THE average Spanish resident will spend between €500 and €1,500 on their holidays this year, with three in 10 set to increase their budget from last year and 16% reducing it.
Influencers' favourite 20 sites in the Comunidad Valenciana
10/10/2020
EVERY region has its 'day' in Spain, some with more pomp and circumstance than others, and pretty much all of which are bank holidays in the territory they pay tribute to – unless they land on a Sunday, when they're written off; but the workforce is generally not too bothered, since barely a month goes past on Spanish soil without a well-earned public holiday.
For Valencia, its 'day' was yesterday, October 9 – not just in Spain's third-largest city, but its wider region, comprising three provinces in an area roughly the size of Wales about halfway down the east of the mainland on the Mediterranean coast (if you still can't place it, it's got Benidorm in its southern third).
Usually a lowish-key affair, and even more so this year with the traditional parade in Valencia city called off due to the pandemic, its closeness to 'National Festival of Spain' on October 12 means it becomes a bit of an Antipodal Easter week for most employees – a chance to get some proper rest and relaxation, visiting, cleaning or decorating done. On those rare, welcome years when 'Valencia Day' falls on a Friday, such as this year, it's also a chance to get away for a short holiday without eating into your annual leave.
As a tribute to 'Valencia Day', we've decided to thrust the region into the spotlight in the most glamorous and roaring-twenties' way possible: Listing its favourite locations according to social media influencers.
We didn't do that yesterday, because we didn't want to interrupt your annual October 9 'R&R'. We're generous like that, you see.
Social media ambassadors
Influencers – models-cum-advertising agents, who include professional Instagrammers and YouTube vloggers, among others – are paid to put things, people, places and products on the map, which also provides a service to the general public by making them aware of what's out there. The key App for doing so right now is Peoople (no, that's not a typo. Get with the programme), where everything you needed or wanted is recommended and commented on, your commercial research done for you before you make a purchase.
Local influencers are good news for their home territories, too: They're popular and modern ambassadors for them, in the same way as F1's Fernando Alonso is for Oviedo (Asturias), tennis stars Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer for Mallorca and Jávea respectively, and arts celebrities like Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Rosalía are for Spain as a whole, as well as for Madrid, Málaga and Catalunya.
To mark their regional day, a handful of influencers from the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Castellón have revealed their top 20 locations, either for photographing, visiting, or simply being.
As the biggest municipality in the region – around 775,000 inhabitants – it's hardly surprising that the majority of the 20 favourites are somewhere within the city; and the great news is that if you visit it yourself, practically all of them are within close walking distance of each other.
One exception to that is the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, or 'CAC'), although it's at the end of a short bus ride and easy to reach by car.
It comes in at number one, which we hope will help give it the fame it deserves: Most tourists who've visited the Sydney Opera House and the CAC have said the latter is ever so slightly more spectacular than the former, and yet people travel halfway round the world to see the Australian version.
And only part of the CAC is an opera house – the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. The other bits, all very different in design, but splendidly futuristic, are the Prince Felipe Science Museum, the Oceanogràfic (Europe's largest aquarium, with a section for each of the planet's main marine ecosystems. Don't worry, it's very humane – the way it's set out means the sea creatures don't even realise they're in captivity, and it's a key centre for veterinary care for rescued turtles and other water animals off the western Mediterranean coast), the Hemisfèric, a massive 3D digital cinema showing 30-minute documentaries on natural wonders and phenomena, the Ágora stadium which used to host the Valencia Open 500 tennis tournament, the partially-covered Umbracle gardens, and a gigantic boating lake where you can hire a craft for a few euros and row yourself round the complex.
One of the first sights you catch in miniature from the plane as you come in to land over Valencia, the first picture (from the CAC's official website) gives you some idea of what to expect, although nothing beats actually standing in front of its jaw-dropping immenseness.
