Alicante city - the old town, Santa Cruz, the harbor, the promenade, the beach, the market hall, the parks - what to see in Alicante?

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Alicante is perhaps best known for its long tiled promenade with the characteristic wavy pattern that you see on the way to and from the airport. But the city has much more to offer. This post describes the harbor, the beach, the old town with Santa Cruz, the traditional Mercado Central, the many parks and the two castles Castellet de Santa Barbara and Castellet de Fernando.

Bred promenade med palmer på sidene og en stor skjellformet overbygd scene i Alicante

The harbor - Puerto de Alicante

When travelling by airport bus, you will arrive at a stop by the port at the start of the wide tiled promenade La Explanada de España with the iconic pattern that gives a three-dimensional feeling of waves. This is a good starting point for exploring the city. Here you will find the entrance to the old town and the start of the city beach El Postiguet. You can also see the large medieval castle Castellet de Santa Barbara on top of a hill. Along the quay there is a wide sidewalk with benches and art exhibition stands. When you turn to one side, you will see the pier, the boats and the sea. If you turn the other way, you will see old, respectable buildings and Castellet de Santa Barbara. In the port you can walk around and look at the boats, sit on a bench, visit one of the restaurants or take a boat trip around the port area where you will see the city and its surroundings from a different perspective.

Mennesker går på en bred promenade ved havna med benker og kunst i Alicante

Gamle murhus med tårn og en høyde med borg i havna i Alicante — Old buildings and Castillo de Santa Barbara seen from the harbor

Statue av mann ute i vannet ved båter i havna i Alicante

Skulptur av hode med flere ansikter og en hånd med utstrakte fingre i Alicante

City beach - El Postiguet

The city beach Playa de El Postiguet is located on the east side of the harbor. Its name comes from the time when there was a gate (el postigo) in the city wall here that gave access to the old town. The beach was originally much smaller than it is today, but was expanded and improved in the 19th century when a railway line was established between the capital Madrid and Alicante. It was the early days of tourism when people from Madrid could come here to the coast during their summer holidays. That is why the beach was also nicknamed Playa de Madrid. At the same time, 11 balnearios (bathing areas with a bathing jetty leading to deeper water) were established where there was a restaurant, recreation area and often a lifeguard. These buildings were completely destroyed during the Civil War, and today they have been replaced by modern restaurants and beach bars where you will also find public toilets, a lifeguard in the high season and several activity areas for beach sports and games. El Postiguet is a typical urban, partly artificial beach that is 40 meters wide and 667 meters long. It is shallow and child-friendly with fine-grained light sand. In April 2025, work began on a 178-meter L-shaped breakwater at the east end of the beach to protect against waves, reduce sand erosion, and improve water quality. The beach is very popular and often quite full during the high season.

Bystrand El Postiguet med mennesker og Santa Barbara i bakgrunnen i Alicante

El Paseo - La Explanada de España

The iconic promenade in Alicante is 500 meters long and ends in the Parque de Canalejos where the promenade continues for a few hundred meters. The promenade was originally created as a walkway behind a defensive wall that stretched all the way along the current port area. When the need arose in the early 19th century to remove the wall and level the loading and unloading areas for the boats, a vacant area was left at the back, and this was used to widen the walkway. Today's beautiful promenade was created in 1950 and consists of 7.5 million tiles in white, cream, pink and black marble. The wave-shaped pattern was meant to symbolize the waves of the Mediterranean and was inspired by the pattern on the Plaza del Rossio in Lisbon. Today, the route through la Explanada de España and further into the Parque de Canalejos is popular with both the city's population and tourists. The promenade has palm trees on the sides and the park is flanked on both sides by tall, old fig trees that provide pleasant shade on hot days. There is a row of stalls on the promenade selling handicrafts and souvenirs, and about halfway up you'll find La Concha, an outdoor, covered stage shaped like a shell (see cover photo) where concerts and other cultural events are held.

Mennesker går på promenade dekket av marmorfliser i et bølgeformet mønster med palmer på sidene i Alicante

Kvinne ser på varer i en salgsbod på paseo i Alicante

Kvinne sitter på benk under enormt stort fikentre i Alicante — The start of the Parque de Canalejas which is a continuation of the promenade la Explanada de España

Old Town and Santa Cruz

Alicante has been inhabited for seven thousand years - first by hunters and gatherers, then by the Iberians from around 1000 BC. The first settlements were located roughly where the old town (Casco Antiguo or El Barrio) is today. In 324 BC, the Greeks took over the city, which they named Akra Leuke ("white mountain") and turned it into a trading post. A little over a hundred years later, in 201 BC, the Romans took over. They named the city Lucentum ("city of light") and built temples, baths and forums (open meeting places). From 718 to 1248, the Moors ruled the city, giving it the name Al-Laqant, which is the basis for its current name, Alacant in Valencian and Alicante in Spanish. The Muslims built the castle of Santa Barbara and developed much of the city centre, which we see continuing today.

