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Complete Alicante: free self-guided audio tour of Alicante
Complete Alicante is a free self-guided audio walking tour of Alicante, Spain: 7 stops in about 2 h 20. The Itinerarly app walks you from one stop to the next and plays a short narrated story when you arrive, in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
| Stops | 7 |
|---|---|
| Duration | about 2 h 20, including time at each stop |
| Difficulty | Challenging |
| Distance | about 2.3 km in straight lines between the stops (a little more on foot) |
| Start | Central Market |
| Finish | Postiguet Beach |
| Price | Free (some sights charge their own entry ticket) |
| Languages | English, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese |
Market, old town, castle and Postiguet beach
The stops, in order
- Central MarketThe Mercado Central is the belly of Alicante. Opened in 1921, this modernist building combines exposed brick, ironwork and a great central dome. Across its three hundred stalls the Mediterranean spreads out: fish landed that very morning, cured meats, Jijona nougat, spices and paellas in the making.
- Co-Cathedral of San NicolásThe Co-Cathedral of San Nicolás de Bari is dedicated to Alicante's patron saint. On the sixth of December 1244, Saint Nicholas's day, the city surrendered to Prince Alfonso of Castile, who ordered a church built in his honour. The present building, raised between 1616 and 1662, is in an austere, stripped-back Herrerian style, echoing the Escorial.
- Explanada de EspañaYou are walking on the Explanada de España, Alicante's most famous promenade. Beneath your feet, six and a half million small marble tiles in red, cream and black form a vast rolling wave — an optical illusion that can make you dizzy when the sun hits it. Lined with four rows of century-old palm trees, it runs along the harbour for five hundred metres.
- Basilica of Santa MaríaThis is the Basilica of Santa María, the oldest church still in use in Alicante. It was built between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries in Valencian Gothic style, on the ruins of the city's great mosque — a layering found all over Reconquest Spain. Inside there is a single nave, flanked by six side chapels tucked between the buttresses.
- Santa Cruz QuarterWelcome to the Barrio de Santa Cruz, the most photographed quarter of Alicante. Clinging to the flank of Mount Benacantil beneath the castle walls, it is a maze of stepped alleys, whitewashed houses and balconies spilling over with geraniums. Every facade is painted a different colour, every doorway framed with azulejos.
- Santa Bárbara CastleAbove you stands Santa Bárbara Castle, clinging to Mount Benacantil, one hundred and sixty-six metres above the Mediterranean. Seen from the beach, the mountain's outline draws a human profile that locals call "la Cara del Moro", the Moor's face. The fortress dates back to the ninth century, in Muslim times.
- Postiguet BeachPlaya del Postiguet is Alicante's city beach, four hundred metres of golden sand right at the foot of the castle. Its name comes from the postigo, the small gate that once pierced the city wall to give access to the sea. Lined with palm trees and paved with the same rolling mosaic as the Explanada, it is the city's meeting point: a swim at noon, terraces at vermouth hour, and on the twenty-fourth of June, Saint John's Night, bonfires are lit and locals…
How to take this tour
- Install the free Itinerarly app on iPhone or Android and create a free account.
- Open Guided tours, choose Alicante, then Complete Alicante.
- Start whenever you like: the app guides you to Central Market and the story plays when you arrive at each stop.
Other audio tours of Alicante
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Complete Alicante tour in Alicante free?
- Yes. It is one of 3 free self-guided audio tours of Alicante in the Itinerarly app. Some sights charge their own entry ticket.
- How long does the Complete Alicante tour take?
- About 2 h 20 for 7 stops, including time at each stop.
- Where does the Complete Alicante tour start and finish?
- It starts at Central Market and finishes at Postiguet Beach.
- Which languages is the narration in?
- English, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese, with natural-sounding synthetic voices.