What do to in Alicante

The Beach and Le Explanada

I visited Alicante on a Friday, first stopping at the Playa del Postiget. This beach had much softer sand than Malaga’s beach. It does get pretty busy there though. 


After the beach I went up to the Castillo de Santa Barbara, a medieval fortress on top of the city’s hill. Those are pretty common on the southern coast of Spain it turns out. There’s an elevator right across the street from the beach, it’s an elevator inside Mount Benacantil, the tallest hill in the city. Being from Utah I struggle with calling hills mountains 😅. It costs a few euros to get up. Some people climb up, it’s 466 feet up from the beach.

The beach in Alicante, Playa del Postiget

Spain Summer Essential: A FAN!

The day in Alicante was really hot. And my fan broke, which made for a sweaty trip until I found another one in a souvenir shop. I ended up buying a couple because I wanted to make sure I had a backup in case my replacement broke. 

The famous sidewalk in Alicante is called Le Explanada. There are a lot of similarities between Alicante and Malaga, or maybe I just did similar things in both places. Went to the beach, enjoyed the city walk, went up to the castle… I did the same thing. 

Castillo de Santa Barbara

Other Things to do in Alicante

Some other places I could have gone to see in Alicante:

  • Lucentum- an archaeological site / ruins that dates back to the Pre-Roman and Roman periods. As most cool sites in Spain, it was controlled by different groups at different times. At one point an Islamic graveyard was added to the site. There’s also evidence of Carthaginian influence. Carthage is an ancient city in North Africa

  • The old town of Alicante is a traditional neighborhood. You can visit the Iglesia de Santa Maria, San Nicolas cathedral, and there are antique shops all around. 

  • If you visit the City Hall Building (Ayuntamiento), it’s an old Baroque palace. Inside you can find the Cota Cero, which is the spot where they measure 'sea level' for all of Europe. 

  • The Queen's staircase is near the cruise port too. It’s a staircase that was built to gain access to the Santa Barbara fort. The elevator bypasses these steps to get up to the fort. 

  • I also heard the Silk Exchange is a cool visit, the building has a cool interior

  • Local food to try: arroz a banda (fish and rice)

Tourist street: Le Explanada

Comparing Alicante and Malaga, I think I preferred Malaga. There are more day trips nearby and I liked the city a little better. I didn’t hate Alicante, but I’m not sure I would go out of my way to visit again. I headed back to the cruise ship early in the afternoon and had a burger and fries by the pool while I read. 

The next day I went to Valencia. Read about that here... 

Tara selfie at the fortress de Santa Barbara

About the Author

Hi, I'm Tara-

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