The old town consists of two parts. The oldest is the Santa Cruz district, which is located at the top of the mountainside towards the castle. In the lower part that extends down towards the harbour - El Barrio - most of the buildings are of recent date, although there are also older buildings there. To enter the old town, the easiest way is to enter the cross street at the start of the promenade la Explanada de España at the roundabout in the harbour. Then you will come to a large open space called Plaza de la Santísima Faz. This is the town hall square. Here you will find restaurants and bars, and straight ahead is the stately town hall with its two towers. If you go through one of the two portals in this building, you will come to an area with narrow streets and many restaurants, bars and clubs where there is a rich nightlife in the evenings.

Gammel lang murbygning med to tårn og to portaler Rådhuset i Alicante — Alicante Town Hall at the Plaza de la Santísima Faz

Portal inn til rådhusplassen i Alicante — By walking through one of the portals in the town hall, you enter an area with narrow streets and a rich selection of restaurants, bars and clubs.

Gate med restaurant i gamlebyen i Alicante — In the narrow streets of El Barrio there are many restaurants

Kelnere utenfor uterestaurant med stoler og bord med hvite duker der fasaden er dekket av blomster på rådhusplassen i Alicante — One of the restaurants at the town hall square

Mennesker ser på veldig store og høye figurer av Josef, Maria og Jesusbarnet på rådhusplassen i Alicante — In December, they erect some massive figures of the three holy kings, Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. The figures are almost as tall as the surrounding buildings.

Kvinner sitter foran høy inngangsdør på vakkert dekorert fasade til Basilica de Santa Maria i Alicante gamleby — The facade of the Basílica de Santa Maria, one of the most famous churches in Alicante. It was built between the 14th and 16th centuries on the remains of a mosque. It has beautiful and detailed decoration. The other famous church in Alicante is the Concatedral de San Nicolás de Barí. It is known for its large, beautiful blue dome that is visible from several places in the city.

Mennesker går på gate med mange høye sopper med ansikter under hatttene på Carrer de San Fransisco i Alicante — To the west of the area around the town hall square is Carrer San Francisco, where numerous large mushrooms with faces under their hats are set up.

Rad med gamle små hus som delvis er bygget inn i grotter i fjellet med Castillo de Santa Barbara i bakgrunnen i Alicante — The top of the Santa Cruz district. The picture shows a row of white brick houses that look like regular houses on the outside, but are built into caves in the mountain behind. The houses are several hundred years old. In Santa Cruz there are narrow, picturesque streets where many of the houses are decorated with flower pots in different colors.

Kvinne ser på blomster på en fasade dekket av mange titalls blå blomsterpotter i Santa Cruz i Alicante — One of the houses in Santa Cruz

Smal gate og mur med busker i Santa Cruz i Alicante

Bakgård med veggmalerier i gamlebyen i Alicante — Backyard with murals in the old town at the top towards the mountain with Castell de Santa Barbara

Castillo de Santa Barbara

is located on top of Monte Benacantil and is clearly visible from many places in the city. There are three ways to get there. One is to drive to the back of the castle where there are some parking spaces. The second is to take the elevator up from the old town right by the city beach. The third is to walk through the old town and follow the winding roads and paths up through Santa Cruz and on to the castle on the hill of Benacantil. This walk takes about 1 hour. Castillo de Santa Barbara was originally built by the Moors in the 800s, but has later been expanded and improved several times. When the castle was in use as a defense, there was also a city wall around the entire city that provided protection for the inhabitants. Inside the castle area itself there was also a large space. The castle is worth a visit. It is described in a separate post that you can read here: (https://www.turideer.com/post/santa-barbara-alicante-borg-med-dramatisk-historie)

Statue av soldat i rustning med spyd i Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante

To unge gråmåker står side ved side på benk på toppen av Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante

Utsikt fra toppen av Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante til Serra Grossa — View to the east from Castillo de Santa Barbara. The small peak about 1 km away called Sierra de San Julián or Serra Grossa is a popular excursion destination with several marked trails for both hiking and cycling. From the top you get a nice view of the castle, the Mediterranean and the beaches.