Numbers two to four inclusive are also in Valencia: The Colón Market, whether or not you need to do any food-shopping, is a must-see, with its ornate red-brick front (actually, so is the main railway station, the Estació Nord, with its gold-leaf trim and brightly-coloured oranges all over the façade. Why isn't this on the list?) the Plaza de la Virgen (second picture, by visit_valencia on Instagram), a stunning open-air square home to the Basilica and the cathedral, ornate lighting, pavement cafés and ice-cream parlours, a sunny atmosphere, and a large fountain with a statue of what is described as a 'personification of the river Turia' in the centre and who is often dubbed by English-speaking tourists as 'the floozy in the jacuzzi'; and the city's answer to the Tower of London, the Torres de Serrano. These 600-year-old turreted 'twin towers' don't contain torture implements or dungeons, but they do serve as the gateway to the massive Turia botanical gardens (the green 'lung' of the city, a grassy moat which used to be the river Turia until the 'Great Flood of '57' caused it to be diverted where it couldn't cause so much trouble by bursting its banks) and also as a panoramic viewpoint if you climb them from the inside.
Number seven is the Micalet bell-tower, adjoining the cathedral – another one you can climb, if you're okay with narrow, stone spiral staircases. For a nominal fee, you can pop to the top, take a selfie sitting under a huge bell and admire a 360º panorama of the entire city, taking in the river-turned-gardens, the CAC, the orange-adorned station and the huge bull-ring next to it, the Mestalla stadium (home to Valencia CF) and the university.
Number 10 on the list is the Lonja de la Seda, or silk exchange – a stunning optical illusion of late-Mediaeval twisty columns and arches, Valencia's answer to the Great Mosque of Córdoba in structure (in the third picture, by Alberto Pérez Sepúlveda, alber.999 on Instagram) - and number 12 is Gulliver Park, a children's recreation ground with a gigantic lying-down statue of the frequently-shipwrecked protagonist of Jonathan Swift's famous 18th-century novel.
Number 15 is the Cabecera Park, within the Turia gardens that flow round the edge of the city centre, and which has a large boating lake in the middle.
At number 19 is the El Carmen neighbourhood, one of the city's oldest and most picturesque, which became built up between two ancient city walls – one constructed by the Muslims, who were the main ethnic on the Peninsula for over 700 years, and another by the Christians, the 'original' population and those who took over ruling again during and after the Inquisition. The Barrio del Carmen, as the area is known, is considered Valencia's key culture and leisure zone, replete with up-market restaurants, bars and shops.
Finally, number 20 is the Quart Towers (Torres de Quart), the majestic, Gothic round towers, complete with turrets, which act as a portal into the Mediaeval city – along with the Serrano Towers, these are the surviving entrances through its ancient fortified boundary wall.
Albufera wetlands
Stretching all the way from approximately Cullera (a popular beach town famed for the mountain branded with its name in giant, Hollywood-style letters) to the city of Valencia, these beautiful salt marshes are home to rice fields and a network of rivers, which you can take a boat trip on.
Valencian novelist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez – of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame – immortalised this sublime waterland in his works, and if you want to witness a scene that will utterly blow your mind, head there in time for sunset on a clear, cloudless day: The shades of crimson and gold reflecting off the shimmering mirror of thousands of acres of inland seawater are simply breathtaking.
No wonder this huge, coastal swamp is at number 11 on influencers' top Valencia-region sites, although some would say it ought to be higher up.
Jávea's coves
Lively, modern, cosmopolitan, very used to tourists and expats from well over 100 countries, the northern Alicante-province coastal town of Jávea appeals to a huge cross-section of the general public – from the wealthy élite to those seeking no-frills, for a quiet life to the life and soul – offering a bit of everything and very tastefully so. David Ferrer was born there and drops its name into as many conversations as he can, astronaut-turned-science minister Pedro Duque holidays there, Hollywood actor Matt Damon has been seen hanging out there, and a string of A-listers known to be filming there.
It also has, along with its bustling urban beaches, a handful of remote, secluded bays sheltered by cliffs, embedded into the majestic Montgó mountain (753 metres above sea level) and part of the San Antonio marine reserve, exotic scuba-diving grounds, hidden fishing-village coves, and a lighthouse that sits atop the 'pointy bit' on the right-hand side of the map of Spain, the easternmost part of the region.
