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Santa Bárbara Castle above Alicante's old quarter, with the palm-lined Explanada and harbour below
Reviewed August 2026
Alicante City

Alicante: the port city beneath Santa Bárbara Castle

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Alicante is a city whose shape is unusually easy to grasp. Monte Benacantil rises beside the sea with Santa Bárbara Castle along its crest. The old quarters gather below it, Postiguet beach curves around its eastern foot and the Explanada de España runs between the centre and the harbour. Castle, city and port sit within a short walk of one another.

From Laqant to Alicante

The Roman settlement known as Lucentum stood at Tossal de Manises, east of the present centre. The medieval city developed closer to Benacantil under Islamic rule, when it was known as Laqant and a fortified enclosure occupied the summit. The rock and its view over the bay made it the strategic centre of the settlement for centuries.

Castilian forces took the fortress on 4 December 1248, the feast of Saint Barbara, which gave the castle its present name. Jaume II brought Alicante into the Crown of Aragon in 1296. The fortress was expanded and remodelled repeatedly, most substantially in the sixteenth century, then damaged during French bombardment in 1691 and the War of the Spanish Succession. Its three main levels still reveal that long sequence rather than one single building campaign.

The city below the rock

The compact historic centre lies between Benacantil and the port. The co-cathedral of San Nicolás, the baroque town hall and the contemporary-art museum occupy the lower streets, while Santa Cruz and San Roque climb the southern slope in narrow lanes and small stepped houses. The castle remains present at almost every turn.

At sea level, the palm-lined Explanada became the city's civic promenade. Its wave-pattern mosaic follows the harbour edge near the old port, while Postiguet gives the centre a city beach on the other side of the rock. This is not a resort detached from ordinary life. Alicante is a provincial capital, university city, transport hub and working port as well as the gateway used by many visitors to reach the Costa Blanca.

A harbour looking outward

The port helped Alicante trade agricultural goods, wine and manufactured products far beyond the province. Today ferries, fishing boats, leisure craft and commercial traffic share the waterfront. The city's municipal territory also reaches out to sea: Nueva Tabarca, the small inhabited island opposite the Santa Pola cape, is an Alicante neighbourhood with a story distinct enough to deserve its own guide.

Walking the centre

  • The Explanada, old centre, Postiguet and lower castle approaches form a compact circuit on foot, though the climb through Santa Cruz is steep.
  • Santa Bárbara Castle has several approaches. Access rules can change during works and events, so check the council's current information rather than relying on old parking advice.
  • Lucentum is outside the central walking circuit at Tossal de Manises and gives the clearest view of the Roman settlement that preceded the medieval city.

South along the bay, Santa Pola connects the coast to its working salt wetland. Inland, Crevillent rises from the same southern Alicante plain into a much drier mountain landscape.

Sources and review

Reviewed in August 2026 using the Alicante City Council history of Santa Bárbara Castle, the council's city and cultural-heritage pages and municipal visitor information. Opening arrangements, traffic access and transport change, so confirm practical details with the relevant public service.