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.
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. There is also the Historic Vehicles Museum to visit as well as the opporuntiy for a solar powered boat ride on the reservoir below Guadalest!
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 of interest & ideas of things to do in Guadalest
- Village: you can easily spend a whole day in the fascinating mountain top village of Guadalest.
- Museums: a number of interesting museums packed with curiosities.
- 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!
- 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.
Ideas of places to twin Guadalest with day or night
- After a day of history and culture at Guadalest make the short drive to nearby Benidorm for an afternoon on the beach and a night out at any of the many comedy clubs or live music venues.
- Stop off at the village of Polop for your breakfast, then take the scenic route past the historic vehicles museum to Guadalest, where you can spend a leisurely day browsing the many craft shops and visiting the museums.
- Visit two well known tourist attractions in one day! Guadalest is only a short drive away from the Fonts del Algar waterfalls. A perfect day out, combining history and culture at Guadalest with natural beauty at the waterfalls.
Places of Interest
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.
Top tip: 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.
Guadalest Museums
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 museums are all around you, to enter the medieval village go through the tunnel in the rock.
Top tip: list of museums and short description of their exhibits.
- 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.
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.
Top tip: 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.
Reservoir with 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.
Top tip: this boat operates from the beginning of May to the end of September from the little jetty, the boat holds upto 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.
