Casco Antiguo-Santa Cruz
Historic lanes, tapas, castle views
City hotel guide
Alicante
Alicante, the second-largest city in the Valencian Community and capital of its province, serves as a historic Mediterranean port. Forming part of a conurbation with nearly 1 million inhabitants alongside Elche, it offers a blend of coastal leisure and old-town charm. For frequent hotel travelers, Alicante provides convenient accommodation options with port views, serving as an ideal base for exploring the southeastern Spanish coast.
441Hotels
9Brands
6Programs
🕐 Europe/Madrid · 💱 EUR
Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Best time to visit
☀️ Best months: Jul–Aug, Oct–Nov
Jan16° / 8°💧5mm
Feb16° / 8°💧9mm
Mar19° / 11°💧90mm
Apr20° / 13°💧39mm
May23° / 17°💧67mm
Jun28° / 21°💧16mm
Jul31° / 25°💧2mm
Aug31° / 25°💧13mm
Sep28° / 21°💧41mm
Oct26° / 18°💧13mm
Nov22° / 14°💧3mm
Dec19° / 10°💧10mm
High/low are monthly means, 💧 is mean monthly precipitation (2022–23, Open-Meteo); green = comfortable & drier.
Where to stay
Centro
Shops, plazas and easy city walking
El Postiguet-Raval Roig
Urban beach below Santa Barbara Castle
Ensanche-Diputación
Station, marina and practical hotels
Playa de San Juan
Long sandy beach, resort feel
Albufereta
Residential coast between centre and beaches
Area guides are reference info (AI-assisted, web-grounded); never ranked by price or commission.
Getting there & around
From the airport
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) is the main airport. There is no direct train or metro to the terminal. The C-6 airport bus is the best public option, running to central stops such as Puerta del Mar, Alfonso X el Sabio/Luceros, the rail station area and the bus station; allow about 20-30 minutes in normal traffic, longer at peaks. Taxis and VTCs from the official ranks/pick-up areas usually take about 15-25 minutes to the centre.
ALC airport guide (official info · terminals · lounges) →
Around the city
Central Alicante is very walkable. For longer hops, use the TRAM d'Alacant and TAM buses: Luceros, Mercado and MARQ are key central TRAM stops; L4/L5 are useful for Playa de San Juan, L3 for El Campello and L1 for Benidorm. For several rides, get a rechargeable Móbilis/TAM card with a Bono 10 or multitrip ticket; Zone A covers most city, beach and nearby metropolitan trips and normally allows bus/TRAM transfers within 60 minutes. Validate every ride and check last TRAM times for beach or nightlife returns.
🚆 Alicante railway station🚆 Sant Gabriel railway station🚆 Universidad de Alicante railway station🚆 San Vicente Centro railway station🚆 Torrellano railway station
As of 2026-07-07 — confirm current schedules/fares with the operator.
Loyalty program coverage
Before choosing where to stay
Where to Base
Stay in San Juan for beachfront hotels and relaxation, or in the Centro district for proximity to the historic port and old town, ideal for business travelers seeking convenience and evening entertainment.
Airport Connection
Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is approximately 9 km from the city center. The EAD bus or taxi takes about 20-30 minutes to reach downtown hotels or the San Juan area, ensuring easy access for arriving guests.
City Scale & Access
As Spain's 10th largest city, Alicante is compact enough for walking exploration while offering robust infrastructure due to its status as a provincial capital. This ensures a wide variety of high-standard hotel options within easy reach of key attractions.
Nearby attractions
Estadio José Rico Pérez
football stadium in Alicante, Spain
Santa Bárbara Castle
castle in Alicante, Spain
Archaeological Museum of Alicante
cultural property in Alicante, Spain
Benacantil
mountain
Co-Cathedral of St. Nicholas of Bari
church building in Alicante, Spain
Basilica of Saint Mary
cultural property in Alicante, Spain
Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art
art museum in Alicante, Spain
Q8538974
mountain in Spain
Lucentum
human settlement in Alicante, L'Alacantí, Alicante Province, Spain
Platja del Postiguet
beach
plaza de toros de Alicante
bullring in Alicante, Spain
Gravina Museum of Fine Arts
cultural property in Alicante, Spain
Dining
Baeza & Rufete
A restaurant that exudes a passion for cooking, plenty of experience and the unmistakeable talent of staff trained by Martín Berasategui. The first thing that chef Joaquín Baeza will casually tell you is that, in keeping with his mentor, he is here to bring joy to his guests! This small, unpretentious restaurant is run with great dedication by the chef alongside Esther Castillo, who works as front-of-house manager and sommelier. The modern Mediterranean cooking here, whose leitmotifs are the diversity and seasonality of Alicante’s produce, gives pride of place to aromatic herbs picked personal
WebsiteAlba
The fusion of local Alicante and Italian cuisine on offer in this attractive and intimate eatery in a residential district comes as a pleasant surprise, and is explained by the culinary experiences of chef Alba Esteve during her stints working in several prestigious restaurants in Italy. Choose between the à la carte (interesting off-menu options such as fresh fish of the day are also available) and an enticing tasting menu. We loved the delicious and refreshing lemon and yuzu tartlet dessert with yuzu and a lime and celery sorbet.
