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Sightseeing
MUBAG (Museo de Bellas Artes Gravina)
The Museo de Bellas Artes Gravina is an inspiring fine arts museum housed within a beautiful 18th-century mansion. Nearby, the Iglesia de Santa María has a flamboyant facade and ornate, gilded altarpiece, both contrasting with the nave's Gothic simplicity.
Calle Gravina 13-15
Santa Cruz
info - 965 14 67 80
Lucentum
All that remains of the Roman town of Lucentum is, well, remains. These days the site is surrounded by La Albufareta's high-rise apartments; however, visitors can still glean a good sense of its original layout.
Price: full - Euro2.00
Price: child - Euro1.20
La Albufareta
off A7 towards Benidorm
info - 965 26 24 34
Open: Jun-Sep: Mon closed, Tue-Sat 9:00-12:00 & 19:00-22:00, Sun 9:00-12:00; Oct-May: Mon closed, Tue-Sat 10:00-14:00 & 16:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-14:00
Iglesia de Santa María
Opposite the Museo de la Asegurada, the Iglesia de Santa María has a flamboyant 18th-century facade and an ornate gilded altarpiece. Both of these overwrought features contrast with the nave's Gothic simplicity of line.
Plaza Santa María
Santa Cruz
Open: 10:30-13:00, 18:00-19:30
MARQ (Museo Arqueológico Provincial)
The Museo Arqueológico Provincial, or MARQ, was nominated as the European Museum of the Year in 2004 for its strong collection of ceramics and Iberian art. Exhibits are displayed to give the visitor a very visual, high tech experience. The only drawback is the lack of information in English.
Price: full - Euro3.00
Price: child - Euro1.50
Plaza Doctor Gómez Ulla s/n
La Goteta
info - 965 14 90 06
Open: Tue-Sat 10:00-19:00, Sun 10:00-14:00
Museu de Fogueres
The new Museu de Fogueres (also known as the Museo de las Hogueras) has a great audiovisual presentation on the Fiesta de Sant Joan, with its fireworks and satirical effigies (Valenciano fogueres, Spanish hogueras) going up in smoke all over town.
Price: free
Rambla de Méndez Núñez 29
Santa Cruz
info - 96 514 68 28
Castillo de Santa Bárbara
From the 16th-century Castillo de Santa Bárbara there are sweeping views over the city. Inside is the Collección Capa, a permanent display of contemporary Spanish sculpture. A lift/elevator, reached by a footbridge opposite Playa del Postiguet, rises through the bowels of the mountain like a giant endoscope.
Long a symbol of Alicante, the Castillo de Santa Barbara, the stuff of fairy tales with its high walls and domed turrets, sits on the summit of Mount Benacantil, overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea. You can reach it by car or, better, on a passenger lift from Postiguet beach. The various parts of the castle date from medieval times to the sixteenth century and offer plenty of castle-type fun: drawbridges, stone passages, hidden tunnels, a real dungeon and - more surprising - a beautiful garden filled with works by Spanish master sculptors.
Price: free
Price variation: lift/elevator 2.40 return
atop Benacantil mountain
take the lift up through the mountain from Jovellanas Ave
San Roque
Open: 10:00-19:00 or 20:00
Castillo de Santa Barbara
Long a symbol of Alicante, the Castillo de Santa Barbara, the stuff of fairy tales with its high walls and domed turrets, sits on the summit of Mount Benacantil, overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea.
The various parts of the castle date from medieval times to the sixteenth century and offer plenty of castle-type fun: drawbridges, stone passages, hidden tunnels, a real dungeon and - more surprising - a beautiful garden filled with works by Spanish master sculptors.
You can reach it by car or, better, on a passenger lift from Postiguet beach.
Isla de Tabarca
Just a short hop from the mainland, the tiny Isla de Tabarca (Tabarca Island) makes for a fun day out. An hour is all you need to explore the entire island. If you enjoy seafood, there's no need to bring a packed lunch.
30 mins ferry from Santa Pola
Playa del Postiguet
Playa del Postiguet is Alicante's main beach. Minutes from the city centre, it's a convenient spot for sleeping off the night before - just don't expect tranquility - the Playa becomes the place to wilt on hot summer days.
runs parallel to Paseo de Gomis. |