Best of ALICANTE, Spain 🇪🇸 | Top Things to Do & See (Alicante Travel Guide)

0:00Welcome to Alakante, the city of

0:02sunshine on Spain's Costa Blanca

0:03coastline. In this video, we're going to

0:05share with you some of the top things to

0:07do here and take you on some incredible

0:08day trips out of the

0:10city. We're starting our time here in

0:13Alakante at this beautiful square. It's

0:15just located about a block back from the

0:17marina and it's absolutely gorgeous,

0:19especially in the morning. We are here

0:20in the sunshine. Really beautiful

0:23building. There seems to be a few tours

0:24starting here, some walking tours.

0:26Perfect place to come and just creep a

0:28watch and have your morning coffee and

0:30croissants.

0:32So, we're taking a walk down the

0:33prominard now. And this is such a good

0:35place to come in the mornings when the

0:37sun's coming here. But if it's

0:38summertime and it's too hot, then this

0:40is also a great place to come in the

0:42afternoons. We're right opposite the

0:44marina. There's a whole bunch of cafes

0:46and restaurants and fast foods. If you

0:48want to grab something to eat, grab a

0:49bite or a cafe along here. And at the

0:52end here, we have this beautiful

0:53fountain. And we are so close to the

0:55Santa Barbara Castle which is one of the

0:57highlights here in Alakante. We have

0:59just crossed the Espanard now to go and

1:01have a walk around the marina. And as

1:03you can see behind me, you can see the

1:04Santa Barbara Castle which is iconic

1:06here in Alakante overlooking the city.

1:09We'll be going up there later. But

1:10first, let's go and explore the marina.

1:13Now you might be thinking, what a day

1:15here in Alakante. But this is actually

1:17very typical. Factually, this place

1:20receives over 320 days of sunshine every

1:23year, and the average annual temperature

1:25is 18° C, which is pretty comfortable.

1:28It's warmer than that now, though. In

1:30summer, it's much warmer, but it's

1:32absolutely

1:33lovely. The further we walk into the

1:36marina, the better the views get of the

1:38castle behind us. We keep craning our

1:40necks backwards, but as you can see, it

1:42looks incredible. It's like a Game of

1:43Thrones film set or something. It looks

1:46amazing.

1:52The marina is also home to a large port.

1:54So this is where the cruise ships come

1:56into dock. So if you're visiting

1:57Alakante via cruise, then you'll get

2:00dropped off here, fed into town, and you

2:02can explore. And it's only about a 105

2:05minute walk into the center of Alakante.

2:07If you like to go by foot, one of the

2:09most beautiful locations in Alakante is

2:11the old town. And this is where we've

2:13come for a little morning snack. We have

2:15got some classic Spanish snack dishes.

2:17Padron peppers and patas braas.

2:20Beautiful padron peppers. One of the uh

2:23highlights of being in Spain. You can

2:26find these all over the country. We had

2:27a lot of these when we did our Camino up

2:29in North

2:31Spain. So, we're exploring the back

2:33alleys of the old town now. And there's

2:35so many beautiful little squares like

2:37this that you can find. Really quiet,

2:39super quaint. exactly what you're

2:41looking for when you're on like a

2:42Spanish uh historical city holiday like

2:46here in Alakante. But we're just taking

2:48a wander through the back streets now.

2:50See what else we can find. It's very

2:52cute here. As you're exploring around

2:55Alakante's old town, make sure you

2:56wander through all the little side

2:58alleys and streets because it is so

3:00charming around here. You'll find lots

3:01of little restaurants offering tapas and

3:03during its colorful buildings and

3:05beautiful places like this for some

3:06photos.

3:08It seems that Oldtown is a place to be

3:10in Alakante if you're looking for some

3:11good food. This whole area is covered

3:13with tapas bars and beautiful

3:15restaurants. We've just found this

3:16square and it's absolutely gorgeous.

