WHAT?
Costa Blanca is the tourist name of the coastal area of the Alicante province. All this region is in the majority dedicated to a specific dominated tourist product: the sun and the beach. This coast is one of the most visited by people from outside of Spain. Thanks to the good quality of life, climate and political stability, residential tourism has developed on this coast.
WHERE?
It descends from Pilar de la Horadad to the south to the town Dénia to the north and is constituted by more than 200 km of white sand beaches (from here the name of the coast comes out), coves and picturesque sewers. Benidorm and Torrevieja are its capitals par excellence, since they are the great tourist focus of the entire Levantine coast.
WHEN?
It thanks much to the privileged climate that keeps the area in a kind of “constant spring”, with average temperatures of 18-20 ºC, gentle breezes and the sun shining more than 3200 hours a year. During the autumn and spring the torrential rains usually pass through the whole area, but all summer there is only the blue sky almost without clouds.
WHY?
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
The east coast of Spain is poured with warm and salty waters of the largest enclosed sea in the world. The beautiful beaches, the mild climate and the well-developed infrastructure encourage hundreds of thousands of tourists to spend their holidays on the coast. Although tourism causes significant pollution of this wonderful marine aerial, a large area of the seabed is covered by numerous species of seaweed and seagrasses that create real underwater forests. The fauna that lives in the Mediterranean is also characterized by a large number of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, of which about 30% are endemic.
EL MONTGÓ NATURAL PARK
A nature reserve located near the town Denia is characterized by the presence of the largest cliffs in the region, which serves as a refuge for numerous littoral ornithofauna. This rich natural heritage is accompanied by various archaeological sites.
DENIA
The capital of Marina Alta is currently a modern and cosmopolitan city of great tourist interest due to the high quality of its products and the breadth of its offers. For the town, the fishing activity is very important, mainly thanks to the star product – the red shrimp. Dénia has been chosen by UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy, recognizing in this way the tradition of local cuisine and culture. Also several local festivals are declared of Great Tourist Interest.
CALPE
Calpe is a coastal town famous for its beaches, such as the Arenal Bol. Not far away is the Roman site of Baños de la Reina (The Bathrooms of the Queen), which includes marine pools carved in the stone. On a east cape is the Peñón de Ifach and at its foot are the ruins of La Pobla de Ifac, a medieval walled city. The Red Wall is an emblematic building similar to a castle designed by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill.
TURRON (NOUGAT) OF JIJONA (XIXONA)
A typical Arab sweet has been elaborated by Muslims of honey and almonds. In the interior of the province Alicante, around of the town Jijona, in the foothills of Peña Roja, the hives of honey and the almond tree were cultivated from the centuries by the form of the dry land. The long tradition of making turron has made this city is recognized worldwide.
PENYAL D'LFAC NATURAL PARK (PEÑON DE IFACH)
The park is formed by a large coastal calcareous massif raised to about 300 m above sea level, which supports relevant botanical endemisms and a varied avifauna, located in the municipality of Calpe.
ALTEA
A picturesque town located on the slopes of Serra Gelada. The dome of its church, dark blue with white decoration, and the magnificent complex of the old town with steep and narrow streets and multiple viewpoints are some of the symbols of Costa Blanca and give a unique spatial charm to the province.
BENIDORM
Due to its warm climate, its wonderful beaches, the variety of its leisure offer and the quality of its hotels, the city, located 50 km north of Alicante, is a great tourist center of Costa Blanca. A small fishing village about 100 years ago began its transformation and now, known as New York of the Mediterranean, is the city with more skyscrapers in Spain. In Benidorm we have an infinity of possibilities of fun for all ages, nationalities, sexes and tastes. Starting with the magnificent Playa del Poniente (The West Beach), strolling through the old town and ending at the theme parks (Terra Mitica, Acualandia, Terra Natura, Mundomar).
FONTS D’ALGAR (THE SOURCES OF ALGAR)
A picturesque natural reserve with multiple waterfalls, lakes, trails, natural pools and a picnic area is visited by thousands of tourists especially during the hot summer days.
EL NÍSPERO (THE MEDLAR)
A fruit tree called Japanese nispero, native to southern China, is cultivated massively in the area of Callosa de Ensarriá, where it has its Designation of Origin. The fruit can be compared to the apple, it has high contents of sugar, acid and pectin. It can be consumed fresh, but very ripe is used to make delicious cakes, puddings, jellies and amnibar.
ALFÁZ DEL PI
This municipality near the Benidorm has reached in recent years the first place in the best standard of living in the province. Tourism has been the platform of the urban, human and cultural development of the town where more than 30% inhabitants are foreigners belonging to 54 nationalities. Here is also located the winery of Enrique Mendoza, where it is elaborating famous Moscatel de la Marina white wine of the variety of Alexandria grape grown in the coastal rocky mountains.
VILLAJOYOSA
It is the historic and administrative capital of Marina Baixa and its economy always depended on fishing. This relationship with the sea has marked its history and its culture since overseas maritime trade had as its fruit the development of the other typical local industry: the manufacture of chocolate. Here is the chocolate factory Valor, the best chocolate of Spain.
