All Sightseeing Posts
Despite several attempts to locate a sandy beach close by on Google, I had failed. Even my search ‘sandy beach’ turned out to be ‘stony beach’!!
I wasn’t going to be defeated. One more last attempt to locate a beach before my sister headed back home.
Success! I had finally located 3 beaches close to Castellón de la Plana and Benicàssim.
Altea is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Costa Blanca, (Spain’s White Coast). The town is between Benidorm to the south and Calpe, which is easily recognisable with its magnificent Ifach rock. This iconic rock formation is visible from many of the northern coastal towns of Coasta Blanca.
Our journey to Altea was interesting and Ray enjoyed the twists and turns of the roads through the mountainous terrain, something which we hadn’t encountered for a while. The landscape we passed through was terraced wherever possible and many of the small houses along the route were dotted high in the hills.
After climbing high to the town of Benicàssim, we headed back down towards the coast, passing the entrance to a large urbanisation, Altea Hills, aptly named, and a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church.
On the steep drop down towards the coast, was a small development called Pueblo Mascarat, with typical Spanish looking villas and a large harbour area.
As we approached Altea we could clearly see the blue and white tiled domes of the church in the old quarter, perched high above the town on the north side of the main road.
We made our way down towards the seafront and the promenade, the modern part of the town, to find a parking space. Parking was clearly signposted and we managed to find a spot between the promenade and the beach and the bustling array of cafes, bars and restaurants, which lined the road.
The large beach consisted of very large pebbles and extended in both directions for as far as the eye could see. The promenade followed the contours of the beach and extended way past the very impressive looking harbour to the south of the town.
On the day we visited the town was busy and vibrant and it was great to see so many people out and about on a Sunday, with the added bonus of many places open for business too.
A short walk across the main N332 coast road, which cuts through the middle of the town, led us towards the old town.
It’s a steep climb up to the old town so be prepared.
The old town looks typically Spanish with its pretty, narrow cobbled streets and quaint whitewashed houses.
The contrast of the black wrought iron window grilles and balconies, mixed with the vibrant coloured Bougainvilleas and orange trees, with their ornamental fruit, reminded me of past holidays to what was then the small town of Mijas in Andalusia. Happy memories 🙂
As we made our way to the main central square, we were blown away by the terrific views of the Mediterranean between the roof tops of the houses.
There was certainly no shortage of small restaurants offering fantastic Menu del Dia, at very reasonable prices too.
In the main square, opposite the church of the Virgen del Consuelo, we enjoyed a coffee, whilst watching the world go by.
There was also a variety of small shops and historical buildings to peruse in the old quarter.
Altea will definitely be on our list of places to re-visit in the future, as will Dénia, Calpe and Jávea (Xàbia).
We drove over to Cunit to ride along the promenade one more time and in the evening Lutz had generously offered to treat us all to dinner in the camp restaurant,
The Menu del Dia proved a good choice all round, washed down with some local beer and vino tinto and the addition of some Christmas favourites being played on the keyboard in the corner of the room, kind of added something to the evening festivities, in a quirky way 🙂
After a couple of glasses back at Lutz’s campervan to end the evening, we thanked him for his hospitality and headed back home.