The clear waters of the closed-in, rocky Cala Blanca beach (number six), the towering green cliffs above the crystalline sea and golden sands of the Cala Granadella beach (number five), and the rural Portitxol Bay with its traditional fishermen's cottages (number eight) are simply paradise if you're seeking a far-from-the-madding-crowd spot that's close enough to all modern amenities.
Santa Bárbara Castle, Alicante
This huge, solid, perfectly-intact castle on top of a mountain in the very heart of the city and close to its main urban beaches is one of Alicante's greatest tourist magnets, and it's not hard to see why when you get there.
If you can't, perhaps photograph four (by Luisoensuiza on Instagram) will help you out.
You can easily spend an entire day wandering around it, inside and out, and admiring the incredible views across the whole of the bay. Definitely a day-trip worth adding to your bucket list.
Whilst there, pop along to the MARQ archaeological museum and its adjoining Roman ruins, which also should be on the influencers' list (Santa Bárbara Castle is at number nine).
Cala del Moraig, Benitatxell
Not far down the road from Jávea but in a quieter, much more close-knit and traditionally-Spanish municipality, another secluded cove will take your breath away: The Cala del Moraig, in El Poble Nou de Benitatxell (known mostly as simply 'Benitatxell'). As well as its neat little horseshoe of sand clutched between two cliffs, the Moraig Bay is home to a miniature version of northern Spain's most famous coastal rock formation.
Galicia's Las Catedrales beach, so-named because its open-air cave-like structures look like arches in a Gothic cathedral, is famous the world over, but the Cova dels Arcs in Benitatxell looks like an off-cut of it. And clearly, it's one of the most-photographed parts of the Cala Moraig, which is one of the most-photographed beaches in the north of Alicante province, so it's been in the frame quite a lot. So much so that it's number 13 on influencers' top 20 locations in the Comunidad Valenciana region.
Tabarca Island, Alicante province
Just 10 kilometres out to sea from the packed, fun and super-modern beach town of Santa Pola in the south of the province, and 20 kilometres from Alicante city – with regular return ferries connecting it to the mainland – Tabarca, the region's only inhabited island, has just 50 residents, meaning birds of prey in its glorious, verdant countryside outnumber humans by hundreds, if not thousands.
Boasting a genteel history, a close community and not only unspoilt, but unspoilable scenery, Tabarca probably has the region's cleanest air: Cars are banned entirely, so unless you want to walk or cycle, you have to use the local 'express network' to get around. Horse and cart, that is.
Read all about this sea-locked Eden, its fascinating back-story and its famous connections here. You'll see for yourself why it's influencers' 14th-favourite location in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Balcón del Mediterráneo, Benidorm
The historic, or original, quarters of the humble fishing village-turned-Blackpool with sun (which becomes New York by night) feels like a different town altogether, and is incredibly attractive – particularly its star feature, the 'Balcony of the Mediterranean'. White with a hint of royal blue, part-Oriental, part-Greek island in appearance, this tiled platform with its bright balustrades is not just loved for what it looks like, but what it looks at. Here is where you can take in some of the best urban views on the Costa Blanca: 'Benidorm Island', the uninhabited rock that looks like a wedge of cake on its side that's been blown by a high wind, the curve of the bay with its plush, sandy beaches, and the Manhattan-style skyline, a São-Paulo-on-Sea by day or after dark.
The Balcón del Mediterráneo is one of the most-used scenes for adverts for the Costa Blanca as a destination, and is number 16 on influencers' list of the region's favourite sites.
Peñón de Ifach, Calpe
Every now and then, a 'take-back-Gibraltar' movement arises in Spain – but on the east coast, they've got their own rock. It may not have monkeys, but it does have birds of prey and some pretty splendid views.
A natural monolith of chalky rock, over 300 metres in height, Calpe's very-own Sugar-Loaf Mountain is, rather like Gibraltar, joined to the mainland by a long strip of town road, home to apartments, houses, and fresh fish markets and restaurants.
