My Costa Blanca

From the bars of Benidorm to medieval castles and nature reserves, this corner of sunny Spain has something for everyone, says Kathryn Liston

Calpe – for fiestas and fishing

AS SOON as the mighty Peñón de Ifach looms into view, you know you have reached Calpe. Towering over a harbour edged with bustling restaurants serving the day’s catch – or the Llauna de Calp (fish stew) – it’s the resort’s most distinctive symbol.
Make the challenging climb to the 1,089ft summit – a protected nature reserve – and you will be rewarded with fabulous views of the seven-mile coastline dotted with tiny coves and beaches.
Despite development over the years, Calpe offers wonderful beaches, watersports, shops and restaurants, while fiestas and a daily fish market add a distinctly Spanish twist.

On June 24, the Bonfires of San Juan light up the sky, while in October, Moors and Christians are celebrated with a three-hour procession and re-enacted battle. My favourite part of Calpe is the white-washed Moorish old town with its quiet, narrow streets and tucked-away restaurants, 15th century walls and church dedicated to the Virgin of the Snow, the only Gothic-Mudejar temple in the Valencia region.
All around, villas and sleepy vineyards gaze down from their perch on the mountainside.
www.calpe.es

Guadalest – for mountain views

NO MATTER how many times I visit the hilltop town of El Castell de Guadalest, popularly known as Guadalest, it always manages to inspire.
A climb along a twisting narrow road from Altea La Vella and its arty big sister, Altea – both offering bags of self-catering accommodation - brings you to this village of only 200 inhabitants.
The journey is rewarded with stunning views across the Aita¬na, Serella and Xorta mountain range and the Guadalest River.
Small in size but big in history, the town was built by the Moors to defend their strategic position. Abandoned castles date back to 715AD. A tunnel cut in the mountain takes you to the 11th century San Jose castle, built by Muslims.
The Moors lived outside the San Jose gate in an area called ‘el Arrabal’, whose small streets and squares are now littered with souvenir and craft shops, restaurants and an eclectic mix of museums focused on dolls, miniatures, vehicles and – not for the squeamish – torture.
www.guadalest.eu

Elche – for great UNESCO heritage

MANY Spanish towns would be hard-pressed to claim one UNESCO World Heritage site, let alone three.
Yet Elche, ten miles south of Alicante, has three UNESCO listings: the 200,000 tree-lined Palm Grove, planted by the Moors in the 10th century and declared an UNESCO site in 2000; the medieval Mystery Play, or ‘El Misteri d’Elx’, held every year in August, and the Pusol Museum, the Centre of Traditional Culture, which has been included in the Register of Exemplary Practice for pro-tecting the city’s heritage.
Hans Christian Andersen called Elche, the ‘most beautiful in Europe, the most luxuriant in all Spain’ and so it is.

The 1.5-mile Palm Grove route passes the most beautiful groves, while the Palm Grove museum charts the site’s origins, history and traditions. There are lots of other trails, too, taking in the extensive salt marshes of El Hondo, the wetlands of Clot de Galvany and the Salina Nature Reserve.
The Historic Monument self-guided walk takes in the city’s cultural highlights, passing by the Palace of Altamira, Basilica of Santa Maria,


which hosts the Mystery Play, the walled ramparts with its La Calahorra Tower and La Glorieta, where it will be time to stop for a refreshing sangria or café con leche (white coffee).After a day’s sightseeing, retire to the dunes and sandy beaches of the Elche coastline, a short drive from the city centre and one of the few coastal stretches in Alicante Province that is free of urban development.
www.visitelche.com

Above, the spectacular scenery around the hilltop town of Gaudalest. Below, traditional holiday fun in Benidorm.

Benidorm – for holiday fun 24/7

BIG, brash and bustling, Benidorm might be the Costa Blanca’s undisputed holiday capital but its white-washed Old Town offers a surprisingly softer side.
From ice-cold cerveza and piping-hot churros to championship golf and high-rolling gambling, Benidorm delivers non-stop holiday fun.
Three scrupulously-clean Blue Flag beaches are a magnet for sun worshippers while active types are well catered for with watersports, beach volleyball and soccer nets, Segways, mini-golf, street markets and cable ski-ing. With five theme parks, there’s one for virtually every day of the week. You can enjoy wet ’n wild rides at Aqualandia, Europe’s largest water-park. Alternatively, get close to 200 animals at Terra Natura and its Aqua Natura water-park; watch dolphin, parrot and sea lion shows at Mundo Mar.
Meanwhile, the very brave will enjoy white-knuckle rides, including the longest wooden rollercoaster in Europe, at Terra Mitica.
Night owls flock to the restaurants, 800 bars, 160 disco-pubs, night clubs, English and Irish pubs and flamboyant Las Vegas-style shows at the Benidorm Palace. Benidorm has 50 fiestas throughout the year – olé!
www.en.visitbenidorm.es

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