The Spanish town I love so well

Go Feedback:If John Hinde had been commissioned to find perfect, pretty, traditional old Spanish streetscapes he would have come to Altea, writes KITTY HOLLAND

WANDERING through the cobblestone streets of Altea, up the gentle – and some not so gentle – hills towards the square at the top, one is continually taken aback at how stunningly pretty it is.

Despite having visited almost every year for the past decade, this writer never fails to be delighted by the charm and beauty of this small Spanish town.

Altea has some 13,500 inhabitants and lies on the east coast, between Valencia to the north and Alicante to the south, in the province of Alicante on the Costa Blanca.

Just up the road from Benidorm but a world away, the nearest airport is Alicante – about 40 minutes down the AP-7 or an hour on the quieter N-332.

Deriving its name from the Moorish “Althaya”, meaning “good health to all”, it has long attracted arty types, and was seemingly a bit of an artistic-cum-writer-cum-hippy hub in the 1960s.

There is a profusion of cool jewellery, art, sculpture, clothing, antique and curiosity shops throughout the town and the University of Culture and Fine Arts is located here as is a state-of-the-art concert hall.

If John Hinde had been commissioned to find perfect, pretty, traditional old Spanish street-scapes, with white-washed houses, 18th-century filagree wrought-iron balconies, old street lamps and terracotta tiled roofs, against an azure Mediterranean backdrop, this is where he would have come.

The narrow little streets wander up the steep hill, offering magnificent views down over the bay and veer this way and that, sometimes taking you through people’s gardens – in summer a riot of bougainvillea, jasmine, pomegranate and roses.

It all leads to the top of the town, the Plaza di Ilgesia, centred around the blue-domed church, Nuestra Senora del Consuelo, for which the town is famed. It is beautiful inside and out and worth a visit, though perhaps not before a cerveza or “Agua de Valenica” – basically bucks fizz made with Cava, in one of the many bars, cafes or restaurants.

A viewing area on the far side of the square looks down over the town, to the marina and the sea.

There really are two parts to Altea – the aforementioned old town or “poble antic” on local street signs, and the new, more typically modern Spanish town with its terraces, cafes, supermarkets and townspeople meeting for morning coffee. The main attraction here is the sea-front, with a long beach and esplanade along which the people walk after dark.

There’s restaurant after restaurant, most of which offer a “menu del dia” where you’ll get a starter, main course, dessert, bread and wine for between €9 and €15 a head.

One of the favourite spots to sit and watch the Mediterranean glisten, is Bar Fronton Playa, where for €1 you get a glass of wine, beer or sherry, and a tapa. You can be very happily fed and watered here for €5 and it’s a great spot for a pre-dinner nibble.

The old town and the sea-front are both teeming at night, particularly at the weekends and even more so in August when the Madridlenos with holiday homes are here in force. Expect children to be dressed to the nines and made welcome in cafes and restaurants beyond midnight. In August it’s just too damn hot for even them to be out until after 4pm, so they have to live life late.

Altea is a quiet town, but nightlife does exist. On the sea-front, Bar Morena serves big boozy cocktails and large glasses of wine until about 4am at weekends while in the old town, Bar Mascarada in Plaza di Iglesia, serves similar beverages around a circular bar and plays cool tunes, until the last customer throws in the towel. One has been known to leave about 6am, and not to be the last.

On Tuesdays, the farmers of the area come to town for the weekly market, where in-season peaches, figs, several different types of tomato, enormous watermelons, and almost any type of vegetable you could care to name are piled high and cheap.

It is very easy to get carried away and to arrive home with 35 nectarines, so meandering is recommended as much as buying.

Though the beach is clean and safe, it is pebbly. The local town council has brought in truck-loads of sand and created a sandy beach in parts, but some may prefer to travel to sandy beaches in nearby Calpe (10 minutes away) or even Benidorm, where the beaches are wonderful but packed. There are good playgrounds at either end of Altea beach.

Also for kids, there is a good waterpark and an impressive zoo, called Aqualandia and Mundomar in Benidorm. The latter is a good day out, with dolphin shows, performing parrots and opportunities to pet sealions.

Other enjoyable day trips are the Fonts d’Algar – beautiful natural waterfalls and pools where you can swim (and get great photos); the medieval mountain-top town of Guadalest; the chocolate factory in Vila Joiosa and a shopping and lunch trip to Alicante itself.

No matter where you’ll venture though, there’s something spellbinding about Altea that makes you glad to get back. Just don’t tell everyone about it!