Village
Benidorm is the most populous municipality in La Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, with 77,327 inhabitants (INE 2025) that in summer come close to 400,000. Known as the New York of the Mediterranean, it is the city with the most skyscrapers in Spain and the most skyscrapers per capita in the world, a profile that, together with its beaches and nightlife, has made it one of Spain's leading tourist destinations, and the third Spanish city by number of hotel beds, after Madrid and Barcelona. It is sheltered from the wind by the mountains surrounding it: the Sierra Helada to the east, the Sierra Cortina and Puig Campana to the north and the Teso de la Cala to the west, which gives it a mild microclimate. Since 2022 it has hosted the Benidorm Fest, the contest that chooses the Spanish song for Eurovision.
Curiosity
Benidorm has one of the largest concentrations of seafront skyscrapers in Europe, which has earned it the nickname 'the Manhattan of the Mediterranean'.
Activity
Benidorm's patronal festivities, in honour of the Virgen del Sufragio and San Jaime Apóstol, are held in November, from the second weekend to the following Wednesday, five days in total; they were fixed in that month because it was when the tuna-trap fishermen returned. Local tradition holds that in March 1740 a storm ran a ship aground on the coast; when it was decided to burn it, some children found the image of the Virgen del Sufragio among the ashes. The festivities include offerings, masses and processions, with Queens and senior and junior Ladies-in-waiting, the participation of numerous festive peñas grouped in the Asociación de Peñas Virgen del Sufragio - with names mostly in Valencian - and an annual re-enactment of the finding on Poniente beach.
Monument
Viewpoint located on the Canfali hill in Benidorm, on the rock that divides the city's two beaches, with a white stone balustrade and views over the bay; it is one of the city's best-known symbols. On this same rock there once stood a fortress that defended the town from raids by Algerian and Berber pirates in the 14th to 16th centuries, and at the top of the hill, next to the viewpoint, stands the church of San Jaime y Santa Ana.
Monument
Hermitage in Benidorm beside the archaeological site of the Castellum, with panoramic views over the Poniente and Levante beaches and the Puig Campana.
Monument
The church of San Jaime y Santa Ana stands at the top of the Canfali hill, in the old village of Benidorm and the highest part of the present-day city. It was built, already in the 18th century, between 1740 and 1780 following the chance finding of the image of the Virgen del Sufragio, today the town's patroness, while its tower, with its characteristic blue dome, was erected between 1807 and 1812; the church was remodelled in 1912 and restored in 1990. The building, in Neoclassical style, faces three squares: that of the Castellet and that of the Señoría, both by the sea, and that of San Jaime, inland, where its main doorway opens.
Nature
Also called Illa Mitjana or Illa de l'Olla, and historically known as the journalists' island, it is a seven-hectare islet situated two nautical miles from the port of Benidorm, regarded as a geological continuation of the Sierra Helada. With no permanent population, it served in 1834 as a refuge for families from Benidorm and Villajoyosa fleeing a cholera epidemic, and centuries earlier it was a pirate base. The exploitation of its waters, rich in fish, was reserved to Benidorm until 1506, when King Ferdinand extended the privilege to Villajoyosa and the two towns began taking turns by days; two attempts to auction it, in 1930 and 1935, were held back by pressure from fishermen. Part of the Benidorm Island Marine Reserve, it is home to birds such as the European storm petrel.
Historical milestone
The admiral Bernat de Sarrià granted in 1325 the carta puebla that founded the town on the rise above the sea, beside the castle. He shared out houses, lands and fishing rights among the settlers and left the tuna trap as the principal resource of the new body of residents.
Historical milestone
The mayor Pedro Zaragoza promoted in 1956 a planning scheme that allowed free height in exchange for setbacks and green space around each building. That model of detached blocks separated by gardens explains the vertical silhouette of the city.
Historical milestone
In 1959 the town council of Benidorm authorized, by municipal edict, the use of the bikini on its beaches, against the wishes of the ecclesiastical authorities. Mayor Pedro Zaragoza traveled to El Pardo to defend the measure before Franco, and the decision drew in European tourism.
Food and drink
The tuna trap set off the coast supplied for centuries the tuna that was salted on land: mojama, pressed roe and bull de tonyina. The fishery disappeared with tourism, but the salted products are still sold as an appetiser with olive oil and almonds.