Spain Trip 13: Benidorm

Thursday 28th December 2023

Benidorm was always on the list of places to visit on this trip and I think it definitely lived down to expectations. It is an old fishing port which has expanded beyond belief. I am told it has the highest concentration of high-rise buildings in the world.

To be fair, the beach is very attractive and at this time of year, there seems to be ample room to spread-out your towel.

We left Jeeves and Michelle to their meanderings and headed for the old part of the town, where we came across the Roman Catholic church of St James and St Anne, which dates from the 1700s.

As we mostly enjoy historical areas, we decided that the castle would be a good starting point. The old castle is atop a small rocky outcrop which divides the Benidorm beach into two parts. There is not much to be seen of the original structure, but after climbing the few steps up from the square in front of the church, we were pleasantly surprised to find a nice recreation area with a singer who was playing a flamenco guitar. He was very good.

On the seaward side of the castle platform, there are steps that lead down to a further hexagonal platform, known as the Balcó del Mediterrani.

After leaving the castle, we walked through some of the old, narrow streets immediately behind. It was extremely busy, mostly with British tourists, but there were many of other nationalities there also.

It is clear that the main market is the British tourist though. There were lots of high quality souvenirs on sale here:

….and lots of tempting sweet treats on sale here:

…and some strange looking scale models of the Eiffel Tower, which seem rather out of place, here in Spain:

After meeting up with Jeeves and Michelle again on the sea-front, with the intention of finding somewhere for lunch, it was clear that we could either face the crowds in the old part of the town, or endure the “entertainment” that seemed to go with a meal on the promenade…

…we chose to move on and return to Altea which was on our way back to Calpe. There, we had a pleasant 3-course meal outside a cafe, at a very reasonable price.