Alicante is located close to the Mediterranean Sea, in a bay between the capes of la Huerta and Santa Pola, bordering the Campo de Alicante. It is the capital city of the province of Alicante and the second most important in the Valencian Region. Its municipal area, including Tabarca island, covers 201'3 km2, and it has 285.000 inhabitants.

History: Next to today’s city, there used to be the Greek colony Akra Leuke, occupied by the Cartaginian. During the Roman Epoch it was an important port; it was included in the Kingdom of Teodomiro after the Muslim invasion. During the 11th century it was fought by Castilians and Catalana-Aragoneses, until 1184, when the Pope gave it to Castile. Conquered in 1258 by Alfonso X, it went again to the Muslims, but it was reconquered by the Aragoneses kings, whose possession was legalized in 1304. It could not recover from the Moorish expulsion until the 18th century. It became the capital of the province in 1833, and it was in this century when the rail service covering Madrid-Alicante was inaugurated. During the 20th century, the city experienced many events and has been gradually developing: the port was built, an electric tram framework was established in 1924 and in 1929 they celebrated, for the first time, the Hogueras de San Juanera vez, las fiestas de las Hogueras de San Juan.

Culture and Art: The Town Hall was built between 1701 and 1760, and it is a nice example of the Baroque Civil Architecture. From its façade emerge two exceptional twin towers, and inside the building outstands the Salon Azul, with a side chapel. James I the Conqueror ordered the construction of the Church of Santa Maria in the 13th century over the Main Mosque of the Muslim medina. The works were completed at the beginning of the 16th century, so that its structure is combined with different styles: Gothic, Baroque and Rococo. The Museo de Arte Siglo XX La Asegurada houses the valued collection of avant-garde art, with the works of Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Eusebio Sempere, Viola, etc. The concathedral of San Nicolas Bari is one of the most important buildings in the town centre. Above all outstands the obvious contrast between the sobriety of the façade and the richness inside the building (Capilla de la Comunión and image of the Cristo de la Buena Muerte). Santa Barbara Castle is located at the top of Benacantil mountain, so the views from the castle are fantastic. There is an access by a lift excavated in the rocks, which has an entrance tunnel opposite El Postiguet beach, and there is also a road up to the Castle, surrounded by the pine trees in the north area. The Monasterio de la Santa Faz, built in the 18th century, is 5 km away from the urban area. In its interior is kept a relic which corresponds, according to tradition, to one of the pleats of the piece of cloth that wiped Christ’s face. The Palacio de la Gravina (Exhibitions Hall) is a noble building from the 18th century which belonged to the Lumiares Count. The Paseo de la Explanada borders the sea and is the most emblematic Alicantinian promenade. Its floor is tiled with a huge tricolour mosaic of 6.600.000 marble tiles marked by 4 rows of palm trees.

Gastronomy: The most important ingredients in the Alicantinian cuisine are the rice and fish; with rice we can elaborate dishes like arroz a banda, paella alicantina (with chicken and seafood) and arroz caldoso; with fish, dishes like caldero, salted fish and seafoods. The vegetables are also essential for the preparation of the olleta, the putxero en tarongetes, the esmorzaret alicantí (with fried egg, salted sardine and nyora, which is a dried red pepper), the coca amb tonyina (tuna pie). The Alicantinian cuisine offers other coques like the coca boba (with sponge cake and almonds), another with breadcrumbs and with sardine and tomato. Among these traditional desserts outstand the bambas, rollitos de anis, fresh fruits, ice creams and, of course, the turron. Two are the most traditional drinks: the paloma, dried anisette with very cold water, and the cantabria, herbs liqueur.

Among wines we must highlight the red and rose wines, young whites of monastrell , vermeta or garnatxa grape, or the mature wine fondillon.

Climate: The climate in Alicante is the common one for the Mediterranean area, with mild winters and hot summers. The average temperature is 18º, and has 2.800 hours of sunlight during the year.

Festivals: The festivity calendar for Alicante covers the whole year (Carnival, Holy Week, the Patron Saint’s Day, Moors and Christians…). However, the most important and emblematic festival in Alicante is celebrated in June –from the 20th to the 29th-. In Les Fogueres de Sant Joan visitors can enjoy from a festival where the satire and joy are two of the most important ingredients of the monuments made of papier-mâché, emerging all around the city.

Communications: Alicante city is perfectly communicated by air, land and sea with the rest of Spain and Europe. The autopista A-7 links Valencia with Europe and, together with the motorway, it establishes a direct route with Madrid and Murcia. The bus station offers regular services among many other cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Murcia, Bilbao y Zaragoza. In its port there is a regular service to Oran (Argelia). The rail station offers many services as well: the Talgo and the Intercity have connections with Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid; the Euromed has services to Valencia and Barcelona. The suburban and regional trains offer services both to Valencia and Murcia and the Trenet, which covers the Costa Blanca, has hourly services from 6:00 am to 9:00 p.m. Moreover, during the months of July and August the Transnochador covers the area between Alicante and Altea. Finally, El Altet airport is located 10 minutes away from the urban area, and it offers regular flights to the Spanish, European and African capitals. It is the first tourist destinations for charter flights. The International lines to Germany, Belgium, Holland, United kingdom and France work weekly.

BEACHES OF ALICANTE:

Playa de la Albufereta: Just next to the Cabo de las Huertas appear a series of natural, small, rocky coves, with difficult accesses, and in the south, behind a small nautical club, is this lively beach. Among the vegetation, we can find palm trees, flowers and cactus, which give this beach an special enchantment. Thin, golden sand beach, it is placed in the middle of an urban development that bears the same name, in the north of Alicante. It has two cliffs at both sides, recommended for fishing.

Playa de San Juan: Between El Campello and Cabo de las Huertas you can find this beach of nearly 3km length, opened, very good quality waters, and thin, almost golden sand. Its environment is semiurban, very lively, and along its seafront there are many beach kiosks. It is an accessible beach, with all kind of services, in order to facilitate the bath for the disabled.

Playa del Postiguet: This beach is placed in the urban area of Alicante city, it has thin, almost white sand, and it is 1km long. It was also awarded with a Blue Flag. The vegetation and complete infrastructures and services turn it into a very lively beach. At summer nights, it is an usual meeting point in Alicante.

Playa del Saladar: It is beach of thin, golden sand, which offers 1.5km to have a walk. It has a semiurban environment, and in its north end keeps a series of dunes, which give a nice appearance to it. It was awarded with a Blue Flag, which guarantees the quality of its services and suitability to have a bath in its waters.