Alicante information

A fast-growing city, Alicante has long based its economy on tourism thanks to its prolific investment on its attractions. Among these attractions are the beaches in the Costa Blanca coast, the massive wine production and exportation, and the superior quality service it provides in every single sector. In Alicante one can find traditionally made local products like leather, textiles, and pottery.

Do not miss the famous “Turrones” a local specialty made out of honey and almond nougat. The city’s main attraction is the castle "Castillo de Santa Barbara" which lies on a cliff with magnificent view beneath. During summer time, the most important festival takes place that of the “Bonfires of Saint John”.

Alicante’s City Hall is also considered of great tourist interest since at the front of its main staircase is the zero point. This “cota cero” was used as a reference point to measure the variations of sea level of any point in Spain. The visitors of Alicante have access to Balearic Islands and an international airport via regular ferry services.

TIME
GMT/UTC +1 (+ 2 from last Sunday in March to last Saturday in October).
Spanish time is nationally one hour ahead of the UK.

VISA
Citizens of most EU countries (and of Norway and Iceland) need only a valid national identity card to enter Spain for up to six months. Since Britain has no identity card system, however, British citizens have to take a passport. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand citizens do not need a visa for stays of up to ninety days, but this must be for tourism purposes only and not for work or study. Visa requirements do change and it is always advisable to check the current situation before leaving home.

Language:
Castilian (Spanish) but you will also encounter English, French and German-speaking staff in large hotels and restaurants.

Banks:
Banks in Spain are generally open from 9 am to 2 pm on Weekdays and from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday.

Currency:
Euro (EUR)
Bills issued: 5 €, 10 €, 20 €, 50 €, 100 €, 200 €, 500 €.
Coins issued: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, 1 €, 2 €.

The best place to exchange money is to use a bank ATM machine. Make certain your bankcard is of the four PIN number type, this is the standard in Spain. ATM's in Spain are compatible with the Cirrus or Plus system.

Credit Cards are another way to exchange money in Spain, either through withdrawing cash or by making a purchase. It is a good idea to check your credit card policy for fees related to international exchanges and cash money withdrawals.

Useful numbers:
International country code: 34
Emergencies: 112

Dialing tips:
International calls: 00 - country code - area code - number.
Dialing Spain from abroad: +34 - area code - number.

Post offices: ( Correos ) are generally found near the centre of towns and are normally open from 8am to noon and again from 5 to 7.30pm, though big branches in large cities may have considerably longer hours and usually do not close at midday. Except in the cities there's only one post office in each town, and queues can be long: stamps are also sold at tobacconists (look for the brown and yellow Tabac sign).

Internet access: There are numerous Internet Cafes with prices ranging from 1.7 € or 3.5 €. 

Public holidays:

• 1 Jan - New Year's Day (Nuevo)
• 6 Jan - Epiphany (Dia de los Reyes)
• 19 Mar - Father's Day (San Jose)
• Mar/Apr - Good Thursday 
• Mar/Apr - Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
• 1 May - Labor Day (Dia del Trabajo)
• 24 Jun - Saint John's Day (San Juan)
• 15 Aug - Feast of the Assumption (Asuncion)
• 12 Oct - Spanish National Holiday/Columbus Day (Dia de la Hispanidad)
• 1 Nov- All Saint's Day (Todos los Santos)
• 6 Dec - Constitution Day (Dia de la Constitucion)
• 8 Dec - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Imaculada Concepcion)
• 25 Dec - Christmas Day (Navidad)

Air
Alicante's airport is El Altet International Airport (ALC) which is 10 km away from the city centre. Domestic charter flights are commenced from other major Spanish cities as well as European cities including London, Paris and Rome. You can either take a bus route from the airport to the city centre or you can take a taxi. 

Train
Alicante's main train station is located on the Avenida de Salamanca s/n in the city centre. There are trains from Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Valencia City to this station daily.  For train schedule or online train booking, check out  http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html.    

Alicante's second train station (narrow gauge railway station) is located on the harbor and is run by FGV (Ferrocarils de la Generalitat Valenciana).  the Costa Blanca such as Denia, Altea, Calpe, and Benidorm

Bus
Near the harbour you will find Alicante's bus station in Calle Portugal. There is also a link with regional buses from other Spanish cities such as Granada, Madrid, Barcelona and Almera on a daily basis.  There are also a variety of different bus companies operate from this station and offer connections to all over Spain.

Car 
You can get to Alicante by car, on the A-7 motorway from the French border.  The national route N-340 links Alicante to Barcelona and Valencia City.

Population
A small percentage of Alicante’s population comes from foreign countries like Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia. In 2005 it was estimated that Alicante had 319,380 inhabitants. Following you can also see a table depicting the rise of population during the last decades.