Utsikt fra toppen av Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante til åpen plass med trær — Inside the castle there are large open spaces where people could stay in case of enemy attacks.

Vakttårn på tuppen av Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante med utsikt til havna — Watchtower with views of the harbor, the city beach and the sea areas beyond

Utsikt til mesteparten av Alicante fra toppen av Castell de Santa Barbara i Alicante — View from Castillo de Santa Barbara to the old town and the rest of Alicante city

Alicante's Green Lungs

Alicante has many small and large parks. In addition to the Parque de Canalejos, which is located in the continuation of the promenade along the port, there are two smaller but distinctive parks within a short walking distance: Parque Placa Gabriel Miró and Parque Portal de Elche (or d'Elx). These have large monumental fig trees with a circumference of 6 meters or more. If you walk around the old town, you will probably come across them. They are located just a few blocks inside the promenade. Alicante also has four larger parks:

Parque El Palmeral de Alicante,
Parque Monte Tossal,
Parque lo Morant og
Parque la Marjal

El palmeral de Alicante is a beautiful park with artificial ponds, waterfalls and 7000 palm trees. It is located on the coast in the south of Alicante (read more: https://www.turideer.com/post/el-palmeral-de-alicante-park-med-palmer-elver-og-innsjøer-1). Parque Monte Tossal is located a couple of kilometers from the old town. In it you will find Alicante's second castle Castell de San Fernando which is smaller than Santa Barbara, but which is also worth a visit. From here you have a nice view of Santa Barbara and large parts of the city and the surrounding areas. Parque lo Morant has an area of 12 hectares and is the largest park in Alicante. It is located on flat terrain and is great for playing sports or walking. Parque la Marjal is located in the San Juan area a little east of the city center of Alicante. It is Spain's first flood park. It has a rich birdlife, artificial ponds and waterfalls. All of these parks are described in a separate post (https://en.turideer.com/post/alicante-s-green-lungs-parks-in-alicante).

Park med fontene i Parque Placa Gabriel Miró i Alicante — The fountain in Parque Placa Gabriel Miró

Utsikt til Castello de San Fernando og Catello de Santa Barbara i bakgrunnen fra Parque Monte Tossal i Alicante — Castell de San Fernando in the Parque Monte Tossal

Dam med palmer, trebro og fossefall i bakgrunnen i Parque El Palmeral i Alicante — Artificial pond with waterfalls and palm trees in the background in Parque El Palmeral de Alicante

Trebro over kunstig anlagt elv i Parque El Palmeral i Alicante

Mercado Central

is located within walking distance of the port promenade (700-800m). It is Alicante's leading food hall and an iconic building for the city. The building was designed by Francisco Fajardo Guardiola and Juan Vidal Ramos and was completed in 1922. At first glance, it may resemble an old train station, but this is a building that was built specifically to be a food hall. Inside the building there are shopping streets with market stalls for fresh vegetables, fish, meat and more on two floors. There are also bars where you can taste cheese, ham and other products. On the outside of the building next to the large flower shop there are two nice restaurants. Even if you don't buy anything, this is an attraction worth seeing. It is most atmospheric to visit in the morning and especially on Saturdays. It is described in a separate post (https://www.turideer.com/post/mercado-central-alicante-marked-i-mathall)

Innendørs handlegate med salgsboder i Mercado Central Alicante — Shopping street in Mercado Central Alicante

Fiskehandler viser frem fisk i Mercado Central Alicante

Fasade som ligner togstasjon med blomsterbutikk foran Mercado Central Alicante — The north side of the Mercado Central Alicante where you will also find a flower shop with a very good selection

In the center of Alicante there are several large roads where space has been set aside for a park in the area between the directions of travel. The central train station for the Alacant Terminal trains and Placa de los Luceros where you will find the last stop for the metro/tram are also places that may be interesting to visit. In the area between these two places there are several shopping streets with a wide selection of shops. In Avenida Maisonnave which runs from the roundabout of the Central Train Station you will find several fashion boutiques and large shopping centers such as Corte Inglés and Zara.

Christmas Celebrations in Alicante

We end with some pictures from the Christmas celebrations in Alicante. Alicante is most visited in the summer, but is definitely worth a visit at other times of the year too. During Christmas you can sometimes experience beach life during the day, and Christmas atmosphere in the evening.