Costa Blanca Holiday: Choose L’Albir and Altea not Benidorm

The Costa Blanca is a well-known tourist area on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. However most visitors to the northern part of Costa Blanca head for the bustling town of Benidorm and miss out on the attractive, small town of L’Albir and city of Altea just a few miles away. And, believe me, they are completely different to Benidorm!

L'Albir seafront Looking towards Altea — **L’Albir seafront looking towards Altea**

That’s not to detract from Benidorm which provides a warm climate, long clean beaches and a vibrant nightlife. However its normal off-season population of 70,000, expands to about 400,000 in the summer and it can seem quite crowded. A bit too much for this Senior Traveller.

Also the many high rise apartment blocks and hotels can sometimes make it seem more like Manhattan than the Spanish coast.

On the other hand L’Albir (which is also known as just Albir) and Altea are much quieter with relatively few large apartment blocks and hotels, and even those are only a few storeys high.

But again as with Benidorm, there are beautiful, clean beaches. Although the nightlife is not as lively, for me this is well compensated for by the many excellent restaurants and bars in the two towns.

As can be seen on a map, L’Albir and Altea are just a few miles north-east of Benidorm, but separated along the coast by the Serra Gelada National Park with cliffs which rise up 1000 feet from the sea and a maximum height of about 1400 feet.

There is a continuous attractive seafront from L’Albir to Altea stretching for almost three miles, with bars and restaurants along the way and passing a small harbour. This pleasant promenade walk is well worth doing when you first arrive, so as to get a feel of the area before venturing deeper into L’Albir and Altea.

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L’Albir

This stylish beach resort has a pleasant, relaxed feel to it, with attractive tree-lined avenues leading down to the seafront. Here are some of the highlights of my visit to L’Albir.

**Lighthouse Walking Trail in Serra Gelada**

Lighthouse Walking Trail – My favourite walk in L’Albir is up to the headland lighthouse (Faro de L’Albir) in the Serra Gelada National Park. Serra Gelada is the Valencian name for the National Park, whilst in Spanish it is Sierra Helada. Both mean ‘frozen mountain’ relating to the appearance of the limestone cliffs.

From L’Albir to the lighthouse is about one and a half miles over a zig-zag route with steady inclines. It is quite suitable for wheelchairs and strollers.

As well as appreciating the scenery in national park, the views back towards L’Albir and Altea are quite breathtaking, with the Sierra de Bernia mountain range behind forming a spectacular backdrop. There is a small museum in the lighthouse.

Villa Romana de L'Albir — **Villa Romana de L’Albir**

Roman Ruins – Not far back from L’Albir beach is the Villa Romana museum and the ruins of a villa thought to have been occupied between the 4th and 6th Centuries AD. Raised walkways allow visitors to see traditional roman baths, the system for heating the water and also the mausoleum where the family was buried.

Favourite Restaurants – The Taste of India near the town centre provides a wide range of tasty, Indian dishes. The nearby Banana Tree serves Thai and Vietnamese food in a beautifully decorated restaurant with friendly, helpful staff. Another Asian restaurant, a little further out from the town centre, is the Ni Hao Chinese restaurant. Here for a fixed price you can eat as much as you want and the price includes drinks. For excellent European food try the La Rive restaurant for their varied three course menu at a reasonable price.

Altea

Although the population of Altea, about 20,000, is about the same as L’Albir, it is classed as a city. This reflects the fact that Altea dates back many centuries and has a large attractive ‘Old Town’ centred on a hill not far back from the seafront. Like L’Albir, Altea has attractive and relatively uncrowded beaches, with a backdrop of many and varied restaurants and bars.

Old Town Walking Trail – From the seafront in Altea, head upwards towards the hill-top blue-domed church of Nuestra Señora del Consuelo. It doesn’t matter which way you go as long as you keep heading upwards to the square in front of this landmark church. Along the way there are picturesque white buildings, many decorated with bougainvillea and other colourful plants. There are several viewpoints along the way with panoramic views over the bay towards Serra Gelada National Park and inland towards the peaks of the Sierra de Bernia mountain range.

Polop Castle – The hilltop ruined Polop Castle (Castell de Polop) is a ten minute taxi ride inland from the centre of Altea. The castle was originally a Muslim fortress dating back to the 12th Century, but was later used as a defensive position by Christian rulers.

The hilltop castle is approached by a zig-zag pathway which passes the restored Church of San Pedro. There are superb panoramic views in all directions at the top and a pleasant little snack bar to sit and relax. The ruins include an ancient cemetery with tombs set in to the walls.

Favourite Restaurants – There is a wide range of restaurants in Altea, mostly along the seafront, including Italian, Mexican, Asian and Spanish. I particularly like The Crown of India restaurant in the square by the Nuestra Señora del Consuelo church and the Siam Beach Thai restaurant on the seafront.