{"id":217523,"date":"2025-06-27T03:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/217523\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T03:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:04:10","slug":"forget-the-stereotypes-benidorm-is-the-complete-package-spain-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/217523\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget the stereotypes, Benidorm is the complete package | Spain holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, Benidorm welcomed close to 3 million visitors. Despite its reputation as a British holiday mecca \u2013 nearly 900,000 UK travellers visited the city in 2024 \u2013 it was actually Spanish nationals who made up the largest share, with more than one million domestic visitors flocking to the Costa Blanca resort, according to Benidorm city council<\/a>. I have a feeling that these visitors did not come for the stereotype of full English breakfasts and pub crawls, but for something often overlooked by international tourists: the authentic, everyday rhythm of Spanish coastal life.<\/p>\n

Map for Benidorm<\/a><\/p>\n

In a country where tourism makes up about 15% of GDP<\/a> but has also spurred a housing shortage and countermovements<\/a>, Benidorm offers a contrast to cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where tourism pressures are acute. The city\u2019s mid-20th-century reinvention as a purpose-built resort might once have been controversial, but today it looks surprisingly sustainable in the context of a national housing emergency.<\/p>\n

Benidorm was designed and built to handle industrial numbers of visitors \u2013 including me. My first visit was in the early 1990s, aged eight, on a classic package holiday with my family. I vividly remember staying up late to play billiards with a rotating cast of kids, and language barriers didn\u2019t matter. Their mothers \u2013 and what felt like every other se\u00f1ora in our 20-storey hotel \u2013 took turns pinching my cheeks.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s reinvention as a purpose-built resort now looks sustainable in the context of a national housing emergency<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The coastal city has long accommodated large numbers of domestic and international travellers without displacing residents at the same rate as elsewhere. Unlike the \u201clive like a local\u201d model that has backfired in Spain\u2019s big cities \u2013 such that more and more apartments once meant for residents are now exclusively for tourist use, especially in Madrid, where I\u2019ve lived for 12 years \u2013 Benidorm has absorbed demand with ease while still offering an authentic Spanish experience. I\u2019m here to explore exactly that.<\/p>\n

Before the sun has fully risen, I walk to Poniente beach, the quieter, more local stretch just west of the old town. It is already full of life. A dozen elderly se\u00f1ores are taking a refreshing, pre-breakfast dip and a group of se\u00f1oras are easing into the day with a free session of group yoga. As the weather heats up, the Spanish crowd moves away from the main beach to the nearby Cala Almadraba or, further along, to Cala del T\u00edo Ximo. In these two secluded coves beyond the headland, pine trees frame crystal-clear shallows. Even in peak season, these smaller spots remain largely undiscovered by foreign visitors.<\/p>\n

Cala Almadraba. Photograph: Alamy<\/p>\n

By the time the sun is at its highest, many Spaniards are already retreating to long lunches of local cuisine. At La Fava<\/a>, I find a serene space where chef Fran Burgos serves elegant dishes rooted in Alicante\u2019s coastal traditions \u2013 such as grilled aubergine with honeycomb, parmesan soup and seasonal fish \u2013 in a tranquil, whitewashed interior. For a classic Iberian diner, Casa Toni<\/a> boasts Andalusian tiles and legs of jam\u00f3n hanging above the bar. For paella, a must in the Valencia region, refined seafood restaurant Ducado<\/a> has an array of rice dishes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s room too for cross-cultural comforts. Ray\u2019s 1, a longstanding British chippy run by a mother and daughter team (both called Teresa), earned a new Spanish fanbase when I wrote about it for Spain\u2019s leading national newspaper, El Pa\u00eds<\/a>. Since then, Teresa senior tells me, they\u2019ve had a regular flow of Spanish customers. Nearby, on my way to the ajuntament (town hall), I spot a queue outside Bar El Puente<\/a>, a chicken rotisserie run by the same family since 1968 and attracting a mostly Spanish clientele.<\/p>\n

Local social documentary photographer Mar\u00eda Moldes captures the city\u2019s idiosyncrasies through saturated, surreal portraits of Spanish sunbathers. Photograph: Mar\u00eda Moldes<\/p>\n