3:19Some of the most beautiful buildings

3:20we've seen so far in Alakante and

3:22there's loads of places to eat here. So,

3:24this is a good spot to come at lunch or

3:26dinner. We found a little empanada store

3:29here on the main street and walking past

3:32all this food has made us a little

3:33hungry. So, we're going to get a couple

3:34to taste. We're outside the Basilica of

3:37Santa Maria and we're going to try these

3:40mums or empanadas. Yummy.

3:43I like it. Time for the chalky one. This

3:46one smells

3:47delicious. That's yummy. Chopped banana

3:50hazelnut. Is that going to be your sweet

3:52treat while you're here? That's going to

3:53be my dessert. This is a really nice

3:55little square. It's a little bit quieter

3:56than the other ones we've been to. So,

3:58if you want somewhere that's a little

3:59bit more lowkey, come here. You have the

4:01Basilica, which you can go into and have

4:02a tour. And you also have the Museum of

4:04Modern Art which is free to

4:08enter. Now you can't come to Alakante

4:10without taking a visit to the Santa

4:12Barbara Castle that sits right on top

4:15overlooking the city. It's an iconic

4:17landmark and a musto. You can actually

4:19walk up to it or you can get a lift. So

4:22we are conveniently located right next

4:24to lift. So we figured that we would

4:25jump in and hitch your ride all the way

4:27to the top. We're going deep deep into

4:30the rock. It feels like we're going down

4:31into like a mine or something. It never

4:34ends. I don't know where the lift is.

4:35Feels like an old like military like war

4:37bunker or something. Something like

4:39that. Yeah, it does. I mean, it makes

4:41sense cuz I was wondering how do we

4:43actually Where is the lift? Is it on

4:44like the top? But it's kind of like

4:46further back. So, we're going right

4:48right into the cliff and I guess then

4:51going up in the middle of it. It's

4:53pretty cheap, too. €540 for both of us.

4:56Is that one way or we'll find out. Maybe

4:58we have to walk back down.

5:01Now we are inside the castle. We've come

5:04up to the top of the rocks. So good. The

5:07view from up here is absolutely

5:09incredible. Of course, this is the best

5:11place to come to to get an incredible

5:13panoramic view of Alakante and the

5:15coastline. Hello. We can see some

5:17incredible mountains in land. And then

5:19we have the beautiful blue coastline of

5:21Costa Blanca. And you can see down to

5:23the marina where we were earlier. The

5:24cruise ships are still there. But this

5:26is a must do. You can walk up here for

5:28free or just pay a few euros to get the

5:31lift up. This place is like so well

5:34preserved. The ruins here at Santa

5:36Barbara Castle, these archways are still

5:39standing. I don't know how old they are.

5:41They look pretty old. It's just like

5:43we're walking around a real village on

5:46top of a rock. It's so fascinating. So

5:48much history must have happened here.

5:50The castle still has some notable ruins.

5:52And this place here used to be the

5:54bakery. You can still see all the

5:55millstones here. It looks really

5:57incredible. And now, well, there's no

5:59walls, but that means for us, we have

6:01the most incredible view of Spain. It's

6:05such a maze up here. Once you get up

6:06here, there's all these little different

6:08rooms that you can explore and different

6:10pathways. As you can see down here, you

6:12can really feel like people used to live

6:14up here. It feels very I don't know.

6:16They've just built everything onto the

6:18rock like as the rock was. They've got

6:20bridges. Yeah. It's just so interesting.

6:23It's such a cool place to explore. Wow.

6:26Now we got a view. Sh. Wow. Didn't

6:28realize how mountainous it is around you

6:30until you come up here. Wowee.

6:34Now they have these little parapits up

6:36here, which I'm guessing is for the

6:38arches. It looks like they got little

6:39archer slots up there to defend the

6:41castle. And it actually hangs over the

6:42cliff side. So you can't really see when

6:45you're on it, but when you're looking

6:46back from another direction, you can see

6:48there's one down here. It actually hangs

6:51off. But the views at the top of the

6:53castle are so good. You've got 360°. You

6:57can see all the mountains around the

6:59whole coastline. We could probably see

7:01up to Benadorm from here to be honest.

