The Costa Blanca has many cultural and historical monuments and attractions, natural beauties, amusement parks, museums and galleries, real arenas, where even today the Spanish bullfight is held.
Costa Blanca is a part of the Mediterranean coast belonging to Spain and a magnificent resort area with the capital city of Benidorm, long discovered and loved by vacationers from around the world
Top 12 Sights of the Costa Blanca
We offer you a brief description of the attractions of the Costa Blanca with photos and hope that very soon you yourself will visit this blessed place in Spain. What can be seen in the Costa Blanca?
Santa Cruz neighborhood
This landmark of Alicante is also called the Old City. It includes the whole picturesque historical center of the city, but also part of it, where ordinary Spaniards live, and you can see the non-glamorous side of life of the famous resort.
Santa Cruz – it’s narrow streets, old houses and complete silence, life as if frozen, it is here you can feel all the charm of provincial Spain, to understand it. Some of the mansions on the block have been restored.
Santa Barbara Castle
In Alicante on Mount Benacantil stands this castle, considered the most popular attraction on the Costa Blanca. From the height of the castle offers a magnificent panorama of the city, the bay and the port.
The first fortress here was built by the ancient Greeks in the 3rd century BC. And in the 9th century AD. The new fortress was built by the Moors who owned the land at the time. The current Santa Barbara, in fact. – a direct descendant of the Moorish fortress.
The castle received its present name only in the 13th century, when it was conquered by the Spaniards from the Moors on St. Barbara’s day. The castle received its main bastions, drawbridges, and residences as early as the period of Spanish ownership.
Esplanade Boulevard
This boulevard is one of the symbols of the resort of Alicante, which has long been a favorite holiday destination for Spaniards and tourists from many countries around the world. Russians are still only mastering the Costa Blanca. Millions of different stones were used in the construction of the boulevard.
The city’s boulevard is a wonderful place for recreation, where thousands of tourists gather daily to enjoy the scents of blooming date palms, enjoy the local ice cream, feel the freshness of the sea breeze.
Santa Maria Church
This Catholic church was erected in the late 14th century in the Gothic style to commemorate the victory over Mauritania. There used to be a mosque in its place. The first chapel built by the church marked the advent of the Renaissance in Spain.
In the 17-18 centuries this temple was repeatedly reconstructed and restored, from which externally and internally very much better. The once austere Gothic was transformed into the opulence and exuberance of the Rococo and Baroque styles.
Alicante Central Market
It is a food market where most residents of Alicante and its guests tend to go in the morning. Here you will be met with the aromas of a variety of fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, spices and spices, local and authentic oriental sweets.
Outside the indoor market you can buy fresh flowers, and on the second floor shoppers will find meat or minced meat. It is important to note that the sellers here are very friendly, and the atmosphere at the market itself is very friendly.
Gallery of Contemporary Art
It is one of the main cultural centers in Alicante, located in the center, on St. Peter’s Square. The church of St. Mary, next to the Catholic church of the same name. The gallery’s main collection was given to it by local sculptor Sempere in the 1970s.
Also in the gallery collected and exhibited for public viewing almost two hundred canvases by artists of the Art Nouveau era: Picasso, Dali, Miró, Kandinsky, Braque, Chagall, and others. Symposiums and lectures on the fate of contemporary art are often held here.
Archaeological Museum
This museum opened in the 1930s of the 20th century, and the first president of Spain was present at the event. For thirty years the archaeological museum had municipal status, but the accumulated archaeological finds allowed it to make a name for itself to the world.
In the 1960s, a famous scholar and specialist in archaeology, Llobregat, was appointed director of the museum. He was an advocate of the scientific idea that archaeological finds can be used to establish the events of past millennia.
Guadaleste Castle
Guadaleste is a small village near Benidorm, in the mountains. At its center is an ancient castle – one of the most popular attractions of the Costa Blanca, visited by at least 2,000,000 people a year.
The construction of the castle in the mountains began in the 7th century A.D., under the rule of the Moors. In fact, the castle was a Muslim outpost in Spain. It is enough just to go up the mountain serpentine to the castle and see a truly magnificent panorama.
In the 8th century this castle was seized from the Moors by the King of Aragon, and was then permanently in the possession of the Christians.
The fortifications and the beautiful church, built in Baroque style in the 18th century, are a must-see here.
Moraira Castle
This fortress was built in the 18th century to protect against rampant sea pirates of the time. I.e. it is a fort and the main attraction of the city of the same name. Above the entrance to the fortress is the family coat of arms of the Bourbons.
This castle was used until the mid-19th century, and then it was abandoned by people. It was remembered only in the 80s of last century and restored to the delight of tourists who come here to relax and have fun.
Seaport and waterfront
This is the coast of the resort of Alicante, which is a major port with yachts, boats and catamarans. Here you can not only rent a boat and ride it with friends, but just enjoy the surrounding natural beauty.
To get to the port, you need to walk along the local waterfront with date palms, look at the local souvenir stores, cafes and restaurants, watch the water streetcars. This is what is called the sweet life.
Star Square
This is another attraction of Alicante that you can see on your own. In front of you is a small Star Square, its center is a fountain built by a famous local sculptor.
For many years this place has been a favorite for locals and tourists, they come to Star Square to admire the wonderful singing fountains, socialize, taste the local cuisine, etc.
Castle of Denia
This ancient castle is located in the old quarter of the resort town of Denia, near the sea coast. It is an urban historical monument. The castle was built in the 11th and 12th centuries on the site of older Roman fortifications.
For many centuries this fortress was constantly used for its intended purpose, and at the end of the 18th century it was abandoned and even wanted to be demolished. But in the 20th century the castle was bought and restored. It is interesting because of its architecture, including. in the ancient Roman style.
Video overview of the attractions of the Costa Blanca
The region is known as a year-round resort, where in summer the average daytime air temperature is about +30C, and in winter – about +20C, and sea water temperature is respectively +15C and +28C. Each year, about 6,000,000 tourists come to the Costa Blanca.
Costa Blanca maps
Costa Blanca on the map of Spain
Costa Blanca sights on the map