Altea is arguably the prettiest town on the Northern Costa Blanca. Located in the region of Alicante, it is one of the most beautiful towns to be found along this stretch of Spain’s coast.
This is a short video about Altea Roig produced by Spain-holiday.com. Watch the video and be inspired to visit Altea.
Altea is a seaside village that stretches up into the Altea Hills. The town’s name was derived from the Arabic name ‘Althaya’, meaning ‘health to all’. Once a small traditional fishing village, Altea has transformed from a medieval village into a modern town without losing any of its charm.
The old town of Altea is perched on top of a hill from which there are spectacular views, above the modern low rise beachfront developments below. Here there are narrow streets and alleys and long flights of steps that lead up to the famous landmark church of Nuestra Senora del Consuelo or Virgen de Consuelo with its domed blue roof. Here you will also find the main shopping street of Avenida Fermin Sanz Orrio with its busy bars, restaurants and art galleries.
The old town has many designer shops and is popular with artists. Interspersed among the narrow streets of beautiful white houses and orange trees you will discover many traditional craftsmen and painters at work. There is a real authentic Spanish feel to the old town of Altea. Walking around, one is captivated by the beautiful old quarter, its narrow cobbled streets and alleys, and the wide palm lined seafront esplanade.
Along the seafront you can enjoy scuba diving, windsurfing, fishing, sailing, water skiing and boat cruises. The Luis Campomanes harbour, where you will see some of the most magnificent cruisers and yachts that you are ever likely to see, and the Altea marina are very pretty and scenic and this area is a great place to eat or drink in the cafés and restaurants.
A market is held along the seafront every Tuesday. There are two high quality water sports centres, EL Club Nautico de Altea and El Puerto Deportivo Luis Campomanes (or Greenwich Marina). The proximity to the sea has ensured that property in Altea will always retain its value.
The coastal scenery of Altea is quite varied and has tall cliffs with quiet coves and over 6km of beaches. There are two main beaches in Altea, both a mixture of sand and pebbles: The Playa de la Roda and the Playa de Cap Blanch which stretches to the coast of nearby Albir at Bombarda point. Other beaches are the Playa de Cap Negret with its black pebbles and the Playa de L’Olla close to the island of the same name. At the Mascarat point to the north of the Altea Bay are the shingled coves of La Solsida, La Barreta and La Galera.
Altea has a growing community of multinational expatriates and over the past years there has been a construction boom with most of the properties for sale in Altea being outside of the main town in the urbanisations surrounding Altea. These urbanisations are of a high quality in sought after locations:
It is worth noting that because of its special microclimate and clean air, Altea is one of the healthiest places in the world in which to live. Important for those who are now living in Altea is the fact that the latest technology in communications services and excellent health care are also available. The closest airports to Altea are El Altet in Alicante (a drive of 60 kilometers) and Manises in Valencia (a drive of 127 kilometers) which can be reached via the A7 autopista which connects Altea to the rest of Spain and Europe.
