City Walk A: Sea Front route of Alicante

Halfway through the 19th Century, Alicante was buried inside the walls surrounding the city. These walls were demolished as the city needed to grow and no more attacks from the sea were expected. Thus, Alicante decided to open a gate to the sea and built its sea façade.

This is the only urban beach you can visit in the city. From this beach, you can contemplate the Santa Bárbara Castle with its characteristic Moor Face profile. Its name comes from the “postigos”: the sluice gates that let rain water out, located in the sea-facing walls.

The city market used to be on the site where this building is currently located. It was close to the port to facilitate access to the merchandise. The current building was erected in the early 1920s and is one of the city’s major buildings, reflecting the bourgeoisie’s aspirations of the time. From here, you can enjoy some of the best views of the city.

The first seafront was built using rubble from the demolition of the historic walls. Originally called “El Malecón”, it changed its name to “Mártires de la Libertad” (“Martyrs of Liberty”). The current esplanade was built in the 60s. Altogether, the mosaic is made up of 6,600,000 pieces in three different colours; one of them is called “Alicante red” as this marble colour can only be found in this region.

If you are visiting on a Sunday, you may find the Municipal Symphonic Band playing in the auditorium.

This is one of the first parks to have been created after the city walls were demolished as well as the nearby Baluarte de San Carlos (The Saint-Charles Stronghold). For this reason, you will find several 100-year-old ficus trees It is very pleasant to find shade and walk in this park on hot days.

It did serve as a fish market in the past, this building has been used as an exhibition room since 1990. The building looks Arab in origin, but it is actually a recent construction. If you wish to visit one of the temporary exhibitions, walk in and have a look!

We are now going back to our departure point walking along the marina instead of the Esplanada.

To finish, we recommend you stroll along the new projecting esplanade. It was built in 2008 for the Volvo Ocean Race that departed from Alicante. You will enjoy the sea under your feet.