Local Information
Location
Alicante is the capital of the province of Alicante, sited on the Mediterranean
Coast, one of the most popular beach destinations in Europe. With more
than 300,000 inhabitants, its main activities are tourism and services, and it
has a great business and academic dynamism.
The weather
Alicante is known for its mild climate, with a generous average temperature
of 16 degrees Celsius in winter and 32 degrees Celsius in summer. Just in
case, from October to May is recommended to bring a jacket for the nights.
The average rainfall is around 20 days per year.
Transportation
The airport of Alicante is called El Altet (airport code: ALC). It has many
low budget connections to airports in Spain (mainly to Madrid and Barcelona)
and most of the main cities in Europe (London, Geneve, Amsterdam, Berlin,
Frankfurt, Viena, Bruselas, Copenhague, Dublin, Oslo, Praga, Manchester,
Milan, Munich, Paris and many others). Alternatively, one may take a train
from Madrid (4 hours), Barcelona (5 hours), or Valencia (2 hours). See "Renfe"
(www.renfe.es) for train schedules.
From outside Europe there are direct flights from New York to Valencia.
From other departure cities there are many connections via Madrid and
Barcelona.
Local transportation:
To get from the airport to the hotels, the best way is to take a taxi (about
15-20 euro and 20 minutes to the city centre) or busline C-6 (2.70 euro, every 20 min, journey time 30
minutes to the last stop "Puerta del Mar" near Hotels Porta Maris and Melia,
click here for more information).
Attractions
Alicante hosts many interesting possibilities:
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Provincial Archaeological Museum (MARQ):
The extremely valuable collection housed here consists of 81,000 pieces
dating from the Stone Age to the Medieval times. In 2004, the museum
was declared the European Museum of the Year. It has gained phenomenal
recognition for its revolutionary approach in exhibiting Alicantes past
through innovative techniques.
www.marqalicante.com
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Santa Barbara castle:
It is one of the largest in the Mediterranean region. It dominates the
summit of Mount Benacantil, a rocky mass soaring out of the sea to a
height of 166m. Its privileged location has been an encouragement to
human settlement from distant times, and vestiges of the Bronze,
Iberian and Roman ages have all been found there. The present
fortress is Muslim in origin and dates from the end of the 9th century.
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Museum, University of Alicante (MUA):
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The MUA specializes exclusively in Contemporary Art and carries out
research activities in this area as well as the production, conservation,
documentation, diffusion and teaching of this art.
www.mua.ua.es
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Lucentum Archaeological Museum:
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The ancient town of Lucentum, grew out of an old Iberian settlement
and, possibly, a Carthaginian colony and was the centre of Alicante in
the Fifth Century. These Roman remains represent one of the most
important archaeological discoveries in the Valencian Region, and were
declared to be an Artistic-Historical Monument in 1961.
The site conserves the urban layout of the ancient city, with the
foundations and walls of the buildings that shaped it and the traces of
their evolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucentum
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Other places to visit in the city:
Townhall (s. XVIII)
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Old city
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San Nicolas Cathedral (s. X)
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University of Alicante
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Explanada
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Postiguet beach
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Other places to visit in the nearest 60 km:
Ifach (Calpe)
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Tabarca island
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Benidorm
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Palmeral de Elche
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Castell de Guadalest
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Altea
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More information on:
www.alicante.com/
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