Rows of shops selling beach buckets and flip-flops line the sea
front of Benidorm, the Costa Blanca's largest and liveliest resort
town where hordes of tourists throng the streets 24 hours a day. Of
the thousands who come to holiday here on the town's three miles
(5km) of white sandy beaches each year, many have stayed and
purchased apartments in the numerous blocks that now dot the
skyline. Benidorm, north of Alicante, is the party capital of the
Costa Blanca with an unrivalled nightlife and a daytime
carnival-like beach culture. Remnants of Benidorm's historic past
are now well hidden, but tucked into the Casco Antiguo section are
the ruins of a castle built in the 14th century to fend off Berber
pirates. Benidorm's spectacular sunsets are best viewed from the
castle's 'mirador' (balcony). The place to see and be seen in the
town however is the Playa de Levante, a two-mile (3km) boardwalk
lined with trendy cafes and bars.