7:03It looks like we can see so much more of

7:05the coast. And then we can see down

7:07south as well towards towards Alakante

7:10City and the airport as well. Couple

7:13places you can get drinks and food up

7:15here on the castle, which is great

7:17because it does get very hot. We're

7:20learning more about it as we explore.

7:22The lift is still one of the most

7:25amazing feats of engineering here. It

7:27goes right into the rock and it comes

7:29up, but we've since discovered that if

7:32you're a limited mobility, you can use

7:34it to get up to the second floor of the

7:36castle. Most punters only get to the

7:38first floor. That's like the main square

7:40area. But if you want to explore more of

7:41the castle when you have a bit of

7:43limited mobility, you can use the lift

7:45to get up to the second floor, which is

7:46quite good. And then you get to see more

7:48and go to other parts of the castle. But

7:51this castle has a bit of a history. It

7:53was first built obviously as a military

7:57um fortress and it's been developed and

8:00developed over the years. Now it was in

8:03quite a few wars and probably the most

8:04notable one was the war of succession

8:06and in that war particularly the French

8:09actually managed to implant a mine into

8:11one of the walls beneath the castle and

8:13destroyed a big chunk of the castle.

8:16Now, since then, renovations, they

8:18really wanted to do more and more, but

8:19they couldn't actually fund it. So,

8:21money was an issue. So, we're kind of

8:23left with the castle here today as it

8:24stands. But it's still amazing. I just

8:28honestly the engineering of this castle

8:29is just incredible. It's footprint is

8:33huge. The fact that there is this lift

8:35that comes all the way through the rock

8:36that it sits on, basically to the top,

8:38is just amazing. It's a feat of

8:41engineering in itself, let alone to have

8:43this incredible fortress up here

8:47overlooking the whole city of Alakante.

8:51We took the lift back down and

8:52conveniently it spits you out right in

8:55front of the main beach here in

8:56Alakante. We are down at Postigette

8:58Beach now. It is super accessible for

9:01everyone. It's the main beach here in

9:03Alakante. So, if you want to go for a

9:04swim, this is the spot to come to. It's

9:07lined by a couple of places you can get

9:09some food and drinks. We've got

9:10accessways for people with disabilities

9:13or with wheelchairs that need to get

9:14down on the beach. And it's fantastic.

9:17There's lots of workout equipment and

9:18this prominard is so nice and wide. If

9:21you want to go for a run or you want to

9:22go for a bike ride along here, it's

9:24beautiful.

9:29[Music]

9:31If you're looking for accommodation in

9:33Alakante and you're looking for

9:34something that beats the rest, then we

9:36have to recommend this place, Palacio

9:39Seri in the building, they have three

9:41different accommodation options

9:42available, but we are staying in the

9:44suite. And I have to tell you guys, it

9:47is one of the most beautiful, unique

9:49places we have ever stayed. I mean, just

9:52look at this place. We have a beautiful

9:54park outside. So, we have this gorgeous

9:56light in here. Open plan living. I think

9:59this is beautiful if you want to host

10:00some friends here. It's a special event

10:03like an anniversary or a birthday. And

10:05you can actually also have up to four

10:07people here. So, it's great if you want

10:08to stay with some friends. As you can

10:10see, you can entertain here. You can

10:12relax. You can live a life of luxury for

10:15a few days if you like to. And I still

10:17have to show you the best part, which is

10:19upstairs. This is going to blow you

10:21away. Have you ever stood in an

10:24accommodation on a bit of hallway which

10:26is a glass floor? This is crazy. We can

10:30see straight down to the living area.

10:32And through here is the

10:34bedrooms. Now, this is the master

10:37bedroom. And there is a bathtub in here.

10:40And it also has a little balcony that

10:43overlooks down into the living

10:46[Music]

10:48room. And this is the additional room

10:50for two more people if you'd like to

10:52have some guests.

10:55There are so many really beautiful cafes

10:57scattered around Alakante and in

10:59particular near our accommodation.

11:00There's one called Casa Madara and it's

11:02absolutely gorgeous. It's always busy.

11:03It's definitely popular with locals.

