Spain Travel Diaries: 10 Things to do in Alicante

When you think of Spain, what cities come to mind? The most typical ones include Barcelona, Seville, and Madrid. Alicante doesn’t often come in as one of the top contenders, but after having visited myself, I very much believe that everyone should reconsider any upcoming plans that they have for Spain to include this beautiful city. And if you have yet to book a trip to Spain, book it, and make sure that you visit Alicante while you’re at it.

On our recent trip, we exclusively traveled to Alicante and Barcelona. Because of the way our flights were scheduled, we spent the first few days in Alicante, before taking the train to Barcelona for another few days, and finally returning back to Alicante for another day or two as the last leg of our trip. While I loved the beautiful city of Barcelona, there’s something charming about the seaside city of Alicante that has captured my heart.

Playa del Postiguet

Where my beaches at?! Just kidding, but no seriously. Alicante is a coastal city with tons of beaches all the way up along the coast that are perfect for a day date with your special someone. It wasn’t quite warm enough yet to swim while we were there, so Peter and I mostly hung out on the sand admiring the sunset. It’s safe to say that we went back a few times to take it in together since we don’t get many of those opportunities back in Toronto.

Playa del Postiguet was my favourite beach purely because it’s so close to the city centre, but there are plenty of other beautiful ones up along the coast as well if you like to explore! Though I do have to mention that there’s a cute little outlook point over some rocks where you’ll find many fishermen throughout the day, but it also offers a beautiful vantage point of the sunset if sitting on sand isn’t quite your thing.

Basilica of Saint Mary

During our final stay in Alicante, we had the pleasure of booking an AirBnB right across the street from the Basilica of Saint Mary. When we found out that it was the oldest active church in Alicante (built between the 14-16th century), we instantly made a point of popping in for a visit. Although neither Peter and I are religious, we can always admire the dedication and passion that is put into constructing religious buildings. The inner facades of the Basilica of Saint Mary definitely did not disappoint with its majestic design and beautiful alter.

Our AirBnB

I had originally wanted to book one of the hotels along the port of Alicante, but at a whim I went for an AirBnB instead. I’m so glad that we did because our little unit turned out to be a complete gem. With 2 beautiful windows that opened up to overlook both the beach and the basilica, it was a little corner of heaven in the already stunning city. I also do have to admit that we passed on several other “basic” looking units that resembled your typical hotel room before settling on this one. It’s safe to say that the beautiful decor is what caught my eye. With traditional Spanish tiles, and an open concept layout, the entire place felt so airy and at ease that it immediately resembled home.

I also love when your AirBnB host lives within close proximity to your unit as well, as it helps so much when it comes to any issues with WiFi, asking for recommendations, or even checking in early/later. Luckily we didn’t run into any problems, but our host so graciously allowed us to stay almost an entire extra day since our flight was booked for later on in the day. If I head back to Alicante, this is one unit I would definitely rebook!

Port of Alicante Carousel

Even though we didn’t end up booking a room at any of the hotels along the port, I made sure that we still passed by for a stroll—and it was so worth it. We stumbled upon this beautiful carousel (I can’t even find the official name for it online), and immediately knew that a picture had to be taken. Like seriously though, how can you not when a carousel looks as beautiful as this?!

I’m so glad that we took a photo here together because it turned out to be one of my favourite captures from our entire trip so Spain. So much so that it was the inspiration behind one of my recent posts sharing how Peter and I get our #CoupleGoals shots whenever we’re traveling alone without our friends. I do wish that we had taken the opportunity to ride it, though we ended up refraining since the only other people on it were children—which felt a little weird truth be told! At least the ride attendant was kind enough to take photos for us :)!

Canelobre Caves

This is one of the places that I highly regret not visiting. In all honesty, we stumbled upon it on one of our last days there while looking for things to do online and didn’t quite have enough time to make the trek out there to explore, so it was left to a potential future trip back. I’m always a sucker for exploring natural wonders (mountains, caves, grottos, etc.) and really wish that we had discovered the caves way in advance, but no regrets! Really though, this just means that we’re due for a return trip one day and I have no qualms about that!

