Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa

What to see and do in Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa (La Marina Baixa, Alicante): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa: festival calendar

July: Moros y Cristianos de La Vila Joiosa (July)

How far each place is from the centre of Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa

Towns near Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa

What to see in Orxeta 6.9 km · 9 places
What to see in Finestrat 7.1 km · 6 places
What to see in Benidorm 9.4 km · 11 places
What to see in Aigües 11 km · 6 places
What to see in Relleu 11 km · 3 places
What to see in Sella 12 km · 5 places
What to see in Alfàs del Pi, l' 14 km · 6 places
What to see in Nucia, la 16 km · 9 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Alicante › La Marina Baixa › Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa

What to see and do in Vila Joiosa, la/Villajoyosa

La Vila Joiosa
Village
La Vila Joiosa (Villajoyosa) is the capital of the comarca of La Marina Baixa, on the Alicante Costa Blanca, with 37,449 inhabitants (INE 2025). Traditionally a fishing town, its economy today revolves around the chocolate industry and tourism. The Amadorio river, which rises in the reservoir of the same name, runs through the town centre. Its earliest settlers date back to the Bronze Age, and the hill of the old town was an Iberian settlement; in Roman times the city of Alone or Alonis stood here, remains of baths from which have been found along the bed of the Amadorio. Depopulated in the Middle Ages, it was refounded as a Christian town in 1300 by Bernardo de Sarriá, admiral of James II of Aragon, in order to control the coast against Muslim naval attacks.
Moros y Cristianos de La Vila Joiosa
Activity
Festivities of Vila Joiosa (Alicante) held in honour of Santa Marta from 24 to 31 July, 250 years old and declared of Interés Turístico Internacional (Spain's top festival-tourism designation) in 2003. They commemorate the attack of Berber pirates, allegedly led by Zallé-Arraez, repelled by the town's inhabitants in 1538, and are marked by a naval battle and a landing on the beach. Preparations begin two months in advance, with the floral offering to the Llàgrimes de Santa Marta on the first Sunday of May. After the parades of the Moorish and Christian sides on the 25th and 26th, in the early hours of the 28th the landing is re-enacted: Muslim vessels take the beach and both armies fight their way to the castle, occupied first by the Moors and recaptured that afternoon by the Christians.
Amadorio River
Nature
The Amadorio is a 26-kilometre river in the La Marina Baixa district that rises at an altitude of 900 metres at the foot of the Sierra de Aitana, near the Puerto de Tudons pass. Its basin covers 140.7 km² and it receives the waters of the río Sella and the barranco de la Cueva. Its waters are used for irrigation and urban supply thanks to the Relleu and Amadorio reservoirs, and, with a scant and irregular flow, it runs in a narrow channel through the town of Villajoyosa before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.
Tower of Sant Josep de la Vila Joiosa
Monument
The largest Roman funerary tower preserved in Hispania, built between AD 150 and 170 in honour of the citizen Lucio Terencio Marcino; in 1543 some of its stone was reused to rebuild the town walls.
Valencian Chocolate Museum Valor
Monument
Housed since 1998 in the building of the first family factory, founded in 1881, it was recognised in 2008 as the Valencian Chocolate Museum and recalls the chocolate- and turrón-making tradition of la Vila Joiosa.
Colourful houses of the seafront promenade of la Vila Joiosa
Curiosity
According to tradition, the multicoloured façades of the fishermen's houses along the seafront were painted in different shades so that sailors could pick out their homes from the sea.
Founding of the town in 1300
Historical milestone
Bernat de Sarrià founded La Vila Joiosa in 1300 on a promontory beside the mouth of the Amadorio, with a carta puebla and a grid layout. It was born walled and with its back to the countryside, oriented to fishing and to withstanding the attacks that came by sea.
The 1538 Berber landing
Historical milestone
In July 1538 a Barbary fleet landed opposite the town and was driven back after fighting on the beach and at the foot of the walls. The episode was fixed in local memory and it is the one recreated every summer by the events of the patron saint festivities.
Artisan chocolate of la Vila
Food and drink
The town has made chocolate since the nineteenth century, when cocoa arrived directly through its port. The family factories kept up stone grinding and today historic brands coexist with workshops that still make bars and chocolates in the town centre.