11:05They sell bakery items here like

11:07croissants, bri bagels and obviously

11:10some coffee. So we just ordered some

11:11breakfast to have

11:14here. We have come to the main shopping

11:16district here in Alakanti and we're

11:18starting with the famous Mushroom

11:19Street. There's probably an official

11:21name for it, but for us it's the

11:22Mushroom Street. It's really fun and

11:24cool. Come and bring your kids down

11:25here, but also if you're like me, come

11:27and bring your wallet and a shopping

11:29[Music]

11:30bag. I just bought some earrings. Not

11:33here in London and already got my first

11:35purchase. But I had to because I lost an

11:38earring and I only have one in. It's

11:40been like that for a few weeks. So, and

11:42this is my only pair. So, I got another

11:44pair so my ear doesn't close up. I had

11:46to buy it. Well, there's heaps of

11:49shopping to do around here. that you

11:50could spend a good half day, a full day

11:53if you want to. There's actually a

11:54couple of like department stores, like

11:56mini malls to go around as well. But

11:59also on the other end of Alakante is

12:01actually a really large mall, like a

12:03proper shopping mall with all of the big

12:05chains and a few restaurants. So if you

12:08really really want to shop, you can come

12:09here and grab a taxi and go all the way

12:11over to there as well. The region of

12:13Alleante itself outside of the city

12:15offers some amazing day trips and we

12:18have hired a car for a couple of days to

12:19go and explore some of the top things to

12:21do around the coast and inland. Now

12:23today is a little bit overcast rainy so

12:26forward to find something that's perfect

12:27for a off-weather day. And so we have

12:30driven about 30 minutes outside of the

12:32city to some caves. We have booked on to

12:35a public cave tour. It seems to be open

12:37to everybody as long as you have great

12:39mobility. They're going to take us on a

12:41tour through the caves. It looks really

12:43cool in there. I think there's some

12:44rides. So, we're going to go learn all

12:46about it. This is the bottom of the

12:47caves now. And this is the best view.

12:49It's absolutely stunning. We're learning

12:51all about the salakmak tights and all

12:53the different shapes. You can see ice

12:55cream, mushrooms, lions. There's so many

12:58beautiful colors here as well because

12:59they're lighting the cave with these

13:00lights. So, it's just so magical in here

13:03with all the different colors. And the

13:05way that they use the lights accentuates

13:07different objects in the cave. The way

13:09that they're shaped to accentuate things

13:11like helmets or animal faces or food.

13:15It's really cool. Like when you're

13:16looking at clouds, when you look at

13:17these, you can see everything.

13:21This is the natural entrance of the cave

13:23that the Arabs discovered in the 8th

13:25century. Wow, that was pretty

13:27incredible. And that's end of tour.

13:29That's about 30 to 40 minutes and you

13:30can have some free time at the end.

13:32Technically no photos or videos, but I

13:35think it's cuz you want to buy some

13:36photos that they took when we came in.

13:38Everyone seems to sneakily take photos.

13:40But really cool thing to do here in

13:42Alcante. They got us. We paid €6 for the

13:45family photo in the caves.

13:50Tada. And we have to recommend the

13:52coastal towns of Altea and Albea for

13:55some day trips out of Alakante. About a

13:5740-minute drive along the coast north

14:00towards Calpe. and they are gorgeous

14:02layback towns. Come here for a day at

14:04the beach, some coffees, go for a walk

14:06along the whole prominard or go for some

14:09lunch. We really love it here and

14:11definitely recommend it if you want to

14:12find somewhere a bit quieter out of the

14:15city. Another absolute highlight of the

14:18Alakante region is Castile de Guadalst,

14:21which is the castle here in this small

14:24little town of Guadalst. It's apparently

14:26one of the most beautiful towns in all

14:28of Spain. Up here in the mountains,

14:30we've got beautiful weather. We're going

14:31to go up and check it out. So, even down

14:34in the town of Guadalst, you have lots

14:36of things to do. There's a few museums,

14:38lots of galleries, lots of little

14:40knickknacks. Charlotte's picked herself

14:42up a souvenir to take home with her from

14:43Spain. Lots of restaurants and cafes, so

14:46you can spend a whole day out here in

14:48[Music]

