Alicante is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of south-east Spain, capital of the province of the same name, in the Valencian Community. Its name comes from the Arabic Al-Laqant, which in turn comes from the Roman Lucentum, the "city of light". It is the second city of the Valencian Community, after Valencia, and one of the ten largest in Spain: the 2024 census counted about 359,000 people in the municipality, and together with Elche and the neighbouring municipalities it forms a conurbation close to a million people.
1. The city in plain words
Alicante is organised around its port and its castle. Santa Bárbara Castle crowns Mount Benacantil, 166 metres high, above the old town and Postiguet beach. Its origins lie in the 9th century, under Muslim rule, and it was taken on 4 December 1248 by Alfonso, later Alfonso X, on Saint Barbara's day, from which it takes its name. In the Middle Ages, Alicante was a trading port exporting rice, wine, olive oil, oranges and wool.
Today it is a city that lives all year round, not only in summer. It is a port, a provincial capital and a services city, with administration, a nearby university, hospitals and shops, as well as the Costa Blanca tourist trade. Spanish and Valencian are spoken, both official languages in the Valencian Community. The climate is Mediterranean, with long hot summers and mild winters, and life happens a lot outdoors: promenades, terraces and markets.
2. Neighbourhoods
No neighbourhood has a price on this page: prices change and are not published here.
- **Casco Antiguo, El Barrio or Santa Cruz.** The historic quarter, at the foot of the castle. Narrow streets, low colourful houses and tapas bars. It is the oldest quarter and the most walked, but also the noisiest at night and the hardest for parking.
- **Centro and Ensanche-Diputación.** The shopping and administrative centre, around the Explanada de España, the Rambla de Méndez Núñez and the Plaza de los Luceros. Tall blocks with lifts, shops, offices and the city's daily life. It is the most practical area for living without a car.
- **Mercado.** The area around the Mercado Central, on Avenida de Alfonso X el Sabio. Flats in buildings of several periods, some without a lift, and neighbourhood shops.
- **Benalúa, Carolinas and San Blas.** Traditional residential neighbourhoods, west and north-west of the centre. Flats in buildings of several heights, their own municipal markets and neighbourhood life, with more year-round residents than tourists.
- **Albufereta and Vistahermosa.** Quiet residential areas between the centre and San Juan beach. Vistahermosa is mostly houses and villas with gardens; Albufereta mixes blocks of flats with houses near the sea.
- **Playa de San Juan.** North of the centre, beside a long, wide sandy beach. Modern blocks of flats, many with a shared swimming pool, restaurants and a seafront promenade. It is a family area, quieter than the centre, but less central.
- **Cabo de las Huertas.** At the north-eastern edge, among coves and the open sea. Low-density streets, detached houses and villas with terraces and sea views. It is the city's most residential and most outlying area.
3. Housing types
The flat is the most common home in Alicante. In the old town there are low houses, two or three storeys high, some over a hundred years old, with high ceilings and narrow staircases. In the Ensanche and the centre, tall blocks with lifts predominate. In Playa de San Juan there are modern blocks with shared pools and terraces. In Cabo de las Huertas and Vistahermosa there are detached houses and villas with gardens. There are also áticos, top-floor flats with a terrace, and adosados, terraced houses sharing a wall with their neighbours.
Before deciding, it is worth checking three things photos do not show: whether the building has a lift, how much natural light the flat gets, and how much noise comes from the street or the neighbours. In the old town and the centre, night noise and the lack of a lift are the two most common problems.
4. Renting vs buying in general terms
Renting in Spain is governed by the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU), the Urban Leases Act. The contract must be in writing and must identify the parties, the home, the rent and the term. The deposit for a home let is one month's rent, and the landlord may ask for an additional guarantee. The tenant may leave the home from six months onwards by giving thirty days' notice. Structural repairs are the landlord's; small repairs from daily use are the tenant's.
Buying is done with your own lawyer, checking ownership in the Registro de la Propiedad, the Land Registry. The usual path is a private contract with a deposit first, then the deed before a notary, which is then registered. A deposit with penitential arras only has that effect if it is clearly agreed that way; not every deposit is a penitential arras. A foreign buyer needs the NIE, the foreigner's identity number. Buying a home alone gives no right of residence.
This page is general information about life in the city. It is not a list of flats for rent or for sale, and the site does not verify listings, sellers or availability.
5. Food and daily life
Alicante's food turns on rice and the sea. Arroz a banda is cooked in a concentrated fish stock and the fish is served separately; arroz negro takes its colour from squid ink; arroz con costra has a baked egg crust on top; arroz del señoret has its seafood already shelled. Other local dishes are coca amb tonyina, a savoury coca with tuna, esgarraet, of roasted peppers and cod, and pericana, of dried peppers and small dried fish. Turrón, hard or soft, comes from nearby Jijona, and horchata de chufa, served with fartons, is the city's cool drink.
The Mercado Central, on Avenida de Alfonso X el Sabio, is the main market: the day's fish, fruit, vegetables, cured meats and turrón stalls. There are other municipal markets in Benalúa, Carolinas and Babel, and the habit is to buy fresh food often, not to do one single big weekly shop. Meal times are late: lunch around two or three in the afternoon and dinner later still, above all in summer. Tapas are eaten in small bars, in the old town and the centre, and the Explanada de España promenade, beside the port, is the city's main promenade.
6. Practical notes for a newcomer
This page is general information. The site does not verify listings, sellers, prices or the availability of any home.
- Walk the neighbourhood at different times and in different seasons: a quiet neighbourhood in winter can be noisy in summer, and the other way round.
- Look at the building, not just the flat: lift, state of the staircase, light and noise.
- Everything in writing: rental contract, inventory if the flat is furnished and, when buying, a check of ownership in the Registry before signing.
- Have your NIE in order before flat-hunting if you are a foreigner: it is asked for both renting and buying.
- Choose between centre and beach by your daily life: the centre is practical without a car; San Juan beach and Cabo de las Huertas are quieter, but further from the centre.
- In summer, sun and heat rule: look for shade, water and a home that does not overheat.