WebsiteTábula Rasa
Located in the city’s historic Benalúa district, Tábula Rasa boasts a well-maintained façade plus an interior with a tranquil and traditional ambience. Head Chef Rafael Molina is keen to offer honest cuisine that showcases Alicante’s culinary traditions, bringing a modern technical approach and a continual focus on fresh seasonal ingredients (they do not use freezers or vacuum packs). The menu, which changes almost daily, focuses on a single, tempting seasonal menu where rice dishes or 'fideuás', such as their tasty rice with pork ribs and vegetables, tend to take centre stage.
WebsiteLa Ereta
A striking modern property on the ascent up to the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, hence its superb views of the city. Here, Alicante-born chef Dani Frías offers two Mediterranean-based, contemporary menus (Ereta and Degus) that focus on seafood. This is demonstrated by one dish we particularly enjoyed: his delicious version of red shrimp stew (“caldereta de gamba roja”).
WebsiteOpen
Open boasts an eclectic look in keeping with its name. This similar liberal philosophy is also evident in its open-view kitchen and on the à la carte, with the option of creating your own half portion-style menu. The chefs here explain and serve their own contemporary dishes centred around market-fresh ingredients. One speciality that is definitely worth ordering is the Gilda Open, their interesting red tuna ‘catalana’ or the cuttlefish, guanciale and burrata gnocchi.
WebsiteCeleste y Don Carlos
A gastronomic restaurant offering innovative international- and French-inspired cuisine which is always based around seasonal market ingredients. Tasting menus are the only option here, one of which is inspired by the period the chef spent working in the kitchen of the Hotel Ritz in Paris. Booking essential.
Steki
A life full of travel characterises Fernando and Olivia, a charming couple who have made their different culinary cultures (he is Mexican; she is Greek) the cornerstone of their joint gastronomic project. The name (Steki translates as a “meeting place”) of their simple restaurant, located in a pedestrian street in the city’s old quarter, also highlights this philosophy. Their cuisine is based around the cooking of the Mediterranean with understandable influences from Mexico and Greece. Although available à la carte, there is a minimum order of 5 dishes for two sharing.
WebsitePlëgat
In the heart of Alicante, a short hop from the lively Central Market, there is a place with a great deal of character and personality. They themselves say that they are ‘an intimate restaurant, where cooking is done calmly and time is savoured’.Behind the name Plëgat, a small tribute to the now defunct business in the nearby town of San Juan where the chef Nanín Pérez felt the unbreakable bond with the world of gastronomy, you will find an elongated establishment with few tables (just 5 and a reserved area), with the kitchen half-open so we can watch him work. Here you can order á la carte or
WebsiteAttraction data from Wikidata (CC0) and open sources, ranked by notability and distance — for reference.
See all guide-listed restaurants in Alicante (Michelin / Black Pearl) →
Airport lounges (ALC)
Lounge access is reference info — confirm current terms with the operator; commission never ranks.
Flights to Alicante
Off-site flight search (affiliate link — no in-app checkout, no price shown).
Search flights to AlicanteMost-covered hotels in Alicante
Ranked by verified records and coverage depth — never by price, never by commission.
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Apart-hotel Happy Life
5★0 recordsSparse
Alexa Suite
5★0 recordsSparse
Eurostars Pórtico Alicante
5★0 recordsSparse
Alicante Central Market Suites
5★0 recordsSparse
Hospes Amérigo, Alicante, a Member of Design Hotels
5★0 recordsSparse
Odyssey Rooms
4★0 recordsSparse
Apartamento CasaTuris Maestro Gaztambide
4★0 recordsSparse
Apartamento CasaTuris San Francisco
4★0 recordsSparse