As soon as you arrive, Alicante will soak you with sea breeze
Alicante , taken by the palm trees and by a dazzling light, is the city of rice, of the bonfires of San Juan and of the late or (with permission from neighboring Murcia and Albacete) and it is much more than fire and gunpowder.
In Alicante it is difficult to choose. Not to say impossible. We cannot keep just one street, museum, beach, restaurant or bar. But here we go: here is our guide to the Mediterranean city for you to immerse yourself in, 48 hours , in its festive, warm and boisterous character.
FIRST DAY
9 a.m. Start the day with a good coffee with toast in Bunatic Coffee _(Santa Barbara, 1) _. Their coffee is from D-Origen Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee micro-roaster located in El Albir, but which has its own coffee plantations in Panama and even a barista academy: the Costa Blanca Coffee Academy.
The perfect specialty coffee to light the day's fuse
11 a.m. Put on comfortable shoes and walk up to the iconic Santa Barbara Castle , the medieval fortress of the city of Arab origin, Well of Cultural Interest , which rests on Mount Benacantil, from which you can see the entire bay and the best panoramic view of Alicante.
Once up, you can visit the **MUSA (Museum of the city of Alicante) **. On the way, wander around and get lost in the typical Santa Cruz neighborhood , photographing its colorful facades and stopping at the Emita de Santa Cruz and at the viewpoints that you will find on every corner. If you need to take a longer break, please choose the Ereta Park.
Ereta Park in Alicante
1 p.m. Alicante is made to go from bar to bar. and those of The Piripi , The Gourmet Tavern , El Portal Tavern & Wines , Sat either The singing are some of the best places to check it out.
The salted fish, the red prawn from Denia, the medlar from Callosa d'en Sarrià, the mojama, the shrimp from Santa Pola, the cherries from the Sierra de Alicante, the sepionet or the nougat from Jijona are the local raw materials that make up some of the tapas and pinchos with the most personality in Spain.
The tremendous Alicante bar
And if you prefer that of table and tablecloth Since we cannot choose just one, we remind you of ten gastronomic experiences that you cannot miss. Accompany them with a PDO Alicante wine.
4:00 p.m. Choose one of its many museums or cultural spaces and dedicate the afternoon to art: the MARQ (Provincial Archaeological Museum of Alicante , the first of the 21st century) ; the Museum of Contemporary Art MACA, which integrates the oldest building in the city, the House The Insured (1685) ; **the Volvo Ocean Race Museum** ; the Gravina MUBAG Museum of Fine Arts, located in the Gravina Palace, from the 18th century and declared a Historic-Artistic Monument; the La Lonja Exhibition Hall, the Bonfire Museum or the Nativity Scene Museum.
Special mention deserves the old tobacco factory, today converted into an innovative multi-cultural space. The Cigarettes It occupies three naves of the old Tobacco Factory of the city.
Museum of Contemporary Art MACA
7:00 p.m. Make a technical stop at the Laneu ice cream parlor _(San Francisco, 12; kiosk in Paseo Federico Soto and, from March to October, in San Vicente, 45 –El Campello) _.
Don't miss their caramel ice cream a la sa l or Laneu cream and its appetizing versions of horchata: the traditional one, the one with almonds, one without sugar and another in the form of granita. The best: their ice creams do not contain additives, colorants, preservatives or artificial flavors. Only fresh milk, fresh cream, sugar and fruit.
8pm . end the day in the palm grove, an urban forest of palm trees, lakes, ponds and artificial rivers.
9:00 p.m. Beyond the bars and gastronomic temples, Alicante also offers different proposals, such as BodhiGreen (San Fernando, 46) , a vegetarian restaurant that many big cities already want. It also has vegan or gluten-free dishes.
SECOND DAY
9 a.m. The plan for today? City and beach, the combination that every restless tourist hopes to find in every coastal destination. And in Alicante, with more anxiety, since it is the Spanish province with the most ** Blue Flags on its beaches, ** recognition of the European Union that makes them the best on the Mediterranean coast. But first, gather strength with a **good brunch at La Más Coketa ** _(Ildefonso, 16) _.
10 a.m. start the route in Maissonave, making a stop at the anime Central Market, cross Plaza Calvo Sotelo and go down Calle San Francisco, affectionately called "the street of the mushrooms", for the sculptures that "grow" on its cobblestones.
Continue to the Rambla, passing through Plaza Gabriel Miró and going down to the Esplanade of Spain , the photogenic promenade full of palm trees that is as Alicante as the bonfires. It runs parallel to the port and you will identify it by the mosaic of more than 6 million tricolor marble tiles that decorate your floor.
Esplanade of Spain
On the way, don't miss its historic buildings, both civil and religious: the Town Hall, Casa Carbonell, the Provincial Council, the Basilica of Santa María, the Teatro Principal or the Co-Cathedral of San Nicolás de Bari and its 15th-century cloister deserve a photography.
The tour ends at El Postiguet beach, in the heart of the town.
El Postiguet Beach
The well-known (especially for the people of Madrid) San Juan beach, the coves of Cabo de la Huerta , the beach of Almadraba , the of the Albufereta , that of Saladares-Urbanova wave of bittersweet (adapted for dogs), without forgetting the Tabarca Island , the only inhabited island in the Valencian Community, are other attractive refuges by the sea where you can spend a few hours or practice water sports, rent boats or jet skis.
The other Spanish islands to discover
2 p.m. Alicante proudly calls itself the city of rice. And it defends this appetizing label with hundreds of variants: the typical arroz a banda, caldero, olleta, tuna, prawn and chickpea rice or mushroom and duck gizzard rice. You will want to return to Alicante several times a year to try them all. do it in Master (Andalusia, 18).
5:00 p.m. To say goodbye to the city, live the evening in the San Francisco and Castaños streets . Our advice? If you have come by AVE, you may want to change your ticket to take the last one. If you have done it by car, don't set a departure time. Alicante catches.
Alicante Marina