Xàbia

Xàbia (Spanish: Jávea) is in the Costa Blanca region in Alicante, Spain. The town has three main areas, namely Xàbia old town, Xàbia port, and the beach area. The old town has not changed much and is a maze of narrow winding streets with homes that have wrought iron balconies and windows in gothic style, and a number of ancient churches and other structures. The harbour and fishing port have numerous restaurants and bars overlooking the sea. The Arenal beach area is the main commercial and recreation centre of the town.

Understand
Montgó's prehistoric cave dwellers and hunters date from at least 30,000 years ago, and the paintings in Migdia cave are well-enough known. Its slopes have certainly yielded evidence of the ancient past to many local residents whether collecting Stone-Age handaxes and flints, Roman pottery or Muslim ceramics.

The slopes of Montgó and the tops of surrounding hills and of the valley tell of the earliest known Neolithic settlements in the Western Mediterranean, where men developed agriculture and domesticated animals from around 3000 BC and into the Valencian Bronze Age between 1900 and 500 BC. In the museum you can see Iberian beads, shards of decorated pottery, stone axes and pestle and mortars found all around us, including from a fox's burrow dig into the hill crowned by the Santa Lucia Ermita, and which revealed a Bronze Age and Roman Village.

Visigoths were here too. In the 6th century AD. Christian Visigoth monks whose ancestors had accompanied the troops sent to battle in North Africa, came across to Javeda and founded the monastery of San Martin. Here Hermangildo, son of the Visigoth king Leogevild of Toledo, sought refuge in the Monastery after angering his father by marrying a Christian girl. When his father's troops arrived to arrest him all but one ancient monk fled to Portichol - but Hermengild and the old monk were killed. You'll find a number of Javiense with Visigoth names even today.

The foundations of a 17th- to 18th-century house had been built on top of a 3000-year-old Bronze Age farming site, thus preserving the remains of two cabins and several silos. And in San Bartholome. the next street, facing the church, another house has been demolished to reveal relics of a 14th-century dwelling with a cistern, well and various ceramics and coins.

Excavations have found 14th-century graves- some with several skeletons added later, all of the first Christians to repopulate Jávea after the long Muslim occupation. The cemetery was in use for another two hundred years and archaeologists found the remains of what appeared to have been a high, fortified tower and the later, smaller, 17th-century chapel of the Desamparados.

There is little left of the Moors but some inscribed gravestones and ceramics, although they were here from about 714 AD until the last were expelled from Jávea and Dénia in 1609. Most were farmers, cultivating and terracing the land but undoubtedly there are remains hidden beneath many buildings and wooded areas.

Well, walk where you will in the valley, town or hills, you can be sure of one thing, you are walking on history.



By plane
Valencia airport is 100 km to the north. Alicante is found 100 km to the south, and Murcia  a bit further. Several companies offer transportation from both nearby international airports.

Get around
For most locations in Xàbia a car is essential. If arriving at Valencia or Alicante airport there are several car rental companies readily available. If booking a car rental locally in Xàbia it is generally advised to do so in advance of your journey as they tend to sell out during the busy summer season.

Car and bicycle rental
The tourist office maintains an online list of local agencies which hire out cars, motorbikes, and bicycles.

Miradores
There are a number of scenic viewpoints in the area, many with sights of historic interest.



Hiking and biking
There are a number of well-marked hiking trails in the area, ranging in difficulty from easy to very challenging. The tourist office has a list of six hiking trails with maps and detailed route descriptions, which can all be downloaded directly from their website.

Similarly, there are some great opportunities for cycling enthusiasts, with a number of routes for both road bikes and mountain bikes, of all levels. The tourist office has maps and trail descriptions for the most popular routes available for download here.



Beaches and water sport
Xàbia is a good base for all types of water sport, including scuba diving, parasailing, and sea kayaking. The city's tourist office maintains an online list of the numerous local agencies which rent out equipment and/or offer guided tours.



Eat
Unsurprisingly Xàbia is known for its great variety of seafood dishes, which include paella marinera (seafood paella) and arròs a banda (rice cooked in fish stock with 'trash fish' and potatoes). The town is also known for its sweet pastries with almonds, and for its raisins.

Midrange

 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).
 * There are also two restaurants at Hotel Rodat (see its "Sleep" listing).