Costa Blanca Towns

 

Jávea is a wonderful place to spend your holiday, but the Costa Blanca consists of many lovely towns and villages - and we have Villas and Apartments available in many of them. If you are thinking of booking an apartment or villa in Jávea> you should find the information about the some of the other towns and villages useful.

Denia...

This beautiful harbour town is approximately 6.5km from Jávea, and 85km from Alicante. It is north of Jávea and is reached by travelling along the wonderful N332 road which winds through the hills to the north of the Costa Blanca. Historically, Dénia is one of the most important towns in the Province of Alicante. Archeologically, the town is important because of its Greek and Roman artefacts, and because of its key position at the foot of Mount Montgo, and in the natural harbour of the Mediterranean, the town has a turbulent past.

With a population of 38,000 inhabitants, Dénia is a harbour town of great character . It was fortified during its Muslim occupation, and the Arab influences of the past have added to its diverse history, all of which are celebrated in many local Fiestas each and every year. Dénia offers the holiday maker plenty of choice; there is a Yachting Club, and water sports play a big part in the local economy and tourism with fishing, windsurfing, diving, scuba diving, snorkelling and sailing catered for throughout the year. For the golfer there are five excellent local courses and a wonderful, modern Marina offering something approaching 1000 moorings for boats all sizes.

Gastronomy is important to the inhabitants, and visitors, of Dénia. The fish and seafood served in the restaurants and bars is very fresh, almost certainly having arrived at table via the local fish market, and rice is also a fundamental ingredient to most of their dishes as are lobster, red prawn and octopus. Perhaps not surprisingly, Dénia has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as one of the healthiest places on earth to live.

The port offers regular ferry travel, with daily excursions and ferries to the Balearic Islands and Ibiza, and the excellent N332 and A-7 Motorway offer easy access to both Alicante and Valencia airports.) The historical centre of Dénia is of course the castle. The castle was built in the 11th and 12th century and offers a wonderful view of the Mediterranean, the city and the surrounding countryside. Within the castle you will find the Palau del Governador with its museum. From the castle visitors should make their way El Port which consists of a line of attractive restaurants facing the port area. The following places are also worth a visit:

Archaeological Museum
Ethnological Museum
Asuncion Church
Convent of the Augustines
La Lonja (Fish Market)
The Toy Museum (with varied other exhibitions throughout the year)
 

Moraira...

Lying just south of Jávea, Moraira is well known for the beauty of its beaches. It is an important tourist location on the Costa Blanca and is famous for the quality of it's locally produced wines.

The beach of the L’Ampolla is located at the foot of the castle, and boasts some of the finest white sand on the Costa Blanca. It is within easy walking distance of the town centre, lying just 500m from the fish market. Another attractive option is Playa del Portet which is 1.5km north of the centre. Moraira was originally essentially a fishing village, and many of the old fishing huts provided the foundations for what is now an important tourist resort.

There are many places within Moraira that are well worth visiting; the fortress church of Santa Caterina, with its slender bell tower and impressive architecture being just one. It dates as far back as the sixteenth century and still provides the historical background of the town.

La Cova de Cendres, is a cave which can be visited, and this dates back to the Palaeolithic era. Ermita Sant Vicent Ferrer, is a chapel constructed in the second half of the eighteenth century, and close to the main chapel is a smaller chapel that commemorates the place where Vicente Ferrer (a famous Jesuits) said goodbye to the local people (there is a wonderful painting inside the small chapel representing this historical event). An interesting excursion from Moraira is to take one of the jet skis from the seafront between the fish market and Moraira castle, or a small boat from the harbour, and go on a tour of the coastline as far as Cabo de la Nao, a headland that offers fabulous views towards Javea.

Moraira’s Nautical Club offers the tourist a diversity of water sports, ranging from windsurfing, sailing, fishing and scuba diving excursions that explore the coastline and for those not so keen on under water activities, there are horse and bicycle trips that follow the pathway walked by ancient invaders of Spain and the hermits who used to inhabit the surrounding hills. Moraira is without doubt one of the most beautiful location on this part of the Costa Blanca.

Altea...

Altea is without doubt the prettiest town on the Costa Blanca. It boasts a stylish marina, lively seafront promenade and the beautiful old centre of the town stands high above the Mediterranean. From this vantage point are some of the most spectacular views of the El Peñon de Ifach in Calpe (north of the town). Altea is approximately 15km north of the much more developed city of Benidorm, and its 13,500 inhabitants and their town can be reached via the A7 motorway.

The town is famous for its church Nuestra Senora del Consuelo or Virgen de Consuelo with its unusually blue roof and the town boasts over  5km of beaches which are divided into sections, with the Cap Negret north of Altea, and La Roda and Cap Blanc to the south. Close to the harbour is the wonderful Pueblo Macarat beaches. Although the beaches of Altea are not sandy, they still provide wonderful views and relaxing locations.

Altea is located on a steep hillside, just 500 meters from the sea and above the modern beachfront developments. The old town has been historically popular with artists since the mid 1950's and visitors will no doubt come across painter's and craftsmen selling their items, set against a picturesque backdrop of narrow streets, white houses, orange trees and geraniums. The town remains essentially unspoilt by development, and the cobblestone streets and small town squares, or plazas, of a traditional town of old Valencia, remains the overall impression one will have of the town.

