Discover Alicante: Fortress, museums and coast
Accommodation in Alicante
Culture and history
At the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, Alicante’s history dates back to the end of the 9th century, when Muslim rule was in place. The slopes of the present-day fortress also contain remains from the Bronze Age, as well as Iberian and Roman finds.
The Castillo de Santa Bárbara stands on Mount Benacantil, which is 166 metres high and located by the sea. From there, you can see Alicante Bay and the surrounding inland area.
File:El Castellet, Orba, Alicante, España, 2022-10-02, DD 04.jpg
Photo: Diego Delso via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In the historic centre opposite the Basilica of Santa María is the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante, known as MACA for short. The museum includes the Casa de La Asegurada, the city’s oldest civilian building; it was built in 1685 as a granary.
The MACA collections cover important movements in 20th-century art. They include paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and other graphic works, among others.
The permanent exhibition of the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante, MARQ, leads from prehistory through the Iberian and Roman cultures and the Middle Ages to the modern and contemporary eras.
In its galleries on field archaeology, urban archaeology and underwater archaeology, MARQ explains archaeological methods using staged presentations, audiovisual media and interactive displays. The chronological sequence and the three method galleries each place different emphases on the way the exhibits are viewed.
The Museo The Ocean Race is the only museum in the world dedicated to the sailing race The Ocean Race. Its interactive presentation covers more than 50 years of the race’s history and developments in nautical technology; audiovisual installations, games and models are among the formats used.
Sea and landscape
The marine environment of Tabarca is characterised by very clear waters, a species-rich biological community and seagrass meadows of Posidonia oceanica.
In the immediate vicinity of Alicante are the MUBAG museum, the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, referred to as a castle, the Museu Volvo Ocean Race, and the Castillo de San Fernando complex, also referred to as a castle. The zoo-like Vida y Color and the beaches Playa del Postiguet, Playa del Cocó and Playa de Babel are also located there.
Nature and trails
Alicante has an almost 50-kilometre network of urban routes and trails that passes through natural areas and urban zones. The individual trails, described as easy, are between 2 and 6 kilometres long.
Different route lengths help you organise your daily schedule and compare options with one another.
For a holiday apartment in Alicante, you can compare the travel period, room category and cancellation conditions separately. The three details can be considered as individual criteria alongside your personal planning of culture, sea and trails; the order in which you weigh these criteria is also left to your travel planning.
More local pages: El Moralet, Santa Faz, Monnegre, Monforte Del Cid, Banyeres De Mariola, Albatera, Tabarca and La Encina.
Geographical location
Two lifts were opened at the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, running for a distance of 142.70 metres inside Mount Benacantil. A 204.83-metre-long tunnel from Avenida de Jovellanos opposite Playa del Postiguet leads to them.
To the main travel overview: Alicante.