Santa Bárbara Castle

I wasn’t kidding when I said that Peter and I love to explore natural wonders. One of the ones nearby our AirBnB was the Santa Bárbara Castle—which we hiked up almost everyday that we were there. I’m not even joking. There are so many vantage points to admire the beautiful city of Alicante that the hike up never gets old. We found so many lookout points, ledges, and secret view points that I never got tired of exploring it. Plus the excuse of hiking up to burn off all of the paella was enough to get us up there everyday.

If you’re looking for one of the best views of the city, I would highly recommend some time making your way up to the top before sunset. Even for sunrise would be perfect! Ugh, I’m dreaming of the view all over again right now and can’t wait to go back!

La Taverna del Racó del Pla

Besides delicious tapas, the number one dish that you have to try while in Alicante is paella. Be aware of fake paella, as many restaurants will claim to serve you the real deal unless you know what to look out for. As paella is a Valencian dish (which is in close proximity to Alicante), there are several restaurants in Alicante that do the dish justice. From our experience, the paella in Alicante was miles ahead of what we had in Barcelona. I would highly recommend that you order paella in Alicante if possible, and save the tapas experience for Barcelona.

After doing some intense research online for the best restaurant, we deduced that La Taverna del Raco del Pla would have the best dish. I can guarantee that you will not be let down. The experience was authentic to the point that the wait staff didn’t speak a lick of English and I was completely okay with that. We ordered the seafood paella and I promise you that it will change your world. The rich flavours of saffron coupled together with seafood made my palette water just from looking at it. Reminiscing of it now as I’m writing this post makes me miss that dinner immensely.

Taberna Iberica

After our first night dining at La Taverna del Racó del Pla, I couldn’t stop dreaming about paella, so we decided to try another place to comparison. We decided to save Taberna Iberica for our last night in Alicante to cap off the special trip and to this day we still constantly debate as to whether or not it’s better than La Taverna del Racó del Pla. It’s a hard comparison to make because the experience was so different, but the paella was just as delicious.

Hidden in an alleyway offset from a little courtyard, finding this restaurant felt like hunting for eggs on Easter. We walked almost everywhere in Alicante, but while most places were easy to locate, this restaurant was a bit of a challenge. The result was satisfying enough, so I would gladly urge anyone to jump onto the little exploration!

We were led through the empty tables in the immediate front of the restaurant, and through a set of doorways leading towards their wine cellar. Inside, we were seated down within close proximity of a live guitarist who serenaded us for the entire night. And if that experience wasn’t already phenomenal enough as is, the wait staff also brought us free appetizers and dessert! And the paella you ask? A dream. For comparison’s sake, we ordered another seafood paella (can you tell that I love seafood?) and again the restaurant delivered. Though the experience is a little bit pricier, it was well worth it. If you’re looking for a perfect date night experience, I would highly recommend Taberna Iberica!

Explanada de España

Alicante is full of beautiful walkways— one of my favourite is along the port. It’s also a complete must-see and must-do while you’re visiting the city. The beautiful coloured walkway is composed of many separate pieces of rock, forming a stunning mosaic path taking you down along the coast of the port. On a sunny day, you’ll find many vendors selling their wares, along with artists painting the beautiful scenery. There are also many restaurants and other shops along the walk way that you can pop into and visit along your stroll. Although I would note that many of the restaurants along the walkway have slightly more expensive prices than those deeper within the city.

I particularly enjoyed walking in the shadows taking in our surroundings immediately at sunrise and/or sunset. Even though we weren’t at a tropical destination, it most definitely felt like we had been whisked off to one beneath the palm trees.

Plaza de los Luceros Walkway

One of the most beautiful and tranquil places that we found within the city was this little walkway along a plaza. I can’t even pinpoint the name of it because it didn’t seem to have one when I looked it up on Google Maps, but if you search up the name of the plaza you can’t miss it! Instead of walking through the busy sidewalks of the city, we opted to walk among the palm-tree lined walkway and found it extremely relaxing and peaceful. It was quite the tranquil oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the roads.

Photography Credits: The Dunk Listt
This trip was made possible by WOWair, however all views are 100% honest and my own.