An officially-protected nature reserve, it's enormously popular with rock-climbers and experienced hikers and, for those who'd rather remain on terra firma, simply for admiring from the ground and posing for selfies with. And influencers rate it 17th on their list of the region's best.
Guadalest, Alicante province
Deep in the mountains of the Marina Baixa district in the middle bit of the Alicante province, the quaint little village whose official title is El Castell de Guadalest is where practically any expat within an hour's drive takes friends and family who are staying with them – to the point where, on any day of the year, unless it's freezing, pouring with rain or too hot for sightseeing, visitors comfortably outnumber permanent residents (of which there are 209, according to the last census).
Forming part of the Association of the Prettiest Villages in Spain (Asociación Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España), nobody would argue with this claim even if they'd only seen it from a distance. As you draw near, two 'fingers' of mountain loom on the horizon, one of which has an 11th-century castle on it (hence Guadalest's full name) and the other, a small chapel. Once inside the entirely-pedestrianised village centre, a view from a low-lying stone boundary wall stretches over uninhabited mountains and a gigantic, turquoise-blue lake.
Guadalest itself is famous for its olde worlde stone cottages, cobbled lanes barely wider than a footpath, and unique local museums and galleries – such as the 'miniaturist' museum, where you can see world-renowned works of art painted onto flies' wings.
Hard to believe this only comes 18th on the influencers' list, although despite its reputation, it's very off the beaten track, involving narrow, winding lanes spiralling up mountains to get to, so perhaps the others haven't been there yet.
Perhaps you should take a trip up there, get some great shots (very easily done even with the cheapest camera in the hands of the world's worst photographer) and show them what they're missing – although picture five, from the town hall's website, is probably a good place to start.
Despite its popularity and diminutive proportions, which may, on paper, make social distancing difficult, Guadalest is one of dozens of municipalities in the Comunidad Valenciana which has never had a single case of Covid-19.
If that's not a unique selling point these days, then we're not sure what is – but whatever it is, Guadalest has certainly got it, given that one visit there just never seems enough.
Related Topics
EVERY region has its 'day' in Spain, some with more pomp and circumstance than others, and pretty much all of which are bank holidays in the territory they pay tribute to – unless they land on a Sunday, when they're written off; but the workforce is generally not too bothered, since barely a month goes past on Spanish soil without a well-earned public holiday.
For Valencia, its 'day' was yesterday, October 9 – not just in Spain's third-largest city, but its wider region, comprising three provinces in an area roughly the size of Wales about halfway down the east of the mainland on the Mediterranean coast (if you still can't place it, it's got Benidorm in its southern third).
Usually a lowish-key affair, and even more so this year with the traditional parade in Valencia city called off due to the pandemic, its closeness to 'National Festival of Spain' on October 12 means it becomes a bit of an Antipodal Easter week for most employees – a chance to get some proper rest and relaxation, visiting, cleaning or decorating done. On those rare, welcome years when 'Valencia Day' falls on a Friday, such as this year, it's also a chance to get away for a short holiday without eating into your annual leave.
As a tribute to 'Valencia Day', we've decided to thrust the region into the spotlight in the most glamorous and roaring-twenties' way possible: Listing its favourite locations according to social media influencers.
We didn't do that yesterday, because we didn't want to interrupt your annual October 9 'R&R'. We're generous like that, you see.
Social media ambassadors
Influencers – models-cum-advertising agents, who include professional Instagrammers and YouTube vloggers, among others – are paid to put things, people, places and products on the map, which also provides a service to the general public by making them aware of what's out there. The key App for doing so right now is Peoople (no, that's not a typo. Get with the programme), where everything you needed or wanted is recommended and commented on, your commercial research done for you before you make a purchase.
Local influencers are good news for their home territories, too: They're popular and modern ambassadors for them, in the same way as F1's Fernando Alonso is for Oviedo (Asturias), tennis stars Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer for Mallorca and Jávea respectively, and arts celebrities like Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Rosalía are for Spain as a whole, as well as for Madrid, Málaga and Catalunya.
