Alicante
• Puerto de Alicante: There are regular passenger lines to North Africa, the Baleares and a lot of cruise liners stop over here. Its greatest charm however, is strolling along the harbour front, looking at the luxury yachts anchored.
• Castillo de Santa Bárbara: This beautiful castle (open from April to September, 10am to 8pm and from October to March, 9am to 6.30pm) is the city’s best known monument. At 166m high, it gives fabulous views of the city and its surroundings. There are 3 ways to get there: for the fittest, you can walk; by car, although you’re not guaranteed to be able to park in the carpark there or thirdly in the lift (you have to pay, but it’s very convenient …)
• Paseo marítimo de la Explanada de España: A walk along this esplanade, with its black, cream and red mosaics and lined with palm trees, is perhaps the best way to start getting to know the city. It’s here that you’ll find the auditorium, where the city’s band plays, street sellers, a hippy market …
• Ayuntamiento: This baroque municipal palace in Alicante’s main square can be visited Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm. Look out for the main door on the front of the building with its Solomon pillars and the two marble lions supporting the city’s coat of arms; the chapel and the blue room.
• Casa de la Asegurada: This museum is housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings. Today it has an art collection on view by some of our most interesting contemporary artists (Picasso, Dalí, Kandinsky …)
• Casco Antiguo: Until relatively recently the old quarter, as in many other cities, was considered a dangerous place. However, since the council embarked on its plan to clean it up, it’s become a pleasant area to walk around and where you can discover its charms and enjoy its pubs and bars.
Castellón
• Plaza Mayor: Some of the city’s most beautiful buildings are in the main square:
• El Ayuntamiento: The town hall is a magnificent, neo-classical building, which has on display some work by 19th and 20th century Spanish artists
• Catedral de Santa María: This gothic cathedral houses a museum of some excellent pieces of precious metal craftsmanship and sculptures from the 17th and 18th centuries
• Mercado Central (the central market)
• El Fadri (bell tower from 1590): The cathedral’s bell tower is a narrow construction, 58m high and takes its name (Fadri means “bachelor” in valenciano) from the fact it’s totally separate from the cathedral!
• El Parque de Ribalta: Known as the city’s “green lung”, this park is a lovely place to go for a walk or take a book…
• Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes: This museum is in a beautiful 18th century building and organised over 4 floors: 1st – archaeology; 2nd – ceramics; 3rd and 4th – sculpture, painting and precious metals
• Convento de las Madres Capuchinas: This modest 17th century, enclosed convent, inhabited by nuns has an important collection of ten paintings by Zurbarán
• Planetario: The planetarium in the Paseo Maritimo in Grao de Castellón, next to Pinar beach, has a cinema and exhibitions
Other interesting places, also not to be missed!
• L´Albufera: a fresh water lake to the south of Valencia – declared a “natural reserve” in 1986. It’s home to 250 different species of wild fowl. The lake is separated from the sea by a strip of sand and rice fields, which produce a third of Spain’s rice
• Las cuevas de Sant Josep (Vall d´Uixó/Castellón) To visit the caves of St Joseph you first take a boat, then do the next part on foot along a narrow path and finally take another boat to reach the caves
• La Isla de Tabarca: A small island that can be visited by boat from Santa Pola (Alicante). It can get a bit busy with tourists in summer
• Peñón d´Ifach: A 332m high rock in Calpe (Alicante). It makes a very pleasant two hour walk
• Sagunto: Sagunto has a castle and Roman theatre. It has been declared a National Monument and because of its excellent acoustics, theatre festivals and concerts are held there; the most important of which is “Sagunt a escena” which is held in August
Interesting inland villages and areas
• Morella (Castellón): Without doubt one of the most beautiful villages in the province of Castellón for its castle, its medieval walls, its narrow streets and its large houses. At the top of the town is the basilica Santa María la Mayor.
• Guadalest (Alicante): A must-see stop on the tourist route. From the main square you get to the castle on foot via a tunnel through the rock, on top of which are perched the ruins of the castle. From the top you have splendid views over the mountains.
• Xàtiva (Valencia): The two most noteworthy places in this attractive village in the interior of Valencia are the castle with 30 towers and the Municipal Museum in which hangs the famous portrait of Philip V – face to the wall as revenge for having set fire to the city!
Interesting coastal villages
• Peñiscola: (Castellón) Perched on a huge rock and surrounded on three sides by sea, its castle “El Castillo del Papa Luna” rises majestically above the town; this symbol is surrounded by a labyrinth of narrow streets. The modern town has grown up outside the old city walls and is today a popular tourist centre.
