Altea Spain Travel Guide
Altea Spain is considered to be one of the most charming towns on the Costa Blanca and it is the perfect destination for a quiet and relaxing holiday. If you are looking for night clubs and bright city lights on your holiday, this is not the spot for you. This town is more suited to the laid back visitor who loves historical architecture and a slower pace of life.
Altea is an ideal spot for a day trip or it is also a quiet and peaceful spot to stay if you want to escape from the crowds that usually gather on the beaches and want a more laid back holiday. A visit to Altea might involve walking through the lovely cobblestone streets of the old city or sipping wine on a patio terrace of a local restaurant in the Old Town. The town is packed with character and its blue and white tiled dome-roofed church is one of the most photographed landmarks in the area.
Take a Walk Through History
The pedestrian-friendly cobbled streets of Altea are filled with top class restaurants and excellent shops offering paintings and gifts handmade by local artists. The streets have changed very little for hundreds of years and as you walk through them and admire the old buildings you will get a feeling of what living in a Spanish town in the past might have been like.
Also, don’t miss the town’s museum, the Museo Navarro Roman and the cultural centre, the Casa de Cultura.
Walking around the steep streets can be quite tiring, but there are plenty of interesting shops to stop in along the way to catch your breath. Once you reach the top, you will be able to enjoy the gorgeous view over Altea Bay and the Sierra Bernia mountain range.
Tuesday Street Market
Every Tuesday near the new town you will find the large street market, which is a fun place to pick up some souvenirs to bring home with you from your Costa Blanca holiday. Many locals and visitors will be there shopping for everything from clothing to jewellery to fake designer handbags. There are also a few beautiful items hand-crafted by locals from the region.
Visit Our Lady of Solace
The Church of the Virgin del Consuelo, otherwise known as “Our Lady of Solace” was constructed at the turn of the century and has a truly spectacular facade and interior. It’s simply a photographer’s dream, so make sure your camera has plenty of battery life. Stunning blue and white glazed ceramic tiles decorate the slender and elegant bell tower and the enormous blue dome.
Even if you never stepped foot outside of Altea during your holiday, you still wouldn’t run out of things to see and do.
The pace of life moves much slower here and you will find that after a while your tension melts away, you forget about your rush and you simply want to soak in the sunshine. You might even find yourself taking an afternoon siesta, which is perfectly acceptable in this laid back culture.
