Alicante is on the Costa Blanca, on the east coast of Spain. It¿s the perfect destin¬ation to enjoy the pleasures of sunny beaches, have lots of fun and get a glimpse of Spanish culture and history.
Fly Icelandair to Alicante. From April to October 2011, Icelandair flies weekly to this lively and dynamic city, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.
Sun, sandy beaches and a cool ocean breeze
Alicante is a paradise for sun lovers who want to relax or play on the warm and soft sandy beaches by the cooling blue waves of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s the ideal place to enjoy delicious food and a peaceful – or perhaps a rousing – evening under a Mediterranean sky. Alicante offers everything to make your holiday in the sun a real pleasure: first-rate hotels and apartment hotels, excellent restaurants and an awesome nightlife. One of the best known of the region’s many beautiful beaches is the Playa de San Juan, located just 10km north of Alicante city. Here you’ll find a wide beach, almost 7km long, a thin, golden strip of sand, clean and tempting, and along the coast a haven for holiday makers, full of restaurants, hotels, shops, leisure centres, including a golf course, and nightlife considered amongst the best in the Alicante province. The Postiguet beach is located within the Alicante city. Along it runs a maritime promenade, a popular meeting point of locals and visitors, teeming with people from morning to midnight.
Spanish culture and history – and the bustle of a modern city
The history of Alicante reaches back to prehistoric times. It was an important Mediterranean port and is still the commercial and cultural hub for the Alicante province. A notable feature of the city is the Santa Barbara Castle, located on the top of Mount Benacantil and offering a unique view over the coastline and the Bay of Alicante. Visit the Iglesia de Santa Maria church. Stroll in the El Palmeral and El Ereta parks or take a walk along the Explanada de España, a lovely promenade lined with palm trees. We also recommend a visit to the Provincial Archaeology Museum (Museo Arquelógico Provincial), one of Spain’s best museums of its kind, offering glimpses from the 100,000-year history of human settlement in the region. The halls and open-air spaces of the Santa Barbara Castle contain the CAPA collection of Spanish contemporary sculpture museum, which is considered the most complete collection of contemporary Spanish sculptures in the world. The Asegurada Museum of Contemporary Art, located next to the Santa Maria church, is a fine collection of modern and contemporary art. When it comes to day trips from Alicante, you can take a short boat ride to the island of Tabarca, a fascinating place which was once a hideaway for pirates and is now a popular tourist attraction. A day trip to the Caves of Canelobre, 24km from Alicante, is also a memorable experience. The caves boast the highest vaults in the whole of Spain.
AirportAlicante Airport, L’Altet (ALC), is located 11km south of the city centre. There is a regular bus service between the airport and the city as well as to several resort areas along the Costa Blanca. Taxis are plentiful just outside of arrivals.
DiningThere is a wide selection of restaurants in Alicante, offering food from all over the world. Alicante is the right place to enjoy Spanish cuisine, with an abundance of seafood restaurants, some of them said to be the finest in Spain.
Want to shop? The giant department store chain El Corte Inglés is located in two buildings on the Avenida Maisonnave. Alicante’s main shopping streets are the Rambla de Méndez Núñes, the Avenida Maisonnave and nearby streets. You’ll find streets full of small shops in the old town, El Barrio, for instance along the Calle Mayor. The Panoramis mall is near the harbour. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Central Market on the Avenida Alfonso el Sabio. It’s open from Monday to Friday, from 7am to 2:30pm, and Saturdays from 7:30am to 15pm.
