Alicante’s History and Highlights: Self-Guided Walking Tour
Description
What do a large catch of sardines, a princess, and a brave Welsh sailor have in common You’ll soon find out on this self-guided walking tour of Alicante, where the history and culture of this enchanting Mediterranean city come alive. Our adventure begins at the striking El Adivinador sculpture, something of an icon in the city, symbolising Alicante’s hopeful spirit. From there, you’ll walk through the picturesque Explanada de España, a promenade adorned with majestic palm trees and colourful mosaic tiles. I’ll show you key sites from the medieval era, like Alicante City Hall and Plaza Santa Faz. On the way, you’ll see the dramatic aftermath of the 1691 French Navy attack that left Alicante in ruins. We’ll pass the historic Basilica Santa Maria, and you’ll have a chance to dive into the Central Market’s noise and array of sights and smells. This tour offers an engaging blend of history, culture, and local allure, making Alicante an unforgettable travel destination
Tour Options
Itinerary
Begin your tour at the striking El Adivinador sculpture, an iconic symbol of Alicante’s hopeful spirit that invites curiosity and sets the tone for the city’s enchanting history
Walk along the picturesque Explanada de España, a grand promenade lined with majestic palm trees and colorful mosaic tiles that beautifully showcases Alicante’s Mediterranean charm
Pass by Alicante City Hall, a significant historical building where you’ll hear about the city s administrative past and its role in shaping modern Alicante
Explore Plaza Santa Faz, a historic square that provides insight into the city s medieval era and serves as a backdrop to its vibrant local life
Admire the Basilica of St Mary, a beautiful and historic church that reflects Alicante’s rich architectural heritage and its evolution through the centuries
Dive into the lively atmosphere of the Central Market, where you can experience Alicante’s bustling trade, vibrant colors, and the array of local flavors and spices
Visit the Bonfire Museum to learn about the exciting Hogueras Festival and Alicante’s Tardeo tradition, which earned it the nickname "the City of Light.
Marvel at Casa Carbonell, an architectural gem with an intriguing story of revenge and elegance that stands as a testament to Alicante’s historical grandeur
Stroll down Calle Jorge Juan, named after Alicante’s own adventurous figure, and hear about his daring exploits and contributions to the city’s legacy
Pass by Plaça de la Santissima Faç, a notable square that highlights Alicante’s rich history and provides a picturesque setting for exploring the city’s past
Reflect on the tragic 1938 bombing at Plaza 25 de Mayo, a poignant reminder of Alicante’s resilience and the dramatic events that shaped its history
Conclude your tour with a visit to the Ruperto Chapi Statue, a tribute to the renowned composer whose work has left a lasting impact on Alicante’s cultural landscape
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(21)
Perfect audio guide to see the sights of the city. Perfect directions, great details and all for an amazing low price.
This tour of Alicante was excellent, very informative and easy to listen to. You can take your time, we stopped for coffee and lunch, so could do at our own speed!
We enjoyed this tour a lot. Stent half a day, stopping at various recommended locations. A great overview of history, but also excellent information on the current life and culture of Alicante. The navigation works well. The narrator is fun, personable, and is clearly in love with his city. Made us want to spend more time in Alicante and to come back next year.
The tour was great. This was my first time doing an audio tour (rather than the usual walking tour). I personally really enjoyed being able to pause when wanting to take a break or meander to a different area, rewinding to listen again, starting and finishing to fit my day. The tour itself was excellent; recent and up to date, it felt personal and not cheesy, informative, easy to understand and follow, covered history and culture. It was my first time in Alicante and would recommend the tour, we did it on our third day into our trip and it helped us to discover some new places as well as suggestions for the remaining days on our trip.
My 1st self guided walking tour. This was so easy to download & follow. It gave really good details about the points of interest at each stop. Very easy to follow the directions & follow the route. Easy to pause so I could stop for a drink & snack. Would use again & would 100% recommend.
I admit to having low expectations for this as I tend to struggle with technology on my phone. But everything was straightforward and worked generally as it should, even though I had to pause a few times for refreshment breaks and restart. The gps wasn’t perfect due to proximity of buildings in places but close enough. The tour itself was informative and included some things that the other tours I’ve done did not. And a few times when there was too much information it was easy to skip ahead.
I booked this after being let down by a couple of guided tours that I’d booked through Viator being cancelled at the last minute. I didn’t have high expectations, as it was only a few euros, but it was exceptionally good. The directions were really accurate and easy to follow, the narrator obviously knew and loved Alicante and communicated his enthusiasm, and the pace of the walk really suited me. I have restricted walking ability, but there were frequent pauses for explanation of what I was looking at, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
It was a great experience. We walked and walked in 30 degree heat but were captivated by the narrator's ability to visualize the story behind what we saw. We stopped and took a fluid check and then proceeded without problems. The next morning we took the last places and finding the position again went well. Highly recommended.
I had a very bad and an embarrassing experience. I registered and paid for a self-guided tour. Then, I received a confirmation mail which indicated that the tour was on 22/07, and the meeting place was at the statue in front of the tourism office. However, there was no information about the time for the tour. I was asked to download the app VOICE MAP which I did but it didn’t make any sense to me as regards the tour. This is the message they sent me via sms: “Thanks for booking a self-guided tour with VoiceMap! Your code is 6……. Go to onelink.to/voicemap to install the app. See our email for additional info.” I called the number they left on the website and it was in Great Britain and I only heard recorded messages which were of no help to me. On the 22/07, I arrived as early as 9.30 am to see if there would be a group to join, but there was none. I asked people around if they were waiting for the tour and they replied in the negative. I went inside the tourism office but they said they didn’t know about it. I waited till 11 am and was often on the look out for a guide who was supposed to welcome people at the meeting point. Then, I went away. I wrote several sms but no one cared to reply up till now. I couldn’t send a mail because it is a “no reply” address. Therefore, I would like a refund plus inconvenience charges too.
Hi there, Please note that this is a self-guided audio tour, we clearly state this in the description as well as the instruction email. Once you download the audio tour and pop in your headphones, the app uses your GPS location to guide you along the route. I'm sorry that you were unhappy with your experience and that you missed out on the tour, it's a highly rated tour which usually gets great reviews from users. If you can't reach us via our support number, you can also contact us via email at support@voicemap.me if you need any assistance. Best, Helene
Well-paced, nice friendly tone & full of facts - we picked up recommendations for museums, art galleries & places to eat along the way. This was our first one of these tours & I’m so glad we did it - good explanations, I liked that it could be paused if we fancied stopping for something to eat or drink too - we stopped for cinnamon buns on mushroom street, then picked up the tour again. We definitely would have missed a lot without this & gave us a great basis to continue exploring + stories along the way
