Old Town

The Barrio de Santa Cruz spreads across the hillside below the castle in a tangle of narrow streets, whitewashed walls, painted doors, and flower pots that manages to feel both carefully maintained and genuinely lived-in. It is the most photogenic neighbourhood in the city and the most atmospheric — particularly in the evenings when the bars and restaurants fill and the streets are cool and lit by the glow from open doorways.

The Basílica de Santa María, at the foot of the castle hill, is Alicante's oldest church — built in the 14th and 15th centuries on the site of the city's former main mosque. The Gothic interior, with its single nave and the elaborate baroque high altar added in the 18th century, is worth spending fifteen minutes in. The façade facing the small square outside is one of the best pieces of architecture in the city.

The Ayuntamiento — the baroque town hall on Plaza del Ayuntamiento — is worth a look for the small metal disc set into the base of the main staircase inside: this is the reference point from which the altitude of every other location in Spain is officially measured. It is, in its way, the origin point of the entire country's topography. The building is generally open for visits during working hours.

The Explanada and the Waterfront

The Explanada de España is Alicante's great promenade — a wide, shaded boulevard running along the waterfront, paved in a wave pattern of six million marble tiles in terracotta, black, and white. It is lined with palm trees, flanked by café terraces, and connects the old town to the port and marina. In the evenings it becomes a slow-moving river of people — families, couples, old men with dogs, teenagers on electric scooters — enacting the Spanish ritual of the paseo with complete conviction.

The marina beyond the Explanada holds a mix of working fishing boats and serious private yachts. The restaurants lining the harbour are, as all harbour restaurants everywhere tend to be, slightly overpriced — but the people-watching justifies a coffee or a beer and the sight of the castle above the waterfront with evening light on it is the definitive Alicante image.

Walk west from the marina along the seafront toward the Club de Regatas and the Playa del Postiguet. This is the city beach — a kilometre of golden sand directly below the castle rock, with calm water, a volleyball net, sunloungers for hire, and the advantage of being entirely walkable from the old town. In summer it is busy. In spring and autumn it is pleasant in a way that few urban beaches in Spain manage.

The Food

Alicante sits in the broader Valencian Community, which means it shares culinary heritage with the birthplace of paella — and takes the subject seriously. But the city has its own specific food culture that goes beyond the obvious.

Arroz a banda is the local rice dish to know: rice cooked in a rich fish stock, served with the fish on the side and a thick aioli that you stir through the rice at the table. It was traditionally the meal the fishermen ate — the fish sold, the cooking broth and rice kept. The versions served now in the port-side restaurants are considerably more refined than the original but retain the logic: the stock is everything.

Tapas in Alicante follow the general Spanish pattern but with a coastal lean — fried anchovies, grilled razor clams, gambas al ajillo with the local prawns, tortilla that is dense and potato-forward in the Alicantino style. The area around the Mercado Central and the streets of the old town have the best concentration of genuinely local bars: places where a glass of house wine and a small plate of something comes automatically when you sit down.

The Mercado Central itself — Alicante's covered market on Avenida Alfonso el Sabio — is a modernist building from 1921 with a food hall inside that runs from early morning until early afternoon. The fish counter is extraordinary. The olive stalls offer varieties from across the province. The produce reflects the agricultural richness of the surrounding region — artichokes, lemons, peppers, almonds, the small sweet grapes of the Vinalopó valley that have been exported since the 16th century.

For eating out: La Taberna del Gourmet in the old town has one of the best tapas menus in the city and a wine list that genuinely reflects the quality of the Alicante DO wines. NOMAD Alicante takes a more modern approach — small plates, Mediterranean ingredients, the kind of cooking that has absorbed broader European influences without losing its local grounding. For rice dishes in the traditional style, the restaurants around the port — particularly those on the fishing quay rather than the tourist-facing marina — serve the real thing.

Tabarca Island

The ferry to Tabarca leaves from the port throughout the day in summer — a 40-minute crossing to Spain's smallest permanently inhabited island, sitting in the Mediterranean about 22 kilometres south of the city.

