Elche in brief: Spain’s best tortilla, 400 new parking spaces and marathon delay

Elche is making headlines for food, investment and sport, with a local restaurant crowned home of Spain’s best tortilla and work beginning on a major parking upgrade in Altabix. Meanwhile, runners preparing for the second Elche-Alicante International Marathon face a change of plans after the November event was postponed because of the newly scheduled general election.

Elche restaurant crowned home of Spain’s best tortilla

Spain’s best tortilla is being served close to home after an Elche restaurant took the national title at Alicante Gastronomica.

Celia Clara Correia, from La Teulada restaurant, won the 2026 Campeonato de Tortilla de Patatas, beating 20 other cooks from across Spain in the final at IFA-Fira Alacant.

Her winning tortilla uses Galician potatoes and gourmet eggs, with particular attention paid to achieving a creamy, juicy centre while keeping each slice firm enough to hold its shape.

The recipe was not an overnight success. Correia and her team spent months refining the balance between potato and egg, including changing an earlier version based on egg yolk to one using whole eggs.

Second place went to Alejandro Oliveira of La Falda de Chamberi in Madrid, the competition’s 2025 winner, while Carlos Boado of El Caserio de Tion in A Coruna finished third.

Alicante province was well represented among the 21 finalists. Dana Rotaru of Nou Pinet in Alicante shared fourth place, while Pedro Juan Sanchez represented La Muralla on Tabarca.

The result puts La Teulada at the top of the national rankings for one of Spain’s most familiar dishes, giving Costa Blanca residents the chance to sample the country’s newly crowned champion without travelling far.

More than 400 improved parking spaces for Altabix

More than 400 improved parking spaces are being created in Elche as work begins to transform a rough plot beside the Altabix Local Police headquarters.

The €623,568 project will upgrade an 8,500-square-metre site already used informally for parking but currently consisting of unpaved ground which can become difficult to use during wet weather.

Work is expected to take three months, with completion planned before the end of the year.

The finished car park will be surfaced, marked and illuminated, providing 275 general parking spaces and 117 spaces for Local Police vehicles. A further 10 spaces will be reserved for people with reduced mobility.

The police parking area will be physically separated from the public section and equipped with controlled access and security cameras. Trees will also be planted to provide natural shade across the site.

Elche Mayor Pablo Ruz said residents had been requesting improvements to the parking area for around 12 years.

The project forms part of wider investment around the Altabix-University area, where recent improvements have included a new pedestrian footbridge over the railway and the fully electric M urban bus route.

Once completed, the scheme will replace the existing temporary parking arrangement with a properly surfaced and organised facility.

Elche-Alicante International Marathon postponed

Runners preparing for the second Elche-Alicante International Marathon will have to wait a little longer. The event originally scheduled for Sunday, November 29, has now been postponed.

Alicante and Elche councils announced the decision after the planned race date coincided with the newly scheduled general election. Both councils and organiser Club Atletico Montemar are now working to find a replacement date, which will be announced shortly.

The marathon links the two cities over the traditional 42.195km distance. Last year’s inaugural event attracted thousands of runners and spectators along the route.

Organisers had already redesigned the course for the second edition, aiming to create a faster race. The planned route starts near Elche’s Palacio de Altamira, with the first 20km through the city and a new section passing through the Palmeral.

Runners then face a largely flat, slightly downhill 18km stretch towards Alicante before the final four kilometres take them through the Explanada de Espana, Plaza del Mar and Postiguet beachfront to the finish at Plaza del Puerto. The redesign removes several climbs previously encountered during the closing stages in Alicante.

A new date has not yet been confirmed, with registered runners advised to await further information from the organisers.