Alicante FACTFILE


When To Go With average temperatures between 32º C in summer and 16º C in winter, Alicante’s climate is mild year-round. For those who want to be part of the action, Fogueres de Sant Joan is the city's most important festival, stemming from the medieval tradition of burning useless objects in midsummer night (June). Enormous monuments are constructed and then burned at the end of the festival. Every summer, throughout July and August, a programme of music, theatre and dwance is staged in the Paseo del Puerto alongside the port.


23


Getting There Airlines fl ying direct to Alicante include Monarch, Thomson, Thomas Cook, Flybe, Bmibaby and Jet 2, as well as low-cost carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet. The airport is located under seven miles away from the city.


23


More Information Contact


For information on the Region of Valencia visit: www.comunitatvalenciana.com/eng and www.spain.info


23


Training Travel Uni has an online training programme covering the UK’s favourite destination, Spain: http://spainspecialistprogramme.co.uk


retail therapy. Local bargains to pick up include leather, ceramics, rugs, jewellery and native produce.


Get cultured: Alicante prides itself on its cultural offering and there are many museums and art galleries. The MARQ was awarded Best European Museum in 2004, and explores the region’s 3000-year history through archaeology; La Asegurada displays one of the most important contemporary art collections in the whole of Spain; and the fascinating Garrigós Wells, excavated in the Benacantil mountain, are believed to date from the region's Islamic period.


Top sights The tiny Isla de Tabarca is around 12 miles from the city, its waters dedicated as a Mediterranean Marine Reserve for


their quality and the biodiversity of their fl ora and fauna. The island’s Levante Beach is approximately 250-metres long and history lovers will be intrigued by the island’s story of piracy. Visitors will fi nd the majority of the city monuments are located in The Old City and The Santa Cruz quarter – better known as El Barrio. Sights include the Ayuntamiento, or Town Hall, which displays a dramatic statue of Salvador Dalí amongst its baroque architecture and the 17th century Co-cathedral of Saint Nicholas, famed for its blue dome and surrounded by beautiful gardens. Affording spectacular views of the city and its surroundings, the imposing Santa Bárbara Castle is one of Spain's biggest medieval fortresses, situated on the top of Mount Benacantil. The palm-lined La Explanada is the


perfect walk to admire the views and the music pavilion hosts the Municipal Band’s concerts on feast days. There are also many parks and green spaces to relax in, including Palm Grove, where more than one thousand palm trees shade strollers from the Spanish sun. The Alicante marina has excellent


shopping centres, restaurants and is a jumping-off point for nautical adventures.


Day Trips:


• Kids will love exploring the toy factory and Toy Museum at Ibi, 25 miles away.


• The mountainside Medieval village of Guadalest is surrounded by mountains and reached by a twisting road of hairpin bends and a stone-cut tunnel which is some 1,300 years old.


• Just 15 miles from the city is Cuevas del Canelobre, a series of caves with vaulted ceilings, stalactites and stalagmites. On certain dates, concerts and music festivals are held within the caves because of the acoustics.


• The Terra Mítica theme park near Benidorm is divided into Ancient Egypt, Rome, Iberia, Greece and the Islands, each with its own rides based around these themes.











SPAINSIH TOURIST BOARD


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24