Beyond the Beach II – Explorations at Night in Old Town Alicante
The greater Province of Alicante has wonderful Off-the-Beaten Track hiking possibilities, as we have investigated before. The city of Alicante itself – often referred to by locals as Alicante Capital- may seem less of a natural choice for explorations away from the tourist crowds, but it is able to provide just that – a respite from the beach-hotel-pool routine that most visitors to Alicante and the Costa Blanca tend to opt for.
The city of Alicante, in fact, has come a long way in the past decade and has evolved from a relatively ugly duckling into an attractive Mediterranean Metropolis. Of course there are far more beautiful cities in the area – Barcelona and possibly Valencia among them, but authorities have gone to great length to refurbish and gentrify less desirable areas of Alicante, improve its infrastructure by building a metro network as far out as Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, and more recently even launched a tramway network from scratch. And for those of us truly venturing off the beaten track, Alicante may hold a few surprises in store, such as the area around the Casco Antiguo – Old Town Alicante- just underneath the Castillo Santa Barbara.
To savor the true beauty of the Casco Antiguo, it may be recommended to depart just after dusk from the Avenida Alfonso El Sabio – one of the main throughways linking the Market Hall of Alicante to Plaza Luceros in the modern city center. Heading south on the Ramblas towards the seafront, we turn slightly left at the first opportunity and already enter a pedestrianized area leading up to PLAZA DE SAN CRISTOBAL – a delight of a pedestrian-only square with restaurants, pubs and taverns – and the gateway to the Casco Antiguo and Alicante's busy outdoor pub scene. We then pass numerous outdoor bars cafés and eateries on our way to PLAZA DEL CARMEN – and the entire area gets particularly crowded and noisy on weekends after 11pm. For a quieter and more subdued night stroll, midweek evenings may be preferable.
We then pass the slightly less crowded Calle del Carmen en route to PLAZA VIRGEN DEL REMEDIO and a bit further on Calle Villavieja to PLAZA SANTA MARIA- it is here that we find the recently refurbished and about to reopen Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante – along with the splendid Parroquia Santa. Maria – a gem of a XIV-XVI. Century Gothic Cathedral boasting a highly ornate baroque portal - spectacularly illuminated at night. All around us we find beautiful old houses refurbished and redecorated – even modern apartment complexes neatly fit into the overall relaxed, intimate and antique atmosphere of the Casco Antiguo. And new developments also abound in the area. As we head away from the Parroquia first on Calle Villavieja and then turn left to head north on Calle Luzán as far as Calle San Juan – we then turn left again in a western direction and see a vast variety of gentrified blocks with modern apartment buildings – a many few yet unsold due to the recent housing crisis, but beautiful, new and in tune with the neighborhood – many buildings also featuring stunning views of Castillo Santa Barbara towering to our right above. It is here that we encounter a small park area – the PARQUE DE LA ERETA– leading up to the Rocks of MONTE BENACANTIL and the Castle itself.
It is here next to the Park that we find an interesting new museum – the ALICANTE WATER MUSEUM, recently opened in 2009 on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the water constitution of Alicante Town. Leaving behind the new museum and a set of modern apartment buildings we then enter what could be the quaintest and most picturesque small street in all of Old Town Alicante: CALLE TOLEDO. Here we pass gorgeous houses with balconies covered with flowers, a pottery gallery – and see a small tavern hidden to our left near a square with the interesting name PLAZA CAGALAHOYA. Numerous small alleys radiate from Calle Toledo, many with stairs heading north towards the castle and all beautifully decorated with flowers. We particularly were impressed by the small CALLE DE PEDRO SEBASTIA with a small adjacent square featuring a fountain and a vast array of gorgeous flowers. Further down on Calle Toledo we then reach the Northern End of PLAZA DEL CARMEN again, from where we can return to our point of departure easily along Calle de Argonsola.
Witnessing again the pulse of nightlife activities around Plaza de San Cristobal we almost feel as if woken up from a mellow lazy siesta and feel thrown back into reality of Alicante today. Anyone in search of peace, solitude, renewal and beauty will thus be truly delighted and spiritually uplifted by a nighttime stroll around the Casco Antiguo of our beloved Alicante– where never ending delightful surprises and aesthetically pleasing sights await our discovery at virtually every turn.
