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Places and towns to visit in and around Torrevieja. Most shops close at 2-2:30 until 5-5:30 for siestas, so visit early or later for shopping. Tourist info Torrevieja, plaza de Ruiz Capdepont s/n Torrevieja 96 570 34 33 Torrevieja has the biggest and best market on a FRIDAY. Torrevieja like every holiday or resort town has its own water park, namely Aquopolis. This is located to the rear of the town not far from the N332 turn off, and the Crevilliente road, not too far from the Carrefour supermarket. The park is open from the middle of June until the beginning of September, in what the Spanish call season. It is a good day out for the kids and grown ups alike, parents get to relax as the younger generation "let of steam", good fun for the whole family. Benidorm boasts the biggest aqua park in the area. City of Murcia situated on the river Segura. The city is located about 45 minutes drive south of Torrevieja, and was relatively untouched by tourism before the Ikea shopping center and a few other big "hypermarkets" have been built over the last few years. Nevertheless, Murcia has managed to retain some of it's old, narrow streets with historical buildings. In the 1700's the city flourished, and especially a lot of fine silk was produced here. Many of the monuments and churches in town are from this period. The cathedral is worth a visit. It was built over several periods and styles, and situated on Plaza de Cardenal Belluga. There you will find many s idewalk restaurants and museums. By the river Segura you can walk along the beautiful walkways. But if you get tired, there are small tapas bars where you can sit down, rest, relax, enjoy a tapas, and watch people go by. By car you find Murcia on the A7/E15.]]> Alicante is one of the fastest growing cities in Spain. The economy is mainly based on tourism and wine production. In addition to exporting wine, the town also exports olive oil and fruit. The industry in Alicante produces food, leather, textiles and ceramics. Alicante's speciality when it comes to food is Turron - nougat of honey and almonds. El Monte Benacantil, located approximately in the middle of Alicante, has always played an important role in its history. On the 166 meter high peak is Castillo de Santa Barbara, one of Europe's largest existing medival fortresses, and the Costa Blanca's main historic tourist attraction. The oldest part of the fortress dates back to the 9th century. Castillo de Santa Barbara was subjected to massive destruction by the French navy in 1691, and later during the Spanish succession war from 1706 to 1709, which lead to Alicante being conquered by British troops. This is now home to art exhibitions, and well worth a visit, not least because of the wonderful views. Alicante's seductive old town, between the promenade and El Monte Becanatil, here you can stroll between old town palaces, stately buildings, shops and tapas bars. Or if you prefer the more modern part, with El Cortes Ingles and bigger shops, the choice is yours. One of the city's pride is the great promenade - Explanada d'Espanya - which is flanked by palms ,it is situated down by the seafront and comes alive at night especially in the summer months. Guadamar Del Segura a more "relaxed and laid back" town than Torrevieja. Guadamar has a 12 km long coastline, and between the river Segura and the northern part of Guardamar you have the nudistbeach Los Tusales. Many believe Guardamar has the finest and cleanest beaches in the Alicante area. A forest of 840 hectar were planted in the 1920's to prevent the sand that came across the sea from Sahara to bury the city. The forest mainly consist of pine trees, Eucalyptus trees, Aloe Vera plants, and other various shrubs and palms. People call it the La Pinada and it is Guardamar's biggest recreational area. The name is Alfonso XIII park and stretches from the port to Parque Reina Sofia in the city center. The park was established in 1991. Fireworks are a natural part of Guadamar, like all other places in Spain when it's fiesta. Otherwise Guardamar has bars, shops restaurant. Not a bad place to spend a few hours or days. Elche/Elx is a lovely day out located on the A7/E15. This town is famous for farming palm trees, and most of the palm trees around originate from Elche. The palm forests Misteri d'ELX and La Dama the Elche, is well known. There are several parks, but park is an understatement they are incredibly beautiful. Elche has a large fortress in the centre and a lovely old town with cafes and winding streets to explore. It also has, for people with a "addiction for shoe shopping" large factory outlets with Spanish made shoes at very good prices. Orihuela is not a tourist trap, but has more churches per head of population than any other town in Spain, therefore if churches are what you would like to visit, then this is the place to go. Usual array of shops and windy streets. From Torrevieja take CV-95 through Jacarilla and Bigastro to get there. Cartagena is a historical navy port, but still today an important naval port for Spain, it also has several forts, and the lovely old town. It was also the staring point for trips to the Spanish colonies. The first ever submarine built in the world was built here. It is a town with an obvious historic link. About 1 - 1.5 hours drive on the N332 south. La Manga Again we drive south on the N332. La Manga is a peninsual and from start to finish it is 25 km long. This is where several football teams from all over Europe and Scandinavia practice and play "friendly" matches. It is called the La Manga Cup. Golf courses and water sports are also present and the whole area is located on the lovely Mar Menor or small sea. The journey is worth doing just for the scenery. Benidorm We can not mention the Costa Blanca without mentioning Benidorm. The no.1 resort in Western Europe and this place is difficult to write about as there is so much. The town has two zones like most Spanish towns the old town is lovely, with winding streets full of very busy shops, bars, and restaurants. This culminates at the lovely blue tiled church, a must for everyone. The new town is full of skyscrapers and British bars, donkeys and sombreros. Benidorm offers top comedians and excellent beaches. Hotels and B&B are surprisingly cheap to stay in and there is of course the Bendiorm Palace with shows and good food. The saltlakes (Salinas)There are two salt lakes one at La Mata (Parque Natural de La Mata), which was made a nature reserve in 1996, , and the Torrevieja Lake, which is still used for salt production. The La Mata Lake which is sign posted on the out skirts is a haven for rare breeds of birds and often you can see flamingoes etc. It is said that here are more than 200 rare breeds of birds. The Torrevieja Lake is a nice walk or cycle and it is located to the rear of the town behind the Torrettas urbanisation, this lake has a pinkish colour. You can see the piles of salt ready for collection, and the underground conveyor can be seen as it emerges near playa de Acequion to reach the waiting boats. Playa Flamenca/ La zeniaTwo coastal urbanisations just down the road, they both have great beaches and are popular with the owners and holiday makers alike. There is a cart track located at Playa Flamenca.
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