The very name of Alicante has long been synomonous to perfect sun, flawless beach, mildeclimes, and warm blue sea. This place has been on my target list of 'must-see' places in Spain for years, but strangely enough, in spite of the easy availability of budget flights from all over Europe to Alicante, and despite the fact that I had already visited some really out-of-way, even obscure places in Spain, it was not until recently that I finally had the opportunity to visit Alicante.
So Alicante and its famed beach, here I come!!
From Calpe, I took the local train-tram via Benidorm to Alicante. The journey is an interesting one, passing through scenic landscapes, villlage orchards, with views of the ocean to my left and rugged mountains on my right. When the tram-train approaches Alicante, long stretches of flawless white sandy beach begin to appear and this sight continues all the way until the tram-train enters an underground tunnel beneath the Castillo Santa Barbara before arriving at the tram-train stop right in the middle of downtown Alicante.
It was a sunday when I first arrived, so shops and stores were closed and everything was quiet. But most cafes and restaurants remained open and there was no problem getting something to eat in the afternoon.
In addition to the top-class beach, one of the main attractions of Alicante is the central market, where fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, flowers, sausages, cured Serrano hams, cheese, poultry, fish and seafood - possibly everything you could think of in Spanish cookings - can be bought . The market consists of three storey, and is open Monday to Saturday in the morning.
The front entrance to the central market, which looks like a train station, is located on one of the busiest throughfares of downtown Alicante.
There is no shortage of quality cafes and restaurants in Alicante. The problem is, prices in Alicante are in general more expensive than in Valencia. This nice open-air cafe is situated right in the centre of Alicante, close to the marina and the public beach areas.
The Castle of Santa Barbara, perched atop the hill overlooking the city of Alicante and the marina areas, is the city's most famous landmark.
The marina of Alicante, nicely laid out near the city centre and the public beach areas, is home to a wide variety of nightlife and entertainments, including casinos, bars, discos, hotels, restaurants and shops.
If you ask me of my impression of Alicante, I would say it is worth a visit, probably should stay a day or two to soak up the sunshine and allow yourself to relax on the beautiful white sandy beach. But in terms of the quality of hotels, dining or shopping, Valencia offers much better choices. So I guess I will head straight to Valencia the next time I visit Costa Blanca ...
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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