Altea

Altea is a charming seaside town of 22,000 people (2018) on the Costa Blanca of Alicante province. Visitors are drawn by its good weather, its beaches and its charming old town.

Understand
Due to its advantageous location the area has been settled since Iberian times, and later Greek colonists established a market town here named Althaia. The town later came under Roman, Visigothic, and then Moorish control. Following the reconquista and the arrival of Jaime I in the 13th century the town was fortified; remains of these city walls can still be seen today around the old town.

Tourism came to Altea in the 1950s, yet in contrast with many stretches of the overdeveloped Costa Blanca, especially nearby Benidorm, the town has retained its Spanish identity and character. There are two primary districts, which include the largely commercial beachfront and the picturesque casco antiguo, or the original old town, with its labyrinthine cobblestone alleys and whitewashed houses.



By bus
Llorente Bus runs bus routes 010, 012, and 031 from Benidorm, with five stops in Altea. Interactive schedules and route maps are available online.

Get around
Parking in the Casco Antiguo is restricted to residents only; there are several free car parks on the periphery. The old centre and the port area are both easily accessible by foot, provided you are reasonably fit and able to navigate steep hills.

Llorente Bus routes 027 and 028 both travel to the northern beaches of Platja del Cap Negret and Platja de l'Olla.

Casco Antiguo
Also known as the Poble Antic or El Fornet, the central old part of town has charming narrow streets with typical white houses and many steps.



Beaches
The beaches closest to town, and, are generally stony. , also stony, is a bit further north, but is worth visiting for its good selection of chiringuitos (see description below in 'Eat') and can be visited with Llorente bus 027. Dogs are permitted on (near the Hotel SH Villa Gadea). The nearest sandy beach is, just south of Altea and easily reachable by Llorente buses 010 or 031, or by tram.

Buy
A number of artists and artisans live in town, and there are galleries and studios, along with the requisite souvenir shops, lining Carrer Sant Miguel and Carrer Major and other alleys near the main church. In the summer there is a nightly open-air (handcrafts market) in the Plaça de l'Església just by the church, featuring local handcrafts and souvenirs.



Eat
An Altean variation of coca, a Catalán/Valencian style of pizza, is coca a la llumà, which in Altea is baked in a special wood-fired oven, traditionally on Thursdays. North of the old town along the Platja de l'Olla (l'Olla Beach) are a number of chiringuitos, seasonal restaurants open in summer only which serve snacks, drinks, and full meals.