To mark their regional day, a handful of influencers from the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Castellón have revealed their top 20 locations, either for photographing, visiting, or simply being.
As the biggest municipality in the region – around 775,000 inhabitants – it's hardly surprising that the majority of the 20 favourites are somewhere within the city; and the great news is that if you visit it yourself, practically all of them are within close walking distance of each other.
One exception to that is the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, or 'CAC'), although it's at the end of a short bus ride and easy to reach by car.
It comes in at number one, which we hope will help give it the fame it deserves: Most tourists who've visited the Sydney Opera House and the CAC have said the latter is ever so slightly more spectacular than the former, and yet people travel halfway round the world to see the Australian version.
And only part of the CAC is an opera house – the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. The other bits, all very different in design, but splendidly futuristic, are the Prince Felipe Science Museum, the Oceanogràfic (Europe's largest aquarium, with a section for each of the planet's main marine ecosystems. Don't worry, it's very humane – the way it's set out means the sea creatures don't even realise they're in captivity, and it's a key centre for veterinary care for rescued turtles and other water animals off the western Mediterranean coast), the Hemisfèric, a massive 3D digital cinema showing 30-minute documentaries on natural wonders and phenomena, the Ágora stadium which used to host the Valencia Open 500 tennis tournament, the partially-covered Umbracle gardens, and a gigantic boating lake where you can hire a craft for a few euros and row yourself round the complex.
One of the first sights you catch in miniature from the plane as you come in to land over Valencia, the first picture (from the CAC's official website) gives you some idea of what to expect, although nothing beats actually standing in front of its jaw-dropping immenseness.
Numbers two to four inclusive are also in Valencia: The Colón Market, whether or not you need to do any food-shopping, is a must-see, with its ornate red-brick front (actually, so is the main railway station, the Estació Nord, with its gold-leaf trim and brightly-coloured oranges all over the façade. Why isn't this on the list?) the Plaza de la Virgen (second picture, by visit_valencia on Instagram), a stunning open-air square home to the Basilica and the cathedral, ornate lighting, pavement cafés and ice-cream parlours, a sunny atmosphere, and a large fountain with a statue of what is described as a 'personification of the river Turia' in the centre and who is often dubbed by English-speaking tourists as 'the floozy in the jacuzzi'; and the city's answer to the Tower of London, the Torres de Serrano. These 600-year-old turreted 'twin towers' don't contain torture implements or dungeons, but they do serve as the gateway to the massive Turia botanical gardens (the green 'lung' of the city, a grassy moat which used to be the river Turia until the 'Great Flood of '57' caused it to be diverted where it couldn't cause so much trouble by bursting its banks) and also as a panoramic viewpoint if you climb them from the inside.
Number seven is the Micalet bell-tower, adjoining the cathedral – another one you can climb, if you're okay with narrow, stone spiral staircases. For a nominal fee, you can pop to the top, take a selfie sitting under a huge bell and admire a 360º panorama of the entire city, taking in the river-turned-gardens, the CAC, the orange-adorned station and the huge bull-ring next to it, the Mestalla stadium (home to Valencia CF) and the university.
Number 10 on the list is the Lonja de la Seda, or silk exchange – a stunning optical illusion of late-Mediaeval twisty columns and arches, Valencia's answer to the Great Mosque of Córdoba in structure (in the third picture, by Alberto Pérez Sepúlveda, alber.999 on Instagram) - and number 12 is Gulliver Park, a children's recreation ground with a gigantic lying-down statue of the frequently-shipwrecked protagonist of Jonathan Swift's famous 18th-century novel.
Number 15 is the Cabecera Park, within the Turia gardens that flow round the edge of the city centre, and which has a large boating lake in the middle.
At number 19 is the El Carmen neighbourhood, one of the city's oldest and most picturesque, which became built up between two ancient city walls – one constructed by the Muslims, who were the main ethnic on the Peninsula for over 700 years, and another by the Christians, the 'original' population and those who took over ruling again during and after the Inquisition. The Barrio del Carmen, as the area is known, is considered Valencia's key culture and leisure zone, replete with up-market restaurants, bars and shops.
