The timeless charm of Altea

The distinctive labyrinthine streets, boutique stores, artisan products and spotlessly white houses merge to make Altea one of the most beautiful towns in the Valencian Community. 

Awarded the Blue Flag and receiving more than 50,000 tourists every year, Altea is filled with culture and timeless charm, enchanting every visitor who comes upon it. Covering 34.43 square kilometres, Altea is currently the home of approximately 21,000 people.

Like most Spanish municipalities, Altea has Iberian roots but was marked by a Greek marketplace, Althaia. The Greek traces can still be seen in its charismatic white buildings, conforming to the antique fashion, so distinctive from modern infrastructure. 

Tourism in Altea boomed in the 1950s, attracting especially the art elite who delighted in Altea´s unique artisan crafts and paintings inspired by the paradisal landscape. 

To this day art plays an integral part in the town, with public and private galleries just around every corner, as well as the 1,000-seat capacity Palau de Altea which belongs to the Spanish Network of Theatres.

Altea is centred around its Church, La Mare de Deu del Consol, glazed in ancient ceramics but is also renowned for its Orthodox Church, St Michael Arcangel which attracts many Slavic visitors and residents.

Altea Hills is another popular spot for this demographic; many of the secluded luxurious villas are owned by Slavic expats, who like the rising European population of Altea, found a dream getaway in this secret gem of a town.