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Alicante, the region's second largest city
Alicante, the Costa Blanca's second-largest town, is brimming with new projects, having transformed itself in under a decade to a bustling place with a spirited nightlife. Tourists flock to Alicante in search of the "real" Spain.
Because Alicante is a real Spanish town, offering much more than tourism alone. With its wonderful boulevards lined with palm trees and shopping streets, Alicante is one of the most famous towns along the Costa Blanca.
Alicante, lying on the Spanish Mediterranean Coast, is the capital of the province, and lies close to the southern most end of the Costa Blanca. It has about 340 000 habitants and its thousands of tourists every year spend their holiday time on the town's attractive beaches.
Great weather and excellent communications
Its excellent weather encourages tourism throughout the year, both on the beach and inland. For those wishing to invest in Spanish property, Alicante is the perfect location, because an investment property here gives dual benefits of an ideal holiday home with a good rental potential in a highly popular tourist area.
Alicante has excellent communication networks and many different services. It is connected via road, air and sea with all the important destinations in Spain and around the world. It is 432 km from Madrid, about 540 km from Barcelona and 82 km from Valencia.
The modern Port is the liveliest part of the city
The harbour, once the port of Madrid, has been Alicante's strength for centuries, exporting products and importing goods from all over the world. Today, the port is the liveliest part of town. Its modern facilities combine with tradition and history to create a thriving centre, with working fishing fleet, pleasure crafts, passenger ships, nautical schools and sailing clubs. There is also a wide selection of bars and restaurants - with some of the fine fish restaurants.
There are hundred of places to have drinks and snacks in Alicante. The most popular places are near the old city centre, known as El Barrio. Here are countless bars, taverns, beer halls, pizza centres and typical inns.
Major educational and cultural centre
Alicante is a major education centre with an impressive university, founded in 1979. The university, with over 30,000 students on a campus covering more than one million square metres, has six higher schools, seven colleges and seven university institutes. And there are branches in several provincial towns.
The city is a cultural centre and has a varied range of events and fiestas. At the end of June a traditional medieval arts and crafts market is held in Plaza de la Santisima Faz and nearby streets.
During July and August the new esplanade in front of the port comes alive for the summer festival with constant theatrical performances and concerts. The first ten days of December sees the International Puppet Festival that attracts people from all over the world.
Superb beaches and tourist attractions
San Juan is the city's most popular beach with its fine sands and excellent facilities including catamaran and windsurfing rentals. And near the city centre is the Postiguet beach, a former spa.
The Island of Tabarca is another important seaside destination, with its ancient fort and the 18th century church. More than just an island, Tabarca is a natural monument and its waters are listed as a Marine Reserve. Tabarca is the only inhabited island in the region and now belongs to the city's council.
The province is well known for its many exquisite wines, ranging from the whites and rosés from La Marina, to the reds from Vinalopó. There are many other sweet dessert wines and fortified wines, some of which are very well known, such as "Fondillón".
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