Finally, number 20 is the Quart Towers (Torres de Quart), the majestic, Gothic round towers, complete with turrets, which act as a portal into the Mediaeval city – along with the Serrano Towers, these are the surviving entrances through its ancient fortified boundary wall.
Albufera wetlands
Stretching all the way from approximately Cullera (a popular beach town famed for the mountain branded with its name in giant, Hollywood-style letters) to the city of Valencia, these beautiful salt marshes are home to rice fields and a network of rivers, which you can take a boat trip on.
Valencian novelist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez – of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame – immortalised this sublime waterland in his works, and if you want to witness a scene that will utterly blow your mind, head there in time for sunset on a clear, cloudless day: The shades of crimson and gold reflecting off the shimmering mirror of thousands of acres of inland seawater are simply breathtaking.
No wonder this huge, coastal swamp is at number 11 on influencers' top Valencia-region sites, although some would say it ought to be higher up.
Jávea's coves
Lively, modern, cosmopolitan, very used to tourists and expats from well over 100 countries, the northern Alicante-province coastal town of Jávea appeals to a huge cross-section of the general public – from the wealthy élite to those seeking no-frills, for a quiet life to the life and soul – offering a bit of everything and very tastefully so. David Ferrer was born there and drops its name into as many conversations as he can, astronaut-turned-science minister Pedro Duque holidays there, Hollywood actor Matt Damon has been seen hanging out there, and a string of A-listers known to be filming there.
It also has, along with its bustling urban beaches, a handful of remote, secluded bays sheltered by cliffs, embedded into the majestic Montgó mountain (753 metres above sea level) and part of the San Antonio marine reserve, exotic scuba-diving grounds, hidden fishing-village coves, and a lighthouse that sits atop the 'pointy bit' on the right-hand side of the map of Spain, the easternmost part of the region.
The clear waters of the closed-in, rocky Cala Blanca beach (number six), the towering green cliffs above the crystalline sea and golden sands of the Cala Granadella beach (number five), and the rural Portitxol Bay with its traditional fishermen's cottages (number eight) are simply paradise if you're seeking a far-from-the-madding-crowd spot that's close enough to all modern amenities.
Santa Bárbara Castle, Alicante
This huge, solid, perfectly-intact castle on top of a mountain in the very heart of the city and close to its main urban beaches is one of Alicante's greatest tourist magnets, and it's not hard to see why when you get there.
If you can't, perhaps photograph four (by Luisoensuiza on Instagram) will help you out.
You can easily spend an entire day wandering around it, inside and out, and admiring the incredible views across the whole of the bay. Definitely a day-trip worth adding to your bucket list.
Whilst there, pop along to the MARQ archaeological museum and its adjoining Roman ruins, which also should be on the influencers' list (Santa Bárbara Castle is at number nine).
Cala del Moraig, Benitatxell
Not far down the road from Jávea but in a quieter, much more close-knit and traditionally-Spanish municipality, another secluded cove will take your breath away: The Cala del Moraig, in El Poble Nou de Benitatxell (known mostly as simply 'Benitatxell'). As well as its neat little horseshoe of sand clutched between two cliffs, the Moraig Bay is home to a miniature version of northern Spain's most famous coastal rock formation.
Galicia's Las Catedrales beach, so-named because its open-air cave-like structures look like arches in a Gothic cathedral, is famous the world over, but the Cova dels Arcs in Benitatxell looks like an off-cut of it. And clearly, it's one of the most-photographed parts of the Cala Moraig, which is one of the most-photographed beaches in the north of Alicante province, so it's been in the frame quite a lot. So much so that it's number 13 on influencers' top 20 locations in the Comunidad Valenciana region.