Calpe...

Calpe, and it's 13,000 permanent inhabitants, is located between Altea (to the south) and Jávea (to the north). As with all of the towns in the area, access is via the N332 or A-7, and the journey provides wonderful views of the Peñon de Ifach - the Rock which rises up from the Sierra Bernia. The area boasts sandy beaches in combination with spectacular cliff faces, and the town still has a working fishing port with a fresh fish market each day.

Today, Calpe offers large scale tourism with only Benidorm boasting more apartment blocks and beds per square meter. The town does boast some wonderful 'Blue Flag' beaches, and the clear blue waters and golden beaches are the focus for Calpe's tourist activities. The town is of course dominated by the Peñon de Ifach, an enormous Gibraltar like rock which rises some 332m above sea level, and extends for more or less 1km. The Rock separates the two main beach areas of Playa la Fossa (almost 1km long) and the Playa Cantal Roig, and can be climbed by tourists looking for an active day out.

The area around the Playa la Fossa is more traditional, and the majority of the bars and restaurants have a strong Spanish feel, with only the occasional  British establishment breaking up this Spanish resort. There Paseo Infanta Cristina is a pedestrian promenade which funs the full length of the beach, and this boasts a good selection of bars and restaurants as well. On the other side of the Peñon is a modern Marina which is adjoined by a smaller rocky beach called Playa Cantal Roig. Once again there is a pedestrian promenade (the Paseo Infanta Elena) which runs the full length of this Calpe beach, and up to another wonderful beach called the Playa Arenal-Bol. This beach in turn runs for approximately 2km and ends in the Old Town of Calpe.

The Old Town of Calpe is again typical of the towns in this area, with it's narrow, shaded cobble streets and Moorish architectural influences. Places of interest in the Old Town include the Church of  Nuestra Señora de la Nieves, the Iglesia Vieja (Old Church), and the Torreón de la Peca (Tower and Town Walls) with the Forat de la Mar being part of the ancient protective town wall. The Plaça dels Mariners (The Fisherman's Square) is also worth a visit, as is the Museum of Archeology. In the Port area of the town, the Peñon Nature Park is fascinating, as is the Promenade of the prince (Camino del Mar) and the auctions at the Fish Market (Lonja).
 
Benidorm...

The 1950’s brought to Benidorm the first taste of tourism, and package tourism soon established itself - ultimately this is what has made Benidorm a by-word for 'Brits Abroad' tourism. We do not have any villas or apartments for rental in the city, but it is worth visiting. With a population of just 2,000 at the start of the century, it has been transformed into one of the package holiday capitals of the world, now accommodating, entertaining & lodging up to 5,000,000 visitors per year. However the image of Benidorm as wall-to-wall skyscrapers is not quite true. In 1954 Pedro Zaragoza Orts, then incumbent Mayor of Benidorm, created the Plan General de Ordenación (city building plan) that ensured that every building would have an area of ‘leisure’ land, guaranteeing a future free of the excesses of cramped construction seen in other areas of Spain. It is the only city in Spain that still adheres to this rigid rule, and if you climb to the top of the Sierra Helada, the promontory at the end of the Rincon de Loix, you get a stunning view of how green the city is and just how close it is to the mountains.

Benidorm has approximately 7km of sandy beaches, and although myth has it that the sand is imported from Africa, this is simply not true - in fact, Benidorm exports it's own natural sands to other resorts in Spain. When the resort began its phenomenal rise during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s it attracted workers from all over Spain, many of whom set up small regional communities in the city and it is, and always has been, the major resort for Spanish tourism - so contrary to the myth that you will only hear British accents throughout the summer months, you can in fact hear virtually every accent, dialect and language of Spanish language.

As with all the towns on the Costa Blanca, Benidorm boasts a fantastic climate - recent reports have it that the city has enjoyed an average of 315 sunny days per year, and with almost negligible levels of atmospheric pollution, it is little wonder that the apartment blocks enjoy extremely high levels of occupancy for most parts of the year.

The Canfali hill, a promontory located in the centre of Benidorm bay, divides the coast into two splendid sandy beaches - the Levante and the Poniente beach - and the walk along these beaches provides spectacular views of the sea and the Alicante coast. The Levante beach was the first to be developed, and it now has countless bars, cafés and terraces for snacks, drinks and so forth. Today, the Poniente beach offers the same level of entertainment. As with most of the towns in this area of Spain, the Old Town provides most interest, and the Casco Antiguo, and el Carrer dels Gats is worthy of a visit, as is the Church San Jaime. For fantastic views we suggest a visit to the El Balcón del Mediterráneo and the Mirador del Castillo, and for those who enjoy wider open spaces, the Park Elche, the Park Aigüera, and the Island of  Benidorm are a must, as is the Esplanade of  "Playa de Levante". There is also an Agricultural Museum and Waxwork Museum which makes for an interesting afternoon away from the beach.

Enjoy your stay with us in the beautiful town of Jávea!