• Gandia: (Valencia): Pleasant place to wander around – don’t miss the collegiate church and the Ducal Palace.
• Dénia (Alicante) Main fishing port and flourishing national and internacional summer holiday resort. Worth a visit to: the castle from where you have one of the best views of the Mediterranean; the church Santa María Asunción; the fish market; the beaches Las Marinas and las Rotas (diving) and the street, Calle Marqués de Campos – the nerve centre of the town.
• Jávea (Alicante) This town, set high up on a hill, has its modern developments, good beaches and cliffs, but also a rich tourist offering which includes the church of San Bartolomé, windmills from the 17th and 18th centuries, the old quarter (white houses adorned with typical Mediterranean pots) and the esplanade (which goes from the port to Arenal beach). The town has developed sensitively and the tall buildings don’t spoil the look of the place (unlike some other coastal towns in the region).
• Altea (Alicante) This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful spots in the whole of the region. Altea lives up to its publicity slogan “ “Cúpula del Mediterráneo” (literally the “dome of the Mediterranean”): its climate, its wonderfully picturesque nooks, its steep and narrow streets, its sea views, its traditional Mediterranean, white and blue houses and above all a different sort of tourism. People come here to paint, to be inspired by its scenery or simple to rest. It’s well worth visiting the old quarter, the church square, the church Virgen de la Consolación and of course the port with its fish market – the fish auctions make an extraordinary spectacle.
Trying
• Paella A typical rice-based dish from Valencia. It can be made from shellfish paella de marisco; from chicken and rabbit paella de pollo y conejo; from vegetables paella de verduras; from squid and its own ink arroz negro; from a selection of different fish arroz a banda
• Fideuá A sort of paella made with thin pasta, shellfish and fish
• Horchata con fartons A typical non-alcoholic drink from Valencia made from tigernuts and sometimes accompanied by sweet bread sticks
• Typical sweets: Buñuelos, monas, ensaimadas, turrón…
• Chocolate con churros Hot chocolate with a sort of deep-fried doughnut in a horse shoe shape, typically had in the early hours after a long night on the town!
• A boat trip around the lake in the Albufera Natural Park
People watching
• At sporting events:
• Football: 2 teams in the first division! (Valencia CF y Villareal CF)
• Basketball: 2 teams in the first division! (Pamesa Valencia and Etosa Alicante)
• Local fiestas
Fallas de Valencia ( 12th-19th of March)
Moros y Cristianos (Moors and the Christians) in Alcoi ( 22nd-25th of Abril) These fiestas are mainly celebrated in the province of Alicante although recently the rest of the region is starting to join in!
La Magdalena in Castellón (the third Sunday in Lent) The locals walk up to the Magdalena hermitage and after Mass popular, traditional events take place, such as a big lunch, dancing and processions
Las Gallatas Las Gallatas are decorated floats, symbolising the origins of the town, which parade through Castellón the week after the Magdalena fiestas. They have been declared to be of National Tourist Interest.
La Feria de Julio in Valencia This popular “feria” has a competition for bands, a “battle of the flowers”, bullfights, fireworks, music recitals etc
El traslado de la Virgen de los Desamparados (Valencia) This fiesta sees great crowds carrying an effigy of the Virgin from the basilica to the cathedral, shouting compliments at the effigy. It takes place the second Sunday in May.
Las Hogueras de San Juan (17th-24th of June in Alicante) These are the Alicante fiestas par excellence. The city comes alive with bonfires, noise, light and fire
El Misterio de Elche (14th and 15th of August) Placed on the World Heritage List and also declared to be of International Tourist Interest, this is the only religious drama that takes place inside a temple. The mystery depicts the last days of the Virgin Mary, her death, ascension and coronation.
• The beautiful boats and yachts moored in the region’s main ports: Alicante, Javea, Denia
• Bullfights in Valencia’s bullring – one of Spain’s most famous
• El Tribunal de las Aguas (literally the Water Courts) that takes place in Valencia in the Plaza de la Virgen every Thursday at 12 o’ clock midday. Undoubtedly Europe’s oldest judicial institution, it has been taking place in front of the Gate of the Apostles of the cathedral for 1,000 years. It is the only oral court and was originally set up to settle disputes over water irrigation issues.
With thanks to Txut for permission to use his photo of the Science Museum, Valencia
With thanks to Emilio Requena for writing this guide |
