Oct 16th 2008 Alicante – An Ideal Touring Base
Since it’s a gateway to the Costa Blanca, Alicante is a perfect touring base. Containing a pleasing melange of old and modern day traditions and culture, Alicante is found within the popular tourist region of the Costa Blanca. Visitors to Alicante enjoy a warm sunny climate, some of the finest beaches Spain has to offer together with some great examples of Moorish architecture.
Situated on the Spanish coastline between the resorts of Elche and Benidorm, Alicante city sits below its mountain top castle. The city and the surrounding landscape are scattered with churches with the most photographed of all of them being the Iglesia de Santa Maria. This is the city’s oldest church and was constructed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries being at one time a mosque. The City’s St Nicholas Cathedral was built in the seventeenth century to honour the city’s patron saint and is thus one of the most important buildings in the region.
Alicante has lots of monuments to satisfy sightseers and historians alike and can be found all around the city with columns and statues making a feature of lots of a formerly boring site. Keeping a keen watch across Alicante Bay, the Castillo de Santa Barbara is said to be one of the biggest medieval fortresses throughout Europe. Readily accessed by car or by lift (elevator) from the Paseo Maritimo, the castle offers unbeatable views of the picturesque surrounding region. Apart from the wonders the Castillo has to offer, Alicante offers more architectural treasures including the Provincial Gallery, once the Gavina Palace, plus its its nineteenth century bull- ring. The vast majority of the Alicante sights are easily reached with the help of an Alicante Airport hire car. Booking your car hire online would be expected to produce big savings as well as guaranteeing that the model of car that you want to book is ready and waiting upon your arrival at the airport.
Alicante is the ideal place to come to enjoy life and the main reason tourists return each year. With such a varied range of hotel rooms on offer, there are plenty of cheap Alicante Hotels to suit all tastes and pockets. The beaches here have the most golden sand and consist of both accessible as well as hidden bays perfect for private sunbathing. Make your way to Albufereta Beach where you will find really good water sport capabilities. It is a peaceful place that is relatively unspoilt by the majority of tourists.
The perfect place for an evening stroll is offered by the Playa del Postiguet. You will be joined by the locals along this beautiful seaside promenade – it’s a ideal location for a romantic evening. Formerly known as the Port serving Madrid, Alicante Harbour offers a combination of fishing and sailing and is the perfect venue to visit for the top fish restaurants in town. The harbour offers an ideal location for activity night and day. Here is where visitors come to learn sailing, eat superbly fresh, delicious fish and enjoy a little clubbing into the early hours.
Nobody enjoys to party as much as the inhabitants and visitors of Alicante! Here you will find a celebration of some description happening much of the time, no matter what time of the year you want to visit. One of the more serious of festivals in the Costa Blanca is the Easter Procession. Dressed in black and carrying lighted candles, a model of Jesus is carried on a cross through the streets. Every November, in order to honour the Patron Saint Crist del Bon Encert, each town has its own fiesta. Expect shops to be closed all day, every day as commerce grinds to a halt for this fantastic event of dancing, singing and firework displays. On a less religious note, one of the most well known local fiestas is that of the International Puppet Festival.
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