SERRA GELADA NATURAL PARK
The park protects the whole of the mountains and the emblematic islands: the Island of Mitjana, the Island of Benidorm and the Island of Olla y la Galera and embarks on a marine and terrestrial area. The Serra Gelada is formed by a relief that rises abruptly on the flat of Benidorm, l’Alfàz del Pi and Altea, and gives rise, on its coastal front, to cliffs of more than 300 meters.
ALICANTE (ALACANT)
As a capital, with more than 300 000 inhabitants, Alicante is the great city of services and commerce for the whole province. One element that defines the city is its castle, called Santa Bárbara, very well preserved and the site of multiple social and cultural events as well as the Esplanade formed by red, black and cream tiles. The squares and emblematic buildings of the old town are full of bars and cafes that make them, at night, the great leisure area of the city. The seaport, the airport, the high-speed rail network and the motorway network are marking Alicante as a transport hub for the region.
EL FONDO NATURAL PARK
It is located between the cities of Elche and Crevillent, it is the first wetland in importance of the territory, due to the large number of endangered species that find refuge and suitable habitats for their recovery. This natural park is a typical example of how anthropogenic actions have favored and increased the creation of marshy habitats and free waters, from an old lagoon that was transformed into a regulation reservoir for irrigation.
ELCHE (ELX)
It is the natural capital of the whole region called Bajo Vinalopó and the third city of the Valencian Community by number of inhabitants. History, nature, beaches, culture and traditions attract attention in a modern city of great growth and dynamism. More than 200,000 palm trees give uniqueness to Elche constituting its symbol of identity as well as the most extensive palm forest in Europe and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
SANTA POLA
In ancient times it was the port of Elche and, with the passage of time, came to constitute a fishing fleet of the most numerous in the Mediterranean. Its proximity to the sea has determined its economy, its culture, its gastronomy and its identity as a people. Within the urban helmet are the remarkable buildings like the Castle-Fortress or the City Council and the zones of relaxation like the Glorieta.
NATURAL PARK OF SALINAS DE SANTA POLA
An element of great interest is the Salinas (The Salt Flats), with an area of 2500 ha, which are exploited as a salt industry while surviving as a protected wetland and declared a Natural Park.
ISLAND OF TABARCA
It is a small, inhabited island of the Mediterranean Sea located about 8 km from the port of Santa Pola and with an area of 30 ha. Mainly named in the old age as Isla Plana, in the 18th century it changed its name to the current one of Arab origin. In the 13th century the first fort was built here to prevent its occupation by barbarian corsairs. Currently the whole island is declared as a Historic-Artistic Site where they can see the walls, the Governor’s house, the church and the lighthouse. The waters, which surround the island, have been declared as a marine reserve because of its excellent water quality and the biodiversity of its fauna and flora. Today the main economic occupation of the inhabitants is tourism; In the summer the island usually receives around 3000 visitors a day.
GUARDAMAR DEL SEGURA
A coastal city in the Vega Baja, where is located the estuary of the Segura River. It is also known for its pine forest, planted early twentieth century to slow the advance of coastal mobile dunes. The archaeological sites confirm the long history of this town, which passed through governments of Romans, Phoenicians and Arabs. Above the city rise the ruins of the old castle of Arab origin, rebuilt in the 16th century and finally destroyed almost entirely during the earthquake in 1829.
TORREVIEJA
The old observation towers have given the name of that coastal city. The salt and the sea are the indissoluble elements that have marked the history of Torrevieja. Its salt flats, the most important in Europe, and the port developed for the export of salt, as well as the horticultural products of the Vega Baja, contributed to the development of this town. The tourism of second residence and the service, that this requires, is configuring the present city and turns it into a great cosmopolitan city with a huge immigration.
HABANERAS
It is a prestigious contest, in which national and foreign choirs compete, declared of International Tourist Interest. It is a tribute to Torrevieja sailors who traded with Cuba.
LAGUNAS LA MATA-TORREVIEJA NATURAL PARK
A little further to the south of the city extends the splendid Natural Park of the Salty Lagoons. Thanks to the development of the salt exploitation in this area, a special lagoon ecosystem is maintained with the intense pink waters and the Mediterranean forest formed by Aleppo pine.
LA MATA
It is a coastal district of Torrevieja with an important tourist dimension thanks to its wide white sand beaches protected by the dunes. An emblematic element of La Mata is the old observation tower currently converted into the Torre del Moro viewpoint. The town is giving its name to a white wine made from the Merseguera grape according to artisan procedures. Within the natural park are only 75 ha of the century-old vineyards that have not been affected by the phylloxera plague in the 19th century.
ORIHUELA COSTA
A housing estate distant from the city of Orihuela about 35-40 km especially known for its high percentage of the foreign population that bought it here the second residence. The whole area is characterized by being composed of several urbanizations and urban centers, which population varies greatly depending on the time of year.
PILAR DE LA HORADADA
It is a coastal town in the southern bridgehead of the province of Alicante, where modern developments are located near the beaches of Torre de la Horadada, Mil Palmeras and El Mojon.
