The Santa Cruz neighbourhood offers striking views of Santa Barbara Castle, and is also distinctive for its narrow and steep alleyways, colourful houses and ornate doorways.
The absence of traffic in most of the neighbourhood and its picturesque hidden spots broadens the range of outdoor scene options. The rectangular-shaped Santa Cruz chapel has a rural feel, and the Santa Cruz viewpoint offers views of the sea and the city centre.
Alicante-Elche Airport is situated 8 km southwest of Alicante. Due to its location, the airport serves a large part of the Spanish Levante. The airport used to have a substantial amount of charter traffic, but today most of the traffic is regular and international.
It is ranked fifth in the Spanish airport network based on the number of passengers, after the airports of Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga-Costa del Sol. Alicante-Elche airport is among the 50 busiest airports in Europe.
Most of Alicante’s parks, walks and gardens are remarkable for their beauty and location, as well as for the presence of protected species of majestic trees, for example: Canalejas Park, El Portal de Elche or the Gabriel Miró square with its over 20-meter high century-old ficus tree.
LA ERETA PARK:
These gardens offer a large central square, winding hillside paths, shaded areas, fountains, a cafeteria, a performance area (with underground dressing rooms) a panoramic restaurant, and an exhibition hall.
Due to the peculiar morphology of La Ereta, building the park was a challenge but an interesting architectural work successfully arose from it. The lower section of the park is directly connected to the Historical Centre, and its spaces and vegetation have a more urban look. Approaching the Castle, we find the olive tree slope and Ereta Square.
EL PALMERAL PARK:
This is one of the city’s most spectacular parks. It includes a forest of palm trees, ponds, lakes, artificial streams as well as an outdoor pavilion and a free car park.
CANALEJAS PARK:
A beautiful fountain stands in the centre of the square together with a century-old ficus tree over 20 meters high and a nineteenth-century cafeteria. This location has a distinctive nostalgic and autumn feel.
LA MARJAL PARK:
This flood park was awarded the 1st ‘Albert Serratosa’ City and Territory Prize. It is situated in an urban area and was developed on marshlands. The site stores rainwater and prevents floods during torrential rains.
The Santa María Basilica dates back to the fourteenth century and is Alicante city’s oldest religious building. It consists of a single nave, no transept and side chapels between the buttresses.
The Santa Maria Basilica had to be rebuilt after a fire in the fifteenth century, which explains its baroque façade crowned by two asymmetrical towers built in the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries.
The façade of this magnificent religious building pictures an image of the Virgin by the sculptor Juan Bautista Borja. Inside, among other elements, the eighteenth-century Rococo altar and the Baptism, Immaculate Conception and Communion chapels are worthy of note. A huge sixteenth century baptismal font and a 1653 Valencian Baroque organ can be found in the Chapter House.
The Museum of Contemporary Art – MACA is next to the Santa Maria Basilica. The Santísima Faz Square and Alicante’s Town Hall are both very close.
The building of the Co-Cathedral of San Nicolas started in 1600, on the site of a former construction. The cathedral is Herrerian Renaissance style and is located in Alicante’s old town.
The church has a Latin cross layout. Inside, the fifteenth century cloister with two baroque doors, the altar and the 45-meter high blue dome stand out. The Communion Chapel, below the dome, is regarded as one of the finest illustrations of Spanish Baroque.
The interior was recently restored to celebrate the exhibition “La Luz de las Imágenes” in Alicante city, whose mission is to recover and disseminate Valencian artistic heritage.
Alicante’s Town Hall and the picturesque neighbourhoods of Santa Cruz and San Roque are very close to the Co-Cathedral of San Nicolas.