Day Out Guadalest
The historic hill fort of Guadalest is situated just 25km inland from the town of Benidorm. It is a major tourist attraction having been declared a 'Monument of Historical and Artistic Value' in 1974. It charms over 2 million visitors every year and is a truly spectacular sight – the remains of a medieval castle and village precariously perched on top of a mountain overlooking a reservoir.
Start your day with a morning coffee stop in Polop and then take the scenic route past the historic vehicles museum to Guadalest. For something different you can enjoy a trip on the solar powered boat that glides across the reservoir below Guadalest.
The impressive entrance to the fort and village of Guadalest is via a 15 metre long tunnel which has been carved through the solid rock. There are numerous interesting museums to visit as well as the castle ruins, all of which have entrance charges. There are lots of souvenir shops where you can spend several hours browsing the vast displays of trinkets and quality art work and various restaurants to choose from.
So travel back in time with a visit to Guadalest and enjoy its stunning mountain scenery, top quality craft shops, many museums and local restaurants.
Places to stop during a day out Guadalest
- Polop: stop for a morning coffee in the quaint village of Polop before taking the scenic route to Guadalest.
- Historic Vehicles Museum: this is an optional stop along the scenic road to Guadalest. The museum has over 100 motorcycles and small cars from the 1920's to the 1970's.
- Guadalest: you can easily spend a whole day in the fascinating mountain top village of Guadalest.
- Reservoir with Solar Powered Boat: after exploring Guadalest drive down to the dam and take a trip on the solar powered boat across the reservoir for a different view!
Places of Interest
1 Polop Village Centre
N38°37.386 W0°07.941Parking: the streets in the village are very narrow and parking places are very limited, so it is best to park here on the waste ground.
From here: walk down into the centre of the village.
Places of interest and things to do in Polop Village
- Village Centre: lots of lovely little streets to explore and plenty of cafes for a morning coffee before heading past the motor vehicle museum along the scenic route to Guadalest.
2 Historic Vehicles Museum
N38°39.853 W0°09.653Parking: is in the car park and is free.
From here: entrance fee applies, enter the museum to enjoy the historic motor vehicles.
Places of interest and things to do at the Historic Vehicles Museum
- Historic Vehicles Museum: the museum contains over 100 motorcycles and several small cars from the 1920's to the 1970's which have been restored over the last 25 years. It is open everyday except Saturdays from 10.30-18.00 in the winter and 10.30-19.00 in the summer.
3 Guadalest Car Park
N38°40.557 W0°12.006Parking: is in the pay car park, the ticket is valid for the whole day so you can spend as much time here as you want.
From here: the shops, museums and restaurant are all around you, to enter the medieval village go through the tunnel in the rock.
Places of interest and things to do in Guadalest
- Guadalest: entrance to the village is free, but there is a charge for the car park. The village is packed with craft and souvenir shops, independent museums, ancient buildings and restaurants as well as offering breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.
- San Jose Castle: entrance charges apply, explore the castle ruins.
- Casa Orduna: entrance charges apply, this is the main museum which is the house of the guardians of the castle and governors of the estate, it is set over four floors and is built into the rock face, the most interesting room is the library which houses 1265 books, 589 of which appear in the catalogue of the "Ancient Books" (1500–1800)!
- Salt & Pepper Pots Museum: entrance charges apply, displays over 20,000 salt and pepper pots from around the world.
- Dolls House Museum: entrance charges apply, many different dolls houses set over three floors.
- Ethnological Museum: shows how people lived, what tools and implements they used and the clothes that they wore.
- Microgigantic Museum: entrance charges apply, with the aid of magnifying glasses you can marvel at this miniature world and see such things as a flea riding a bicycle on the edge of a seed!
- Miniature Museum: entrance charges apply, another museum of miniature marvels such as the statue of Liberty within the eye of a needle!
- Medieval Torture Museum: entrance charges apply, barbaric medieval to almost present times instruments of torture and execution gathered from Europe.
4 Reservoir with the Solar Powered Boat
N38°40.713 W0°11.548Parking: is free and is on the side of the road, spaces are slightly limited so if it is busy you might have to park further away and walk.
From here: follow the path through the trees to the jetty.
Places of interest and things to do at the Reservoir
- Dam: take a walk along the road which runs along the top of the dam.
- Solar Powered Boat: this boat operates from the beginning of May to the end of September from the little jetty, the boat holds up to 60 people. The journey covers a distance of 5km, lasts 50mins and cost 5€ per adult, its current timetable is displayed on the little board beside the jetty.