Anyone who has visited Benidorm will be familiar with Calle Santo Domingo, a pedestrianised alley in the old town. Here, a global clientele are drawn to the bustling Basque pintxo bars, especially in the evening. But farther inland lies a no-frills and more authentically Spanish tapas destination, just off Avenida Ruzafa. I squeeze into Taperia La Mina<\/a>, where a bottle of house wine and six tapas costs \u20ac11. Restaurant Aitona<\/a> and El Rinc\u00f3n de La Croqueta<\/a> offer an equally simple experience. For a slightly quieter but still lively meal, La Mejillonera<\/a> is known for its large plates of juicy orange mussels, and is worth the wait for a table.<\/p>\n

But beyond sun, sea and food, Benidorm is a real Spanish city with real stories. For example, Marina Sanchis opened Casa Crem\u00e0<\/a>, a pottery workshop for locals and visitors alike, having returned to her home town after being forced out of Madrid by soaring rents, and has turned her creative retreat into a thriving community space. She tells me Benidorm has given her something she\u2019d lost in the capital: space, time, and a connection to community.<\/p>\n

Spanish culture, local gastronomy and a deeper sense of place \u2013 this is the side of Benidorm that is enjoyed by more than 1 million domestic visitors each year<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many more Spanish artists have been inspired by the coastal metropolis, and their work has featured in the free and often overlooked Museo Boca del Calvari<\/a> in the old town. Mar\u00eda Moldes<\/a>, who exhibited there a few years ago, is a local social documentary photographer whose photos of Benidorm echo the works of the late Carlos P\u00e9rez Siquier<\/a>. Both photographers capture Spain\u2019s idiosyncrasies through saturated, surreal portraits of Spanish sunbathers. Despite being taken decades apart, their images are almost indistinguishable.<\/p>\n

La Fava restaurant<\/p>\n

Even online, Benidorm has become something of a Spanish cult favourite. Erik Harley<\/a>, a satirical influencer from Barcelona, tells me that Benidorm is his favourite place in the universe and he will soon be launching new tours of the city\u2019s most iconic skyscrapers. And then there\u2019s Mulero Ok, as he\u2019s known here, a smartly dressed pensioner whose niche is playing Spanish pop music on his speaker and filming passersby dancing<\/a> alongside his decorated, slow-gliding mobility scooter.<\/p>\n

Among Spanish youth, the city\u2019s cultural relevance is also on the rise. Benidorm Fest<\/a> is Spain\u2019s official competition to choose its Eurovision entry. Unlike the UK\u2019s often half-hearted approach to the contest, Spain makes a big deal of the selection process and I regularly hear Melody\u2019s Esa Diva<\/a>, which was chosen as Spain\u2019s entry this year, playing on the radio and in bars. Still only in its third year, the festival has become a defining highlight of the city\u2019s cultural calendar, earning Benidorm a new identity as the country\u2019s unofficial capital of pop.<\/p>\n

Beyond the bustle of Benidorm, the nearby area is home to several charming villages that make for a perfect day trip, such as the colourful coastal town of La Vila Joiosa, a short tram ride away. Inland, the ancient hilltop village of El Castell de Guadalest is home to no fewer than eight eclectic museums<\/a> and boasts stunning views of the Guadalest reservoir \u2013 one of Benidorm\u2019s main sources of fresh water.<\/p>\n

Benidorm wears its tourist-resort reputation with pride, but it offers far more than the stereotypes suggest. As a Brit abroad occasionally longing for home, I\u2019m not going to deny that the British stereotype of Benidorm has its appeal for me. But I\u2019m also here for what has become even more familiar to me: Spanish culture, local gastronomy and a deeper sense of place \u2013 the side of Benidorm that is enjoyed by more than 1 million domestic visitors each year.<\/p>\n

In a country grappling with overtourism, Benidorm\u2019s purpose-built design shouldn\u2019t be dismissed as inauthentic. It\u2019s a uniquely Spanish solution to a modern global challenge \u2013 and a city with space for everyone.<\/p>\n