PLACES TO VISIT

If you feel like a break from the beach or Casa Sueños's pool, then the area around Moraira has many places of interest. The following selection is by no means exhaustive and is just to give you a few ideas.

Polop - Visit the traditional Spanish hilltop town of Polop, only a 40 minute drive from the Villa. There are spectacular panoramic views to the sea and mountains.

Javea - (12 Km's north) Comprises an "old town" and a newer holiday development along the coast. Yacht marina and fine promenade, long beaches.

Benissa - (12 Km's inland) A small, old-style Spanish market town, strung along the main 'A' class road to Alicante/Valencia. A splendid Cathedral and interesting squares and shops.

Denia - (24 Km's north) Once a thriving commercial port for the coastal trade in raisins, currants, sultanas etc. Quite a large shopping centre, an old castle dominating the town from the hilltop, splendid promenades, some fine beaches, but these are a little way 'out-of-town'. You can take a Hydrofoil trip from here to Ibiza (90 min's journey) either for the day, or for a few days break.

Gata de Gorgos - (13 Km's inland and north) An old Spanish town strung along the main 'A' class road to Valencia. Famous for its basket and cane ware sold in virtually every shop.

Guadalest - (32 Km's inland) An ancient fortified town perched high on a cliff top, it is now entirely tourist with little shops along the steep, stepped, winding streets selling souvenirs, leather goods, local weave material, glassware and the like. There is a steep winding path up the rocky pinnacle which dominates the town, with stations of the cross on the way and a little open chapel at the top. If you take the route through CALLOSA D'EN SARRIA, you will pass through some splendid mountain country.

Jalón Valley - (Starts 22 km's inland) Famous for its groves of Citrus and Almond trees - is littered with ancient Spanish villages where you can find the really 'old-style' Spanish restaurants, which still serve the genuine fare (like paella) cooked over wood fires at incredibly low prices.

Alicante - (70 Km's south) The provincial capital and a fine seaport and city of about 350,000 population, it has a splendid seafront with a fine promenade, and Paseo Maritimo paved with beautiful local marble and lined with Palm-trees. Although a major city, there are excellent beaches quite close to the centre, and it is possible to conclude a shopping or sightseeing expedition with a visit to a beach-side bar. The annexed towns of SAN JUAN and CAMPELLO also have excellent sandy beaches. Alicante is good for shopping - with department stores open all day long (no siesta) - and a superb selection of fashion boutiques. There are also many speciality shops (jewellery, patisseries, fine leather-work, crystal, ceramics etc.). The splendid Santa Barbara castle is on a hill, dominating the city (Cliff railway runs up to castle). Many fine public buildings often set in squares with fountains or along wide avenues lined with palm-trees and subtropical plants. A magnificent old cathedral and fine traditional bullring (often open to visitors when no bullfights are scheduled) are further attractions of this great city.

Valencia - (100 Km's north) Spain's third City and the impact of the vast 'Birmingham' size commercial, trading and seaport metropolis can be stunning. The city is set on a (usually dry) river estuary and so (like Liverpool or London for example) does not enjoy the splendid seafront promenades of Alicante. Otherwise, all that is written of Alicante applies here only magnified in all respects. This is the ancient bastion from which "El Cid" rode forth to turn back the Moslem hordes, and the old City centre contains many treasures of that historic past - as well as one of Spain's largest and oldest Cathedrals, and a truly superb bullring ranked as one of the foremost in Spain. The city centre is very large, with a great many stores and speciality shops. Recently opened is a large U.S. style shopping mall with three major department stores and some 217 shops all in the one air-conditioned building.