Alicante packs a surprising amount of history, culture, and coastal scenery into a walkable city centre. The star attraction is Santa Barbara Castle perched on Mount Benacantil, but the city also delivers an excellent archaeological museum, a palm-lined waterfront promenade, and one of Spain’s most underrated food markets. Most sights lie within a 20-minute walk of the Explanada de Espana, and the tram network (TRAM Metropolitano) opens up beaches and day-trip possibilities along the Costa Blanca. Here are the essential things to do in Alicante, arranged by category.
Things to Do in Alicante: Historic Landmarks and Castles
Santa Barbara Castle (Castillo de Santa Barbara)
Sitting 166 metres above sea level on Mount Benacantil, this 9th-century fortress is Alicante’s defining landmark and one of Spain’s largest medieval castles. The name comes from the feast day of Saint Barbara, December 4, 1248, when the future King Alfonso X of Castile recaptured the castle from the Moors. You’ll find three distinct enclosures from different eras: the upper citadel (14th century), the mid-level buildings (16th century), and the lower revellin (18th century). Entry is free. You can walk up via the steep path from the El Postiguet side (20-30 minutes, bring water in summer), take the lift from Avenida de Juan Bautista Lafora opposite the beach (€2.70 round trip, free for seniors and children under 5), or drive up the road from Calle Vazquez de Mella. The lift operates daily 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (until 6:00 PM in winter). The panoramic views stretch from the Mediterranean to the mountains of Alicante province on clear days. Allow 1.5-2 hours to explore fully. Check out our Alicante weather by month for more details. The on-site museum and cafe are open during lift hours.
Co-Cathedral of Saint Nicholas (Concatedral de San Nicolas)
Built between 1616 and 1662 on the site of a former mosque, this Renaissance church with a Herrerian-style facade sits in the heart of the Old Town on Plaza Abad Penalva. The interior features a 15th-century cloister, an impressive blue-domed chapel, and a gilded Baroque altarpiece. Entrance is free, though a €2 donation is suggested for the cloister. Open Monday through Saturday 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM, Sundays 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM and 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Check out our best time to visit Alicante for more details. The cathedral’s two asymmetrical towers are a distinctive feature of the Alicante skyline, one completed in the 17th century and the other left truncated.
Things to Do in Alicante: Museums and Culture
MARQ Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueologico de Alicante)
Housed in the former San Juan de Dios Hospital, the MARQ was named European Museum of the Year in 2004 and remains one of Spain’s best archaeological museums. The permanent collection spans from the Palaeolithic through the Middle Ages, with particularly strong Iberian and Roman sections featuring finds from the nearby site of Lucentum (Alicante’s Roman predecessor). Interactive displays, video projections, and hands-on exhibits make it engaging even if you don’t read Spanish. Entry is €3 for the permanent collection, with temporary exhibitions costing extra (typically €5 combined ticket). Open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (until 8:00 PM mid-June to mid-September), Sundays and holidays 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Closed Mondays. Located at Plaza Doctor Gomez Ulla, a 10-minute walk from the city centre. Check out our Alicante events and festivals for more details. Allow 2 hours for the permanent galleries, more if a temporary exhibition interests you.
MACA Contemporary Art Museum (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Alicante)
Opposite the Santa Maria Basilica in the Old Town, the MACA occupies Alicante’s oldest surviving civil building, the 17th-century Casa de la Asegurada. The collection focuses on 20th-century Spanish art with outstanding works by Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Eduardo Chillida, all donated by local collector Eusebio Sempere. Entry is free. Open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Sundays and holidays 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Closed Mondays. The museum is compact, you can see it thoroughly in 45-60 minutes, making it an ideal stop between tapas bars in El Barrio. The building itself, with its stark white Cubist facade, stands in deliberate contrast to the Baroque basilica across the plaza.
Things to Do in Alicante: Outdoor Attractions and Beaches
Explanada de Espana
This iconic palm-lined promenade runs parallel to the marina, paved with 6.5 million marble tiles forming a distinctive wave pattern in red, cream, and black. Stretching roughly 500 metres from the Puerta del Mar to Canalejas Park, it’s the social heart of Alicante where locals take their evening paseo. Street performers, artists, and musicians gather in the evenings, and the terraces of cafes along its length serve horchata (tiger nut milk drink) and turron ice cream. The craft market sets up on weekend mornings. The huge ficus trees planted along the promenade provide shade in summer. Check out our best neighborhoods in Alicante for more details. It’s free, always open, and best experienced at sunset when the marble tiles catch the fading light.
Playa del Postiguet
Alicante’s city beach is a 900-metre stretch of golden sand at the foot of Mount Benacantil, a 2-minute walk from the Explanada. The beach is Blue Flag certified with lifeguards on duty mid-June through mid-September (11:00 AM to 7:00 PM), showers, toilets, and a first-aid station. The sand is fine and golden, the water is calm due to the bay’s orientation, and the gentle slope makes it safe for children. Sun loungers and umbrellas rent for €6 per item per day. The chiringuitos (beach bars) serve cold drinks and grilled sardines from around €3-5. Water sports rentals include paddleboards (€10/hour) and kayaks (€8/hour). Arrive before 10:00 AM in July and August to claim a good spot, or walk 10 minutes east past the marina for quieter patches. Check out our where to stay in Alicante for more details. The beach faces east, making it a popular sunrise-watching spot.
Mount Benacantil and Ereta Park
Beyond the castle, Mount Benacantil’s slopes hold Ereta Park (Parque de la Ereta), a terraced green space on the mountain’s seaward face with native Mediterranean plants, walking paths, and benches with views over the port and the Mediterranean. Access is free from the top of Calle San Roque in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood. The park connects to the castle via a steep but manageable 15-minute path. Combine it with a castle visit for a half-day outing. Morning visits avoid the midday heat. The park is popular with local picnickers on weekends. Check out our Alicante travel tips and FAQ for more details. Bring water as there are no vendors inside.
Things to Do in Alicante: Food and Markets
Mercado Central (Central Market)
Housed in a Modernista building from 1921 on Avenida de Alfonso X El Sabio, Alicante’s central market is a two-level temple to Mediterranean produce. The ground floor holds fishmongers with the morning’s catch from the Santa Pola fleet (gambas rojas, the prized red prawns, sell for €25-40/kg depending on size), butchers, and charcuterie stalls. The upper level houses fruit and vegetable vendors, olive sellers, and spice merchants. Several small bars inside serve montaditos (small topped bread rolls) and canas (small beers) from €2. Open Monday through Saturday 7:00 AM to 2:30 PM, though the bars stay open until 4:00 PM. Friday and Saturday mornings are busiest with local shoppers. The best stall for turron, Alicante’s famous almond nougat, is Turrones Picó on the ground floor, where a 200g bar of turron de Jijona (soft) or turron de Alicante (hard) costs €4-6.
El Barrio (The Old Town)
Alicante’s Old Town, clustered around the cathedral and stretching toward Santa Cruz, is a maze of narrow streets, tapas bars, and small plazas that comes alive after 8:00 PM. Calle de las Setas (Mushroom Street), officially Calle San Francisco, earned its nickname from the mushroom-shaped decorations on the cobblestones and is ground zero for the city’s tapeo (tapas crawl). The best pinchos bars line Calle Mayor and Calle Labradores, where a glass of local wine and a tapa runs €3-4. Look for bars with chalkboards advertising arroz a banda (rice cooked in fish stock) and pulpo a la gallega (Galician-style octopus). The area around Plaza del Carmen has quieter, more traditional spots. Most bars in El Barrio don’t open until 1:00 PM for lunch and 8:00 PM for dinner.