14:52Guadalst. Now, is free to enter this

14:55area here. You get amazing views all

14:57around the castle, but if you want to

15:00get even better views, you can pay to go

15:01a little bit higher. We're going all the

15:03way to the top, €4

15:07each. From this viewpoint here, you can

15:09really see why this has been voted one

15:12of the prettiest villages in Spain. Just

15:15look at this beautiful terra cotta

15:17roofs. We've got the lake below, and

15:19then we've just got these monuments, the

15:21bell tower, and these amazing mountains

15:24all around us.

15:26It's such an incredible place to put a

15:30[Music]

15:33village. So, for some lunch and we've

15:35gone for a classic paella. This is just

15:38a veggie one. And I actually read online

15:40that paella can only be eaten at

15:43lunchtime and it has to be delivered 20

15:46to 25 minutes after you order it. And

15:48this one was about that. They told us

15:49it'll be up to 25 minutes. So, it looks

15:51like they've followed the rules there.

15:52But I did also read that Alakante

15:54doesn't officially call it paya. Anyway,

15:57long story short, it smells good. I'm

15:58hungry. So, let's tuck in.

16:01All my European dreams are coming true

16:03right now because I've been admiring

16:06these balconies. And now, finally, we

16:09have one here at Palasio Sere. We're on

16:13the square. This is actually very common

16:16here in Alakante, these squares. And

16:18just opposite the square is the main

16:21shopping street, Mason. So we're in a

16:23very, very good location here. In the

16:25afternoons, we just sit on this balcony

16:27here and we just watch life, daily life

16:30for the local Alakante people. And

16:32because we're on a corner as well, we

16:34get both aspects. So down one street we

16:37have the sunrise and then down here we

16:39have the beautiful

16:41park. Such a nice location. I love this

16:44place. Within Alakante City, there's

16:45lots of little coffee spots. And we have

16:47come to this one which we've been eyeing

16:49up for the past few days. There is some

16:51beautiful fig trees here which is

16:52reminding us of Australia with the

16:54beautiful big Morton Bay fig trees. And

16:56around the trees they have this gorgeous

16:58little coffee spot. So we have come here

17:00for some morning cappuccinos. Yeah. If

17:02you're looking for somewhere to relax

17:04here in Alakante there's so many of

17:06these beautiful little plazas filled

17:08with lots of greenery. Some of them have

17:10playgrounds in them. Some of them have

17:12little shopping kiosks or little cafes.

17:15and they are just so gorgeous,

17:17especially in the morning

17:20light. During your stay here in

17:22Alakante, I highly recommend you take a

17:24wander through the neighborhood of Santa

17:26Cruz. This is Bario Santa Cruz. All of

17:29the properties are so beautiful. There's

17:31so many flowers and plants outside on

17:33the balconies. And not only that,

17:35they've got beautiful whitewash walls

17:37and very aesthetic looking. It's like

17:39your classic romantic European style

17:42housing here. And this sits right

17:45underneath Santa Barbara Castle. So you

17:47have amazing views over the rest of

17:49Alakante down towards the marina and up

17:52to the castle as

17:54[Music]

17:57well. Okay, we have come down to the

17:59newest addition here in Alakante. This

18:02is right on the marina. It's called

18:04Breton Brute and it's very fancy. It's

18:07right on the corner and we have come

18:08here only 2 hours since it has opened.

18:11It's very nice.

18:13Well guys, we hope you have enjoyed

18:15touring Alakante with us. We absolutely

18:17love this region in Spain. We live all

18:18the Spain really. So, we're going to be

18:19exploring more of Europe and a lot more

18:22of Spanish city. So, subscribe for that.

18:24And if you want to see more of Alakante

18:26and other areas, go and check out Cory's

18:28new channel that is Cory the Kiwi where

18:29he's going on some solo adventures.

18:31Thanks for watching. Subscribe if you

18:33want to see more. And we'll see you

18:34again soon. Bye.

18:36[Music]