With its international airport and central location, the resort city of Alicante is the capital of the Costa Blanca area, though the city itself is often bypassed by the beach-bound hordes. It's worth checking out for its relaxing atmosphere, warm weather and beaches. Other attractions include the imposing Castillo de Santa Barbara (perched on a hill, it commands a good view of the coastline), the Explanada de Espana (the palm-lined promenade along the harbor) and the old Barrio de Santa Cruz (the part of town that preserves some of its ancient past). Alicante also has two fine museums: MARQ, the archaeological museum, takes an impressive, modern, multimedia approach to its subject. The Museo de Arte Siglo 2000 has a collection of works by Picasso, Miro, Tapies and other 20th-century artists.
The surrounding province of Alicante includes the Costa Blanca resort region and such popular towns as Benidorm (a mainly low-budget, high-rise holiday resort on two fine beaches—it has its admirers and detractors), Altea and Denia. Also worth a look is Elche, a city noted for its date-palm forest, which is a legacy of the Moors and unique in Europe. Alicante is 225 mi/360 km southeast of Madrid.