Tabarca was walled in the 18th century under Carlos III, who ordered the construction of a fortified settlement to house Genoese prisoners who had been held by North African pirates. The walled town remains — a grid of narrow streets, a small church, a lighthouse, and a population of around a hundred permanent residents — surrounded by the crystal-clear water of a marine reserve that protects some of the best snorkelling conditions on the Costa Blanca.

Bring snorkelling gear. The marine reserve around the island has sea grass meadows, octopus, sea bream, and occasional sea turtles in water clear enough to see the bottom at considerable depth. Lunch at one of the island's small restaurants — the caldero, a traditional fisherman's rice dish specific to Tabarca, is the correct order — and take the late afternoon ferry back to see Alicante's skyline approaching across the water as the light drops.

In summer, book the ferry in advance. It fills up.

Day Trips

Guadalest is about an hour's drive inland from Alicante, up into the mountains of the interior. The village sits on a rocky outcrop that appears to grow directly from the cliff face — accessed through a tunnel blasted through the rock — with a Moorish castle above it and a valley reservoir below. The surrounding landscape is dramatically different from the coast: dry limestone mountains, almond and orange groves on the terraced slopes, the silence of the interior that the coastal resorts never quite achieve. The village is touristy on weekends; go on a weekday and it is magical.

Torrevieja is a 45-minute drive south — a coastal town known primarily for its salt lakes, one of which, the Laguna Rosa, turns a deep flamingo pink in summer due to the algae and crustaceans in the heavily saline water. The pink lake sits next to a white salt flat, with flamingos wading in the shallows and the Mediterranean visible beyond. It is one of the more genuinely strange natural spectacles in the Valencia region and entirely worth the drive.

Villajoyosa — La Vila Joiosa in Valencian — is a 30-minute drive north along the coast. The old town is known for its brightly coloured seafront houses, painted in vivid reds, yellows, and blues that were reportedly a navigation aid for fishermen returning home. It is also home to a chocolate factory — Valor, the well-known Spanish brand — that offers tours and a museum. The combination of the colourful waterfront and the excellent chocolate is more than adequate justification for a half-day.

Practical Things Worth Knowing

The best time to visit is May–June or September–October. July and August are hot — frequently above 35°C — and the coastal areas fill up considerably. The shoulder seasons offer full sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20s, which is the correct temperature for walking a city and spending afternoons at the beach.

The city is walkable. The main attractions — castle, old town, Explanada, Postiguet Beach, the market — are all within comfortable walking distance of each other. A full day on foot covers everything in the centre without difficulty.

The tram network extends along the coast in both directions and into the hinterland. For day trips to Villajoyosa or further north, the TRAM connects from the city centre. For the southern coast and Torrevieja, a hire car is more practical.

Spanish meal times apply. Lunch is 2–4pm; dinner begins at 9pm and runs late. Restaurants that open before 8pm in the evening are generally catering to tourists and are rarely the best options. The authentic experience requires adjusting your schedule to the local rhythm, which takes about two days and is entirely worth it.

Alicante has a nightlife. Calle Castaños and the surrounding streets in the centre are the bar district — bars that open in the evening and run well past midnight on weekends. This is not the manufactured nightlife of Benidorm; it is a Spanish city doing what Spanish cities do on warm evenings. It is excellent and it is loud and it goes on much longer than you will.

Why Alicante Works

The case for Alicante over the more obvious Spanish coastal choices is simple: it is a real city that has retained its identity despite three million tourists a year. The Explanada fills up in the evenings with local families as well as visitors. The market serves the neighbourhood as well as the curious traveller. The restaurants have a local clientele that keeps the kitchens honest.

The castle is free. The beach is in the city. The fish is extraordinary. The wine is underrated and inexpensive. The light on the white walls of the old town at dusk is the light that made this part of the Mediterranean famous.

And the flights are cheap. This combination will not last indefinitely.

Go before the crowds catch up.