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Before crossing the threshold to the paradise known as Costa Blanca, a city of class and candor stands no less as portal. That very portal is the entrancing city of Alicante, the beguiling gateway to Costa Blanca. Sheltered between two capes on a bay on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, Alicante in Castillian Spanish, or Alacant in Valencian Catalan, is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern coast of the Land of Valencia in Spain. Alicante lies 81 km (50 miles) north of Murcia, 40 km (25 miles) south of Benidorm, 172 km (107 miles) south of Valencia, and 417 km (259 miles) southeast of Madrid. The Benacantil Mountain, a rocky promontory overlooking the city, flanks the city and its spacious harbor. The famous city, strategically situated in a fine harbor in the middle of Costa Blanca, is one of the most important destinations in the entire coast. One of the oldest cities in Europe, Alicante's name is Arabic for 'The City of Light', a lasting legacy of Moorish rule.
Alicante ranks as the region's second largest metropolis and the eighth among the largest metropolitan areas in Spain. Per 2005 census, Alicante’s city proper has a thriving population of 319,380. Current estimates show around 427,217 residing in the entire urban area. Satellite towns included, 711,215 populated the metropolitan area, as of estimates in 2005. The city’s population is about 15% foreign, a melting pot of expatriates mostly from Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Albeit the presence of the ever attached British and other non-Spaniards seeping in, the intrusions of expats to Alicante aren’t as overwhelming as other cities like Benidorm. In turn, Alicante has relatively preserved an authentic Spanish vibe all its own. Ever since a railway bridged the sea-starved city of Madrid to Alicante in 1858, becoming the first seaside town to be linked by rail to Madrid, Alicante is almost exclusively Spanish. Since that glorious day, the city of Alicante has sated the hunger of Madrileños longing for sea and sun.
Curiously enough, in spite of that exclusivity, a hint of Africa is displaced in Alicante. Apart from the intrusion of expatriates and other non-Spaniard residents, Alicante distinctively has a large African community, particularly from Algeria. Alicante’s ties with Algeria are long standing, stretching to olden times. Boats regularly depart from Alicante to Oran twice in seven days. In the end, the city cradles a part of Africa in its heart, even its small-scale businesses. African women, clad in traditional caftans and hawkers could be found selling African carvings along the Ayuntamiento, the waterfront and esplanades.
One of the cities in Spain impending full blown boom, Alicante’s economy basically subsists on its flourishing tourism born from the sapphire waters of the Costa Blanca coastline. Prospering too are its wine production, services and administration. The city is renowned for exporting quality wine, olive oil, and fruit. There are light industries, including food processing, leather, textiles, and pottery. Alicante prides itself in a native food specialty, the turrones (torrons in Catalan), nougat made of honey and almond.
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