The city of Alicante, in fact, has come a long way in the past decade and has evolved from a relatively ugly duckling into an attractive Mediterranean Metropolis. Of course there are far more beautiful cities in the area – Barcelona and possibly Valencia among them, but authorities have gone to great length to refurbish and gentrify less desirable areas of Alicante, improve its infrastructure by building a metro network as far out as Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, and more recently even launched a tramway network from scratch. And for those of us truly venturing off the beaten track, Alicante may hold a few surprises in store, such as the area around the Casco Antiguo – Old Town Alicante- just underneath the Castillo Santa Barbara.
To savor the true beauty of the Casco Antiguo, it may be recommended to depart just after dusk from the Avenida Alfonso El Sabio – one of the main throughways linking the Market Hall of Alicante to Plaza Luceros in the modern city center. Heading south on the Ramblas towards the seafront, we turn slightly left at the first opportunity and already enter a pedestrianized area leading up to PLAZA DE SAN CRISTOBAL – a delight of a pedestrian-only square with restaurants, pubs and taverns – and the gateway to the Casco Antiguo and Alicante's busy outdoor pub scene. We then pass numerous outdoor bars cafés and eateries on our way to PLAZA DEL CARMEN – and the entire area gets particularly crowded and noisy on weekends after 11pm. For a quieter and more subdued night stroll, midweek evenings may be preferable.
We then pass the slightly less crowded Calle del Carmen en route to PLAZA VIRGEN DEL REMEDIO and a bit further on Calle Villavieja to PLAZA SANTA MARIA- it is here that we find the recently refurbished and about to reopen Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante – along with the splendid Parroquia Santa. Maria – a gem of a XIV-XVI. Century Gothic Cathedral boasting a highly ornate baroque portal - spectacularly illuminated at night. All around us we find beautiful old houses refurbished and redecorated – even modern apartment complexes neatly fit into the overall relaxed, intimate and antique atmosphere of the Casco Antiguo. And new developments also abound in the area. As we head away from the Parroquia first on Calle Villavieja and then turn left to head north on Calle Luzán as far as Calle San Juan – we then turn left again in a western direction and see a vast variety of gentrified blocks with modern apartment buildings – a many few yet unsold due to the recent housing crisis, but beautiful, new and in tune with the neighborhood – many buildings also featuring stunning views of Castillo Santa Barbara towering to our right above. It is here that we encounter a small park area – the PARQUE DE LA ERETA– leading up to the Rocks of MONTE BENACANTIL and the Castle itself.
It is here next to the Park that we find an interesting new museum – the ALICANTE WATER MUSEUM, recently opened in 2009 on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the water constitution of Alicante Town. Leaving behind the new museum and a set of modern apartment buildings we then enter what could be the quaintest and most picturesque small street in all of Old Town Alicante: CALLE TOLEDO. Here we pass gorgeous houses with balconies covered with flowers, a pottery gallery – and see a small tavern hidden to our left near a square with the interesting name PLAZA CAGALAHOYA. Numerous small alleys radiate from Calle Toledo, many with stairs heading north towards the castle and all beautifully decorated with flowers. We particularly were impressed by the small CALLE DE PEDRO SEBASTIA with a small adjacent square featuring a fountain and a vast array of gorgeous flowers. Further down on Calle Toledo we then reach the Northern End of PLAZA DEL CARMEN again, from where we can return to our point of departure easily along Calle de Argonsola.
Witnessing again the pulse of nightlife activities around Plaza de San Cristobal we almost feel as if woken up from a mellow lazy siesta and feel thrown back into reality of Alicante today. Anyone in search of peace, solitude, renewal and beauty will thus be truly delighted and spiritually uplifted by a nighttime stroll around the Casco Antiguo of our beloved Alicante– where never ending delightful surprises and aesthetically pleasing sights await our discovery at virtually every turn.
This week's post is dedicated to my very special good energy friend Luis Lidón - I was able to experience Old Town Alicante with - this city would be far less beautiful without you!
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