Tabarca Island, Alicante province
Just 10 kilometres out to sea from the packed, fun and super-modern beach town of Santa Pola in the south of the province, and 20 kilometres from Alicante city – with regular return ferries connecting it to the mainland – Tabarca, the region's only inhabited island, has just 50 residents, meaning birds of prey in its glorious, verdant countryside outnumber humans by hundreds, if not thousands.
Boasting a genteel history, a close community and not only unspoilt, but unspoilable scenery, Tabarca probably has the region's cleanest air: Cars are banned entirely, so unless you want to walk or cycle, you have to use the local 'express network' to get around. Horse and cart, that is.
Read all about this sea-locked Eden, its fascinating back-story and its famous connections here. You'll see for yourself why it's influencers' 14th-favourite location in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Balcón del Mediterráneo, Benidorm
The historic, or original, quarters of the humble fishing village-turned-Blackpool with sun (which becomes New York by night) feels like a different town altogether, and is incredibly attractive – particularly its star feature, the 'Balcony of the Mediterranean'. White with a hint of royal blue, part-Oriental, part-Greek island in appearance, this tiled platform with its bright balustrades is not just loved for what it looks like, but what it looks at. Here is where you can take in some of the best urban views on the Costa Blanca: 'Benidorm Island', the uninhabited rock that looks like a wedge of cake on its side that's been blown by a high wind, the curve of the bay with its plush, sandy beaches, and the Manhattan-style skyline, a São-Paulo-on-Sea by day or after dark.
The Balcón del Mediterráneo is one of the most-used scenes for adverts for the Costa Blanca as a destination, and is number 16 on influencers' list of the region's favourite sites.
Peñón de Ifach, Calpe
Every now and then, a 'take-back-Gibraltar' movement arises in Spain – but on the east coast, they've got their own rock. It may not have monkeys, but it does have birds of prey and some pretty splendid views.
A natural monolith of chalky rock, over 300 metres in height, Calpe's very-own Sugar-Loaf Mountain is, rather like Gibraltar, joined to the mainland by a long strip of town road, home to apartments, houses, and fresh fish markets and restaurants.
An officially-protected nature reserve, it's enormously popular with rock-climbers and experienced hikers and, for those who'd rather remain on terra firma, simply for admiring from the ground and posing for selfies with. And influencers rate it 17th on their list of the region's best.
Guadalest, Alicante province
Deep in the mountains of the Marina Baixa district in the middle bit of the Alicante province, the quaint little village whose official title is El Castell de Guadalest is where practically any expat within an hour's drive takes friends and family who are staying with them – to the point where, on any day of the year, unless it's freezing, pouring with rain or too hot for sightseeing, visitors comfortably outnumber permanent residents (of which there are 209, according to the last census).
Forming part of the Association of the Prettiest Villages in Spain (Asociación Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España), nobody would argue with this claim even if they'd only seen it from a distance. As you draw near, two 'fingers' of mountain loom on the horizon, one of which has an 11th-century castle on it (hence Guadalest's full name) and the other, a small chapel. Once inside the entirely-pedestrianised village centre, a view from a low-lying stone boundary wall stretches over uninhabited mountains and a gigantic, turquoise-blue lake.
Guadalest itself is famous for its olde worlde stone cottages, cobbled lanes barely wider than a footpath, and unique local museums and galleries – such as the 'miniaturist' museum, where you can see world-renowned works of art painted onto flies' wings.
Hard to believe this only comes 18th on the influencers' list, although despite its reputation, it's very off the beaten track, involving narrow, winding lanes spiralling up mountains to get to, so perhaps the others haven't been there yet.
Perhaps you should take a trip up there, get some great shots (very easily done even with the cheapest camera in the hands of the world's worst photographer) and show them what they're missing – although picture five, from the town hall's website, is probably a good place to start.
Despite its popularity and diminutive proportions, which may, on paper, make social distancing difficult, Guadalest is one of dozens of municipalities in the Comunidad Valenciana which has never had a single case of Covid-19.
If that's not a unique selling point these days, then we're not sure what is – but whatever it is, Guadalest has certainly got it, given that one visit there just never seems enough.
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